Redundancy Consultation Skill

Structures redundancy processes and drafts communications. Significant legal and human risk — always flag that employment legal advice is essential before proceeding.

WARNING: Defaults to UK employment law (Employment Rights Act 1996). Always recommend qualified HR/legal advice before any redundancy action.

Required Inputs

• Number of roles affected (1-19 = individual; 20+ = collective consultation required)
• Reason for redundancy (genuine business reason)
• Jurisdiction (UK / US / EU / Other)
• Timeline constraints
• Selection pool (if multiple people in similar roles)

Output Structure

1. Process Overview

Individual redundancy (fewer than 20):

Stage	Action	Minimum timeline
1	Confirm business case internally	Before any communication
2	At-risk notification meeting	Day 1
3	Individual consultation	Minimum 1 meaningful meeting
4	Redundancy confirmed or alternative found	After genuine consideration
5	Notice period begins	Per contract
6	Final day and payment	Per contract + statutory

Collective redundancy (20+ roles — UK):

• Minimum 45 days consultation before first dismissal
• Must notify BEIS (HR1 form) before consultation begins
• Employee representatives must be elected if no union recognised
• Failure = unlimited protective award per employee

2. Selection Criteria (if pool exists)

Objective, non-discriminatory only: skills/qualifications, performance (documented evidence), attendance (exclude disability/pregnancy-related absences), length of service (tiebreaker only).