What steps should I take if I need to restructure or make individuals redundant?

There are several steps to consider to ensure any potential redundancy is fair and non-discriminative. An employer proposing to make redundancies must consult with the employees who are at risk of being dismissed and take on board their thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to help avoid or limit the number of potential redundancies. 

There are several steps involved in a redundancy process including: 

• identifying the pool of employees at risk
• consulting employees
• seeking volunteers
• fairly selecting employees
• offering suitable alternative employment (where available)
• calculating redundancy payments
• serving contractual notice and
• offering the right of appeal. 

Is there a legal limit to how many employees I can make redundant?

There is no limit as to how many employees an employer can make redundant, however, if an employer is looking at making 20 or more redundancies, then by law, there are additional rules about how they should carry out the redundancy consultation.  

In those circumstances, collective consultation rules apply, and there will be set rules as to how long the consultation should last, who the employer should consult with and who needs to be informed.