What Are The Benefits of a Restructure?

In these difficult times, with ever increasing costs to businesses such as the Employers’ National Insurance contribution and increases in general overheads, employers are looking at different ways to reduce cost, increase productivity and utilise their workforce. Looking at efficiencies within a business can lead to considerations over whether a restructuring of the roles of their employees would help keep a business agile and reduce cost in a different way.

Back in February 2025 our broadcast explored redundancy with an overview of some of the main issues, protections and costs - such as redundancy payments. Sometimes for many small and medium sized enterprises, the redundancy payments alone are a financial barrier to be able to elect to progress with a redundancy process which results in redundancies and redundancy payments.

With this in mind, a number of our clients are looking to avoid that hit to cashflow, seeking to work differently to maximise the skills of their existing employees. Restructuring can look to change the way employees work, what work they undertake within their roles and possibly avoid redundancies or expense of recruitment going forwards.

Does a restructure always lead to redundancies?

The short answer is no, it does not have to necessarily lead to redundancies. A new structure could maintain the same number of roles. In a restructure process you, as the employer, can explain to the employees the purpose of the restructure and that you are looking to this, amongst other reasons, to avoid either a redundancy process or avoid unsustainable recruitment at this time, to protect the business and its current employees.

From an employment law perspective, what do I need to be aware of?

For many employers, you will have had an employee in the past probably say to you ‘I am not undertaking this work as it is not in my job description.’ Now, if the request from the employer to the employee was for them to perform a very similar task or project when compared to their job description, was a genuine business need and of a temporary nature, then it is likely the employee’s refusal would not be reasonable.

In the alternative, if you as the employer, were to simply change a job description and duties permanently, without a compliant restructure process an employee could potentially bring a constructive dismissal claim and other claims. This act by the employer could be seen as a repudiatory breach in that a unilateral change in contractual terms had been implemented without the employee’s consent.  

With a compliant restructure process, this allows you to redefine the roles and duties within those roles to increase efficiencies and utilise skills within. It can change the work some roles require and make better use of the workforce to achieve the aims of the business.

What are the benefits of a restructure?

With a restructure it would be a permanent change of duties for the roles within the new structure that the employees would need to undertake to fulfil their obligations. The restructure would allow you to redefine each role, with different and/or additional duties. Under the restructure process each employee would need to be given the opportunity to apply for a role they wish to perform. There would need to be a fair and reasonable interview process whereby scoring and selection is compliant also and we can help you navigate each step of the way.

Overall, each business is different and face different challenges, but restructuring could be an option to consider to maximise efficiencies, reduce cost by avoiding recruitment and potentially avoiding redundancy process which can be costly.

We strongly recommend that any client should contact their HR Advisor for specific advice regarding their restructure consultation to avoid any potential unfair dismissal or discrimination claims.

Contact us at HR@skaltd.co.uk or call 01427 420 403 and #oneoftheteam will be able to help.