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HR Redundancy and Restructuring by James Sinclair Taylor, Russell Cooke
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Transcript of HR Redundancy and Restructuring by James Sinclair Taylor, Russell Cooke
Charity Finance Directors’ Group
Redundancy and Restructuring
James Sinclair Taylor and Jane Klauber
12 May 2011
WHAT IS A REDUNDANCY?• Dismissal must be wholly or mainly attributable to the
employer:– Ceasing or intending to cease to carry on the business
for the purposes of which the employee was employed by it (business closure)
– Ceasing or intending to cease to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed (workplace closure); or
– Having a reduced requirement for employees to carry out work of a particular kind or to carry out work of a particular kind at the place where the employee was employed to work (headcount reduction)
EXAMPLES OF REDUNDANCY
• Reallocation of duties• Change to the kind of work• Same work performed by a different kind of employee• Re-organisation leading to a reduced need for
employeesNOT REDUNDANCY• Appointment of a junior employee to do the same work• Change in an individual’s role if the requirement for
employees to do work of a particular kind has not diminished
ALTERNATIVES TO REDUNDANCY
• Natural wastage• Let agency staff go• Freeze recruitment• Reduce/eliminate overtime• Consider offering voluntary
redundancy
VARYING A STAFF CONTRACT• Variation
- Temporary pay freeze
- Reduction in hours/unpaid holiday
- Reduction in pay/removal of benefits• By informed and express consent• By express variation clause but any
unreasonable change may constitute a breach of trust and confidence
• By serving notice and offering a new contract following consultation
• But unilateral imposition without a variation clause will amount to unfair dismissal as well as breach of contract
MOBILITY CLAUSES• The “factual” rather than “contractual” test will
apply• Commonly employers will offer
redundancy where significant relocation is required
• The employee will not be entitled to a redundancy payment if the transfer to a new workplace constitutes suitable alternative employment which he unreasonably refuses
UNFAIR DISMISSALFAIR REASON
• Employees with over one year of service have the right not to be unfairly dismissed
• Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal
• Automatically unfair if redundancy selection influenced by prohibited reasons
• Even where there is a genuine redundancy situation, an employer will need to ensure that they follow a fair process
FAIR PROCEDURE
• Procedural fairness is essential to avoid an unfair dismissal claim
• Polkey – failure to follow correct procedures likely to render dismissal unfair unless doing so “utterly useless” or “futile”
• Question of whether employee would have been dismissed anyway only relevant to compensation
FAIR PROCEDURE
• warn and consult employees about possible redundancies;
• adopt a fair basis of selection;• take reasonable steps to minimise
the number of redundancies by considering alternative work.
FAIR PROCEDURE
• Union agreement
• Contractual provisions
• Handbook
FAIR PROCEDURE
• Adequate warning• Fair selection: correct pool and
objective criteria• Consultation• Amend pool/criteria/proposal• Suitable Alternative Employment
IDENTIFYING THE POOL
• May be agreed with union or employee reps
• The jobs may be similar or interchangeable
• Ensure there are no jobs outside the identified pool which are the same/interchangeable
SELECTION CRITERIA• Must be reasonable• Non-discriminatory (direct or
indirect discrimination)• Performance and ability (must be
evidenced)• Disciplinary record• Attendance (exclude DDA and
maternity absence)• LIFO – Age discrimination• Bumping
FORMAL NOTIFICATION• Notification post at risk
• Confirm selection criteria
• Invitation to volunteer
• Consultation to be followed
• Any redeployment opportunities
• Redundancy entitlement
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATION
• Reasonable period• Genuine engagement• Documented• Basis of selection and allow
employees to comment on individual assessment
• Allow employees to make suggestions on all issues
• Consideration of alternative employment
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATION
• Consultation should commence while proposals are still being formulated
• No prescribed period but 7 days is the “bare minimum”
• A failure to consult may render a dismissal unfair
COLLECTIVE CONSULTATION
• Proposal to dismiss 20 or more at one establishment within 90 days 20-99 30 days consultation
• 100+ at least 90 days• Consultation with TU reps or reps
appointed or elected who have authority to receive information and be consulted
• Also applies to varying terms and conditions where the employer has to terminate employment and re-engage
ELECTION REQUIREMENTSThe employer must:-• make arrangements to ensure the
election is fair• determine the number of representatives
to ensure all groups of employees are represented
• determine whether employees should be represented by reps of particular groups
• decide term of office• all affected employees are entitled to vote• voting must be in secret and votes
accurately counted
CONSULTATIVE CONSULTATION
Consultation must be in good faith with a view to reaching agreement on•avoiding dismissals•reducing the number of dismissals•mitigating the consequences of dismissals
COLLECTIVE CONSULTATION
• Representatives must be provided with written information
• The reasons for the redundancies must be given
• You must finish consultation before giving notice
• Applies even if fewer than twenty finally selected
SUITABLE ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT
• No obligation to create a new role• But any vacancy should be offered even if
not considered suitable• Evidence will be required as to why a role is
not suitable• Trial period (4 weeks) may be extended for
retraining• If the employee unreasonably refuses he will
lose redundancy entitlement• Consider selection process if more than one
employee is eligible• Remember any employee on maternity leave
has priority for redeployment• Avoid prescriptive matching for new job
ENTITLEMENTSSTATUTORY REDUNDANCY
PAY• Employees with at least two years of service are
entitled to a statutory redundancy payment • Statutory redundancy pay calculated by reference
to an employee’s age, length of service and weekly pay capped at £400 from 1 February
• Maximum length of service to be taken into account
• An employee may lose their rights if gross misconduct comes to light during redundancy consultation or notice period
ENHANCED REDUNDANCY PAY
• Is it required by contract/policy
• Is it the best use of the charity’s resource?
• NB any enhancement may be caught by age discrimination rules
TAX TREATMENT
• Statutory payments are tax free
• Termination payments are tax free up to £30k (including the statutory element)
• If a PILON is made it will be safest to deduct tax or (if relying on payment as damages for breach of contract) terminate contract before payment is made
TOP TIPS FOR MINIMISING LEGAL RISK
• Need for clear business reasons for redundancies – should be documented
• Take care in considering appropriate selection criteria
• Managers should be trained to ensure that objective selection criteria are fairly applied
• Suitable alternative employment should be considered widely
• Remember to consult long term sick and employees on maternity leave
• Ensure there is someone available to respond to any queries employees may have
• Consider offering a compromise agreement
TUPE• Application of Tupe• Same rules regarding election of
representatives as for collective redundancy• Duty to inform representatives of
- transfer
- date of transfer
- reason for transfer
- legal, social and economic implications
- any measures• Consultation on measures• Protective awards
TUPE• Any dismissal or contractual change which
is transfer-related will be automatically unfair
• Unless there is an “ETO” reason requiring a change to the number or functions of staff
• A transferor will not be able to rely on a transferee’s defence
• An employee may object to transfer but if he objects on the basis of a substantial change in working conditions he may treat himself as having been dismissed and the dismissal will be unfair
INSOLVENCY
• Where insolvency proceedings are instituted with a view to liquidating the Transferors assets, employees do not transfer and there is no protection against contractual variations or dismissals connected to the transfer
• Where insolvency proceedings are not commenced with a view to liquidating assets, contractual variations may be agreed with employee representatives in order to safeguard employment
CONTACT DETAILS
James Sinclair TaylorE: [email protected]
T: 020 8394 6480Jane Klauber
T: 020 8394 6483