I’ve Been Made Redundant: Next Steps

One in three companies are expected to make redundancies by the end of September 2020 according to a study by the Chartered Institution of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and The Adecco Group.

The impact of COVID on the job market will inevitably lead to redundancies as businesses look to cut costs. If you have been made redundant at work, this blog post will serve as a great guide to the steps you can take going forward. This is particularly the case if you feel you have been unfairly dismissed, and wish to make a claim with one of our redundancy lawyers.

What does it mean to be made redundant?

The word “redundancy” strikes fear and anxiety into employees – but what is redundancy? And what does it mean to be redundant?

Redundancy is when an employee is dismissed from their role as a result of the business wanting to reduce the workforce. This is usually because they want to cut expenditure.

Many employees confuse the mandatory consultation process with redundancy and a dismissal. Until the consultation process has concluded and a decision has been made, you are not redundant. At this stage, your employer is looking for alternative ways to keep you employed – whether that means reducing your hours, salary, or finding another role. You will be informed of your employer’s final decision at the end of the consultation process. Usually, there is a meeting in which you are told whether you are being made redundant.

Can I look for another job after redundancy?

Redundancy is not an immediate outcome. The consultation process can take a few weeks, and potentially months, depending on the size of the business. If you believe that your job is at risk of being made redundant, you can start looking for another job at any stage of the process – including the consultation stage. You can even start looking for another job the moment you hear whispers of the redundancies around the workplace. You will usually have to work out your notice period unless you can reach an agreement to waive this with your employer.

Once you have been made redundant you may wish to consider other options before looking for a job. For example, you may want to use the redundancy payments to fund a break in employment. Or, you may want to consider a career change and using the time and payments for retraining purposes. It is advisable to consider all options before immediately applying for another job after redundancy.

Redundancy pay: What are you entitled to?

There are various types of payment which you may be entitled to once you have been made redundant:

1. Statutory Redundancy

You will be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have two years’ service at the business. If you are employed for less than two years, then there is no guarantee that you will receive this payment.

Statutory redundancy pay is calculated based on your age, length of service and wage. You can find out more about redundancy pay and how it is calculated by clicking here.

You can claim statutory redundancy (and possibly some other payments) from the government if your employer has gone bust and they are unable to pay your statutory redundancy. You can contact our redundancy lawyers at KLG for more information.

You may also be entitled to contractual notice pay if there is a clause in your contract. If so, further details should be contained in your company handbook.

2. Notice pay

There is a minimum statutory notice period that is based on your length of service at the business. However, most employers impose a longer contractual notice period to protect their own interests, as otherwise employees will leave the business with little notice. Your contractual notice period will be within your contract and will depend on the nature of your role.

You may be required to work during your notice period before your termination date. You should discuss this with your employer. If this is the case, you will not receive an additional payment on termination equivalent to notice pay as you have worked your notice period.

3. Holiday pay

You will also receive a payment equivalent to your outstanding holiday entitlement. This will be paid up to the date of termination.

Your employer may request that you take your annual leave before the termination date. They are entitled to make this request, as long as you are given the appropriate amount of notice.

4. Other payments

You should also be paid any unpaid wages, unpaid overtime or unpaid commission/bonus upon termination.

When can I make a claim against redundancy?

If you believe your redundancy is unfair, you may be entitled to bring a claim for unfair dismissal if you have two years service at the business.

The first step would be to exhaust any internal appeals procedures put in place by the employer. This will usually be a formal appeals process where you can dispute the fairness of the redundancy process and the fairness of your selection for redundancy.

If this appeal process is not successful, the next step would be to contact ACAS to start the ACAS early conciliation process. This will allow you to mediate with your employer to try and reach a fair settlement before the matter progresses to the Employment Tribunals. You must contact within 3 months less one day of your effective date of termination. For help calculating this date, please contact us.

Contact us

If you are considering legal action, or if you are simply looking for further advice on your situation, contact us today on 0330 221 0684 or email [email protected]. As specialists in employment law, our team of redundancy lawyers have the knowledge and experience to guide you through your matter.