Facing redundancy is stressful and worrying. You may feel that you have been unfairly selected or that you were chosen because of discrimination. At Toner Legal, we provide advice and support to employees facing potential redundancy.
We understand how difficult the situation is. You will find our lawyers to be helpful and sympathetic as well as having a high level of expertise in dealing with the complex area of redundancy law.
We specialise in employment law for employees and have the in-depth experience you need to enforce your rights and safeguard your position.
If your employer has not followed the correct procedure or you have been unfairly chosen for redundancy, we can advise you of your rights and take steps to protect them.
Our services for employees include:
- Advising you on your rights, including whether your redundancy is lawful
- Advice on redundancy pay
- Advice on settlement agreements in redundancy
- Representation in unfair dismissal claims
Advising you on your rights, including whether your redundancy is lawful
If your employer wishes to dismiss you for reasons of redundancy, they must have a genuine need to do this. Fair reasons for making someone redundant include having less business, no longer needing a role to be filled, or relocating the organisation.
There is a process which your employer must follow, which includes:
- Notifying employees of the need to make redundancies
- Telling employees if they are at risk of being made redundant
- Holding meetings with employees
- Exploring potential alternatives to redundancy
- Looking at whether there are any suitable alternative roles for those at risk of redundancy
- Setting out the criteria to be used in selecting who will be made redundant
- Applying these criteria fairly
- Notifying those selected for redundancy
We can advise you as to whether your employer has followed a fair process in dealing with your redundancy and the next steps to be taken if they have not.
Advice on pay and other terms
We will let you know what payments you are entitled to receive on redundancy. If you were employed for two years or more, you should receive a statutory redundancy payment. Your contract may allow for an additional payment or there may be a custom in place of providing enhanced redundancy payments to employees. We can advise you of your rights and the minimum payment to which you are entitled if your redundancy goes ahead.
Advice on settlement agreements
If you have been offered voluntary redundancy, your employer will generally provide you with a settlement agreement to sign. It is a requirement to take independent legal advice before entering into a settlement agreement.
We can advise you of the implications of signing the agreement you have been offered and negotiate on your behalf to secure the best possible terms. You can expect the agreement to include issues such as how much you will be paid and what reference your employer will provide for you in the future. You will usually be asked to agree not to bring certain legal claims against your employer in return for a lump sum payment. This will generally be more than the statutory minimum pay.
Representation in unfair dismissal claims
If you have worked for your employer for two years or more and your redundancy is unfair, you may be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal.
We can work with you to establish whether you were treated unfairly, for example:
- Your employer did not use the correct procedure in dealing with your redundancy
- Another suitable role was available but it was not offered to you
- They did not need to make redundancies
- You were selected on the basis of a reason that is automatically unfair, such as:
- You had asked for a legal right to be enforced, such as minimum pay
- You made a request for flexible working
- You are a trade union member or representative
- You are pregnant or on maternity leave
- You requested compliance with health and safety laws
- You are a whistleblower
If the reason you were made redundant is one that is automatically unfair, you do not need to have worked for your employer for two years in order to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.
Contact our redundancy lawyers
If you have been told that you may be made redundant or you have been selected for redundancy, we can advise you of your rights and check that the correct process has been followed. If you have been unfairly dismissed, we will advise you of your options and offer advice and representation in bringing an employment tribunal claim.