If you’ve followed a fair and robust redundancy process and found that there is no alternative but to end the employment of the ‘at risk’ employees, here’s what you’ll need to consider:
Notice – if you have the contractual right you could place the individual on garden leave or pay them in lieu of notice. Alternatively, you could ask them to serve out their notice. Serving out notice provides the obvious benefits of furlough support (for now, if they are not working), an opportunity for handover and staggered payments aiding cashflow.
Redundancy pay – this is based on the individual’s length of service on the last day of their employment (the government calculator is a useful tool). There is no prescribed time to make the redundancy payment, but it must be made within a reasonable period.
Holiday – employees are entitled to accrued untaken holiday pay when they leave. This can be paid as a lump sum or with appropriate notice you can require them to use their remaining holiday during notice.
Outplacement – a great way of reducing the possibility of litigation and a positive end to employment. The individual secures CV writing skills, support with job search and interview skills training. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more.
We’ve reached the end of our ‘restructures, redundancies and re-shaping roles’ update series. If you’d like to revisit anything we’ve covered, you can find the archive here, or get in touch if there is anything you’d like to discuss in more detail with our expert employment lawyers.