Collective redundancies - information and consultation
Editor's message: Employers are under collective consultation obligations where they propose to make redundancies. If an employer intends to make 20 or more employees redundant at one establishment within 90 days or less, it has a duty to inform and consult with a recognised trade union or, where no union is recognised, employee representatives, prior to any redundancies being implemented.
A failure to consult collectively could lead to employees receiving a protective award of up to 90 days' pay.
Following the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill to Parliament on 10 October 2024, changes may be afoot to the current rules. Under the Bill, collective consultation requirements will be triggered if redundancies reach a defined threshold across the business and not within each site/workplace. The Government is also considering increasing the cap on the protective award, or possibly removing the cap entirely. Any changes are likely to take effect over 2025 and 2026.
However, collective consultation is not simply a statutory tick-box exercise and you should not overlook its underlying purpose: to provide for a genuine exchange of views and information with a view to reducing or minimising redundancies.
Laura Merrylees, Senior employment law editor
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HR and legal information and guidance relating to collective redundancies - information and consultation.