Redundancy

This section covers advice for UK SMEs on the specific legal procedures when making employees redundant, such as providing notice, consultation, severance pay or compensation, as well as how to handle what can be a challenging and often emotional experience for employees.

Employing & managing staff

How should insolvent SMEs handle redundancy?

What are your obligations to your staff if you’ve gone insolvent? How should insolvent SMEs handle redundancy?

Employing & managing staff

Fire and rehire – what you need to know

Can you ‘fire and rehire’ your staff if they won’t accept a change to their contractual terms?

Employing & managing staff

Redundancy letter

Nobody likes writing or receiving redundancy letters. Yet they are useful for recapping facts when a staff member is too upset to listen to what you are saying, says Sue Tumelty

Employing & managing staff

How do bank holidays affect statutory sick pay?

I have to make an employee redundant. She has been on long-term sick leave, has three years of service, and our annual leave policy is 22 days plus all English bank holidays. Must I pay her for bank holidays while she has been off?

Employing & managing staff

Holiday pay for laid-off workers

If a member of staff has been made redundant, are they still entitled to their holiday pay?

Advice

How to start a new business if Covid makes you redundant

COVID-19 is expected to decimate the UK jobs market, with unemployment doubling to 7.5% by the end of 2020. How to set up on your own if you’ve been made redundant.

Employing & managing staff

How do I make someone redundant? – Small business redundancy guide

Many small businesses are having to make people redundant during the coronavirus pandemic, despite government help. Employment lawyer Mike Tremeer takes you step by step through the redundancy process.

News

Two in five small businesses face closure because of coronavirus

39% of small and medium-sized businesses have either already closed down temporarily or are planning to do so within next month.

News

UK adults keeping secret about redundancy, survey finds

Survey shows 63 per cent of UK adults do not fully understand the process of redundancy or what benefits they are entitled to.

News

Change in redundancy culture has made it worse for employees, expert claims

The culture of making someone redundant has changed so much because of the fear of litigation that workers are leaving crushed, according to cognitive psychologist and business neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw.

Employing & managing staff