Consultation with Appropriate Representatives

Where 20 or more employees may be made redundant at one establishment within a 90 day period, employers must consult with any appropriate representative of a recognised independent trade union or, where no union is recognised, elected representatives of the employees who may be affected by the proposed dismissals or by measures taken in connection with those dismissals. Consultation must begin 30 days before the first proposed redundancy (45 days if 100 or more employees may be made redundant). Specific requirements are laid down for electing employees representatives who are to be consulted where the employer does not recognise a union.

Employers must, in either case, provide those representatives with reasons for their plans, numbers and details of employees involved, proposed method of calculating redundancy payments, redundancy selection methods and procedural plans. Employers will also need to supply information on the total number of agency workers engaged, the type of business in which they are utilised, and the type of work they are contracted to undertake.

If an employer invites affected employees to elect representatives and they fail to do so within a reasonable period, the employer must give each affected employee the information that would have been provided to the elected representative.

Discussions must be ‘meaningful’ ie they should be genuine, constructive and with a view to avoiding or mitigating the problem. However, the final decision is down to the employer alone. If the union or elected representatives claim that this procedure has not been properly under taken, it can seek to have a protective award made against the employer in respect of the employees who have been dismissed, or whom it is proposed to dismiss, as redundant (up to 180 days' pay for each of those employees, or up to 90 days' pay where the dismissals took effect before 6 April 2026). This award is intended to protect the wages of those employees for a defined period.

Consultation with Individual Employees

Individual employees affected should be consulted and provisional selection for redundancy discussed before the decision is finalised. Any available alternative work on offer should be discussed and these jobs should be offered. Employers must remember to consult with employees on maternity or long term sick leave.

Volunteers

Where appropriate, volunteers for redundancy should also be sought and considered, whether or not they meet the employer's pre-set redundancy selection criteria.

HR1 Form

If 20 or more employees at any one establishment may be made redundant within a 90 day period, employers must notify the Redundancy Payments Service on form HR1 before giving notice of dismissal to any of them, and at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect (45 days if 100 or more employees may be made redundant). Failure to notify as required is a criminal offence and can lead to an unlimited fine in England and Wales. If special circumstances make it not reasonably practicable for the employer to comply with these notification requirements, the employer must still take all such steps towards compliance as are reasonably practicable in those circumstances.

Redundancy is potentially a "fair" reason for dismissal but failure to follow a fair procedure could render employers liable for unfair dismissal.