In the second part of our redundancy series we are looking at
alternatives to redundancy.

Often there is pressure to make redundancies, but companies do not
want to lose the valuable skills and experience of their staff.

This has recently been seen in the news with Honda halting UK car
production at its Swindon plant for two months during Feb and Mar
2009. A 17% drop in production is the net result, but most
importantly all staff are retained on their basic package ready for
work to resume.

Lay-offs such as those at Honda or ‘short time working’ (where the
working week is shortened) can provide a temporary alternative to
workforce reduction. These can only be introduced if there is a
contractual right to do so, that is either stated in the contract
of employment or through a collective agreement.

Check your employment contract.

If you have no contractual right to do so, you may go into a period
of consultation with your staff to get their agreement to the
changes, which would involve varying contracts and you would have
to confirm the changes in writing with each individual.

Even if you have right to bring into effect short-time working or
lay offs, you need to make sure that the situation is handled
carefully and take into account the effect that this may have on
your workforce, this is especially the case if it is not a regular
occurrence.

You need to be watchful over what period of time and the number of
occasions that you impose short time working or lay off on an
individual as they may then have the legal right to claim
redundancy. This is a very complex area of employment law with a
number of legal provisions that need to be followed.

Call us now.

Deminos can help . . . . ring us today on 0191 460 1111 – we can be
your virtual HR Department at the fraction of the price of
employing an additional member of staff, with the added security of
Employment Tribunal Insurance.

Although the UK is not technically in a recession (that requires
another quarter of zero or negative growth), you would be hard
pressed to find anyone with an optimistic view on the economy over
the coming months.

With UK unemployment hitting 1.825 million (5.8%) this means the
press is filled with talk of redundancy. Just yesterday,
household names including Virgin Media and Yell announced a total
of 5,000 job cuts.

In most businesses the wage bill is the biggest single cost, hence
redundancy is often seen as the only alternative. But this is not
necessarily the case – next week we will look to alternatives such
as varying contracts, reducing working hours, cutting bonuses and
overtime to avoid layoffs.

Getting the process of redundancy right

However, if redundancies have to be made then most companies will
need to start at least 30 days of employee consultation.

This should be carried out in line with the new Consultation and
Information of Employees Regulations 2004 and must include written
details of:
– reason for redundancies
– areas/ job functions where redundancies need to be made
– the selection criteria to be used
– calculation of redundancy payments

This sets out a summary of the minimum requirements to ensure you
are within employment legislation, but it is also important that
you have a fair and business focussed process. Most employers will
naturally want to do much more for their staff with help for
looking at their options, help with CVs, flexibility for attendance
at job interviews etc.

In the final article in the series we will look at how proper
planning can ensure your business is fit for the future.

If you need any help or guidance on this or any other HR matter,
please call our HR team now on 0191 460 1111.

We read about changes in employment benefits/law on a regular basis and know when
they are to take effect, but do we remember to change our employment contracts,
policies and procedures to reflect these changes?

Below is a brief overview of the current statutory benefits that employers must
provide, failure to do so could result in claims for breach of contract being filed
against you, in addition to automatic fines from the government.

To find out more on how Deminos can make sure your contracts, policies, procedures
and practices meet the statutory requirements ring us today – tomorrow may be too
late! 0191 460 1111 or e-mail at info@deminos.co.uk