By Amelia Waters
Redundancies can sometimes be necessary when a business is restructuring, reducing costs or responding to changing commercial circumstances. When this happens, a well-planned consultation process can help employers manage the situation fairly and sensitively while reducing the potential for disputes.
Recent UK employment cases provide some useful lessons for employers about what a fair redundancy consultation can look like in practice and the steps businesses should consider before reaching final decisions.
What is a redundancy consultation?
A redundancy consultation gives affected employees an opportunity to understand why redundancies are being proposed, discuss the proposals with their employer and put forward questions, suggestions or alternatives.
Importantly, consultation should take place while proposals are still at a stage where employees can potentially influence the outcome.
A good consultation process can benefit both sides. Employees have an opportunity to understand and respond to the proposals, while employers may identify alternative approaches, suitable vacancies or other options that had not previously been considered.
Consultation can also cover practical matters arising from redundancy, including time off to look for new employment or arrange training where the employee has the relevant statutory entitlement.
When does an employer need to consult employees about redundancy?
Employers should consult individually with employees who are at risk of redundancy. There is no statutory minimum consultation period where fewer than 20 redundancies are proposed. However, employers should allow enough time for genuine and meaningful consultation before reaching a final decision.
Different statutory requirements apply to collective redundancies. Currently, where an employer is proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant at one establishment within a 90-day period, collective consultation requirements will generally apply:
- For between 20 and 99 proposed redundancies, consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect.
- Where 100 or more redundancies are proposed, the minimum period is 45 days.
What should employers consider before starting a redundancy consultation process?
Where there is a recognised trade union, consultation will generally take place with the appropriate trade union representatives. Otherwise, employers will usually need to arrange for affected employees to elect representatives for the purposes of collective consultation.
Employers must provide representatives with prescribed information in writing, including the reasons for the proposed redundancies, the numbers and descriptions of employees it is proposed to dismiss, the proposed method of selecting employees and how the dismissals will be carried out. Information about the proposed method of calculating redundancy payments and certain information concerning agency workers must also be provided.
Collective consultation should include consideration of ways to avoid dismissals, reduce the number of redundancies and mitigate their consequences. Employers also need to comply with separate statutory notification requirements.
From 6th April 2026, the maximum protective award for failing to comply with collective redundancy consultation obligations increased from 90 days’ to 180 days’ pay per affected employee.
Redundancy consultation case law and lessons for employers
Several established and more recent cases provide useful guidance on how tribunals approach redundancy processes.
Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd
- In Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd, the employee had been scored against a redundancy selection matrix before the consultation process began. He was not told during consultation that the scoring exercise had already taken place and did not receive his scores until after his dismissal.
- The case progressed through the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal before reaching the Court of Appeal, which ultimately found no error of law in the original tribunal’s conclusion that, looking at the process as a whole, the dismissal was fair. Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was subsequently refused in June 2025.
The case provides an important practical lesson for employers. There is no single formula that determines whether every redundancy process will be fair; the process will be considered in the round. However, consultation should still be approached openly and at a point when it can make a meaningful difference.
Where scoring or selection exercises are used, explaining the criteria and giving employees an appropriate opportunity to respond can support a transparent and constructive process.
Osborn v Mothercare Global Brand Ltd
- The recent case of Osborn v Mothercare Global Brand Ltd provides a particularly useful reminder of the importance of genuine consultation and the additional considerations that can arise where an employee is on maternity leave.
- The Employment Tribunal found that the redundancy process involving Ms Osborn had been predetermined and described it as a “sham”. The tribunal found that the employer’s actions while Ms Osborn was on maternity leave amounted to unfavourable treatment because she was exercising her right to additional maternity leave.
- Her claims for unfair dismissal and maternity discrimination succeeded, although her claims for automatically unfair dismissal and sex discrimination were dismissed.
For employers, the case demonstrates the importance of ensuring that redundancy proposals are genuine, that consultation takes place before the outcome has been determined and that particular care is taken to comply with the additional legal protections that may apply to employees during and following periods of maternity and other forms of family leave.
Key redundancy consultation issues for employers to consider
Careful preparation can make the redundancy consultation process clearer for both employers and employees and help to ensure that decisions are fair and properly considered.
Before and during consultation, employers should consider whether:
- the business reasons for the proposed redundancies have been clearly identified and communicated
- consultation is taking place early enough for employees’ views to be genuinely considered
- any selection pool and criteria are appropriate, objective and consistently applied
- employees have been given an opportunity to discuss their selection and raise any concerns
- alternatives to redundancy have been properly explored
- suitable alternative vacancies are available within the organisation
- there are any discrimination risks or additional statutory protections that need to be considered
- consultation discussions and key decisions have been appropriately documented.
Consultation does not mean that an employer and employee have to agree on the outcome. However, employers should remain open to suggestions and properly consider any alternatives or representations put forward before reaching a final decision.
Taking the time to plan the process carefully can also make consultation more constructive for employees and give employers greater confidence that their decisions can be properly explained and supported.
Employment law advice for employers considering redundancies
Our Employment Law team at Ralli Solicitors LLP can advise employers on redundancy planning, individual and collective consultation, selection criteria, suitable alternative employment and wider restructuring exercises.
If your business is considering redundancies or restructuring and you would like advice on the appropriate process, please contact our Employment Law Partner, Mark Higgins, or Amelia Waters on 0161 832 6131 or email enquiries@ralli.co.uk.
