Redundancy Advice for Employers
Expert redundancy advice for employers — from single redundancies to collective consultation — so your restructure is lawful and tribunal-proof.
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Employers in England and Wales can make an employee redundant only when the job is genuinely no longer needed, and only after following a fair process: warning and consulting affected staff, selecting fairly, looking for alternative roles, and paying correct notice and statutory redundancy pay. Get any step wrong and the dismissal can be found unfair at an Employment Tribunal.
Adam Bernard Solicitors gives redundancy advice for employers across London and the UK, from a single role being removed to large-scale restructures that trigger collective consultation. Our employment solicitors help you plan the process, document every decision and reduce the risk of tribunal claims. Call 0207 100 2525 or book a consultation in person, by phone or via Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp or Skype.
Are you an employee who has been made redundant? See our redundancy claim solicitors page instead.
What counts as a genuine redundancy?
A redundancy is a dismissal because the business no longer needs anyone to do a particular kind of work — for example, because the business is closing, relocating, or changing how it operates. GOV.UK states that an employer must be able to show the employee’s job will no longer exist.
Redundancy is one of the five potentially fair reasons for dismissal. If the reason is really performance, conduct or a personal dispute, labelling it “redundancy” will not protect you and can lead to an unfair dismissal claim.
The redundancy process for employers: step by step
A lawful redundancy process usually has six stages: plan, warn, consult, select, consider alternatives, and give notice.
- Plan and look for alternatives first. GOV.UK expects employers to take steps to avoid redundancies — for example, freezing recruitment, reducing overtime, asking for volunteers or offering early retirement.
- Give advance warning. Tell every potentially at-risk employee as early as possible, including staff who are off sick or on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
- Consult. Individual consultation is always expected; collective consultation is a legal duty for 20 or more proposed redundancies (see below).
- Select fairly. Use objective, documented selection criteria and score everyone in the pool consistently.
- Offer suitable alternative employment. Check vacancies across the business and any associated companies.
- Give notice and pay. Issue written notice, pay statutory (or contractual) redundancy pay, notice pay and accrued holiday, and offer a right of appeal.
How long does redundancy consultation last?
If you propose 20 to 99 redundancies at one establishment within 90 days, collective consultation must start at least 30 days before the first dismissal; for 100 or more, at least 45 days. These minimums come from the GOV.UK redundancy consultation rules.
| Proposed redundancies (one establishment, 90 days) | Minimum consultation before first dismissal | HR1 deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 20 | No fixed period — individual consultation still expected | Not required |
| 20–99 | 30 days | 30 days before first dismissal |
| 100 or more | 45 days | 45 days before first dismissal |
For collective redundancies you must:
- Notify the Redundancy Payments Service using form HR1 before consultation starts. Failing to notify can lead to an unlimited fine.
- Consult trade union or elected employee representatives (or staff directly if there are none), with a view to reaching agreement on ways to avoid or reduce redundancies.
- Provide written information on the reasons, the numbers and categories affected, the selection method, how dismissals will be carried out and how redundancy pay will be calculated.
Consultation must be genuine. It does not have to end in agreement, but decisions cannot already be made before it begins.
Fewer than 20 redundancies? There is no statutory minimum period, but GOV.UK warns a tribunal may still find a dismissal unfair without meaningful consultation. In practice, plan for at least two individual meetings with each affected employee.
What is the penalty for failing to consult?
Since 6 April 2026, a tribunal can order a protective award of up to 180 days’ gross pay for each affected employee — double the previous 90-day maximum. The Department for Business and Trade confirms the increase applies to dismissals on or after 6 April 2026, under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Protective awards are not subject to the weekly pay cap, so on a large restructure the exposure can easily exceed the cost of the redundancies themselves.
How to select employees for redundancy fairly
Fair selection criteria are objective and measurable — such as skills, qualifications, standard of work, attendance and disciplinary record. GOV.UK lists these as fair selection criteria.
You must not select someone because of:
- pregnancy, maternity, adoption, paternity or shared parental leave
- acting as an employee or trade union representative, or trade union membership
- being part-time or on a fixed-term contract
- any protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010
- asserting statutory rights (such as minimum wage, working time or holiday rights)
“Last in, first out” should not be your only criterion — it risks indirect age discrimination. Sickness absence linked to a disability, or absence due to pregnancy, must be excluded from attendance scores. If your criteria could disadvantage a protected group, our discrimination advice for employers can help you stress-test them.
Extra protection for pregnant employees and new parents
Employees who are pregnant, on maternity, adoption or qualifying shared parental leave have priority for any suitable alternative vacancy — and this protection now lasts until 18 months after the birth or placement. This extension came in on 6 April 2024 under The Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024. Failing to offer them a suitable vacancy first makes the dismissal automatically unfair.
Suitable alternative employment and trial periods
Before dismissing, you must look for suitable alternative employment within your organisation and any associated companies. If an employee accepts a different role, they are entitled to a 4-week trial period (longer if agreed in writing) without losing their right to redundancy pay.
An employee who unreasonably refuses a suitable offer may lose statutory redundancy pay. Whether a refusal is “unreasonable” depends on pay, hours, location, status and personal circumstances — take advice before withholding payment.
How much statutory redundancy pay must an employer pay?
Employees with at least two years’ continuous service are entitled to statutory redundancy pay, calculated on age, length of service (capped at 20 years) and weekly pay (capped at £751). The maximum payment is £22,530. These figures are set out on GOV.UK’s redundancy pay page and apply to redundancies from 6 April 2026.
| Age during each full year of service | Statutory pay per year |
|---|---|
| Under 22 | 0.5 week’s pay |
| 22 to 40 | 1 week’s pay |
| 41 and over | 1.5 weeks’ pay |
- Pay must be made on or soon after the dismissal date, with a written statement showing how it was calculated.
- Use the GOV.UK redundancy pay calculator to check figures.
- Contractual or enhanced schemes may entitle staff to more — check contracts and handbooks.
- The first £30,000 of a genuine redundancy payment is usually tax-free, but notice pay and holiday pay are taxed as earnings (GOV.UK: tax when making staff redundant).
Notice periods and time off to look for work
Statutory redundancy notice is one week for employees with one month to two years’ service, then one week per full year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Contracts may require longer notice — the longer of the two applies (GOV.UK: giving staff notice).
Employees with two or more years’ service are also entitled to reasonable paid time off during their notice period to look for work or arrange training. You can pay in lieu of notice only if the contract allows it or the employee agrees.
Settlement agreements in redundancy
A settlement agreement lets you agree an exit package in exchange for the employee waiving potential tribunal claims. It is often used where selection is contested or a quicker exit is preferred. The employee must receive independent legal advice for it to be binding. See our settlement agreement solicitors page for how these are drafted and negotiated.
Redundancy law changes in 2026 and 2027: what employers need to know
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is changing redundancy and dismissal law in stages, and several changes increase employer risk. Dates below are from the Government’s implementation timeline and remain subject to Parliament.
| Change | Date | What it means for employers |
|---|---|---|
| Protective award doubled (90 → 180 days’ pay) | 6 April 2026 | Higher cost of failing to consult collectively |
| Tribunal time limit extended (3 → 6 months) | 1 October 2026 | Former employees have longer to bring claims |
| Unfair dismissal qualifying period cut (2 years → 6 months) | 1 January 2027 | Far more staff can claim unfair redundancy selection |
| Cap on unfair dismissal compensation removed | January 2027 | Uncapped exposure for unfair dismissals |
| Fire and rehire restrictions | January 2027 | Dismissing to impose new terms becomes much riskier |
| New collective consultation threshold | 2027 (TBC) | More restructures may trigger collective consultation |
Planning a restructure in late 2026? Employees dismissed from 1 January 2027 with just six months’ service will be able to claim unfair dismissal, so a fair, well-documented process matters more than ever.
How our employment solicitors help employers
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employer make someone redundant with less than two years' service?
Yes. Employees with under two years' service are not entitled to statutory redundancy pay and currently cannot claim ordinary unfair dismissal. However, they can still claim automatic unfair dismissal or discrimination from day one, and from 1 January 2027 the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to six months.
Do I have to consult if I am making only one person redundant?
There is no statutory minimum period for fewer than 20 redundancies, but a fair process requires meaningful individual consultation. Without it, a tribunal may find the dismissal unfair.
What is form HR1 and when must it be submitted?
HR1 is the notice employers send to the Redundancy Payments Service when proposing 20 or more redundancies. It must be submitted at least 30 days before the first dismissal (20–99 redundancies) or 45 days (100 or more), and before consultation starts.
What is the maximum statutory redundancy pay in 2026?
The maximum is £22,530, based on a weekly pay cap of £751 and up to 20 years' service, for redundancies from 6 April 2026.
Can employees on maternity leave be made redundant?
Yes, if the redundancy is genuine and unrelated to the pregnancy or leave. But they must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk staff, and this priority lasts until 18 months after the birth.
What happens if an employer does not follow the correct redundancy process?
Employees may bring claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination or, in collective redundancies, a protective award of up to 180 days' gross pay per employee. Since 1 October 2026, they have six months to bring most tribunal claims.
Can I make someone redundant and then hire a replacement?
Not if the replacement does the same job — that suggests the role was never genuinely redundant and is likely to make the dismissal unfair.
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