Redundancy Policy for UK employers. Fair selection, consultation and ERA 2025 changes (protective award doubled to 180 days). From £9.99.
A Redundancy Policy sets out an employer's general procedure for handling redundancies fairly and consistently — how roles at risk are identified, how employees are consulted, how selection criteria are applied, and what happens with notice and statutory redundancy pay. It is not advice on a specific redundancy situation; it is the standing framework that should be in place before any redundancy need arises. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, from 6 April 2026 the maximum protective award for a failure to carry out collective consultation has doubled to 180 days' pay per affected employee.
Any employer who may ever need to make staff redundant benefits from a written Redundancy Policy. Fair process scrutiny begins from the moment any decision to reduce headcount is contemplated. From 1 January 2027, under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employees qualify for unfair dismissal protection after just six months of continuous service rather than two years — a fair, documented procedure is no longer the concern only of long-established employment relationships.
The statutory definition of redundancy under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the principle that redundancy is about the role, not the person. Avoiding compulsory redundancies: recruitment freezes, redeployment, voluntary redundancy, and short-time working. Individual consultation before any decision is made. Collective consultation where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within 90 days under TULRCA 1992, including the ERA 2025 doubling of the protective award to 180 days. Fair selection: objective criteria applied consistently, with safeguards against discriminatory selection. Alternative employment and priority for employees on maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave. Notice, statutory redundancy pay, and time off to look for work. Right of appeal. A direction to take specialist advice in complex cases.
A Redundancy Policy works alongside a Disciplinary and Grievance Policy — which governs fair process for conduct and capability dismissals, applying similar procedural principles — and the Employment Contract, which should state the notice period and any enhanced redundancy pay scheme. An Equal Opportunities Policy supports the non-discriminatory selection obligation.
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