managing a large scale redundancy
the challenge:
The recession was having a serious impact on our client who
decided a large scale redundancy exercise was required to bring
stability to the business. Advice was required in relation to the
process and any subsequent claims.
our approach:
We worked closely with senior management to advise on the
collective consultation. We provided guidance to managers to ensure
that a transparent and fair process was followed in the selection
of individuals for potential redundancy and assisted with the
preparation of a fair scoring system to assess individuals who were
selected. One member of staff challenged the decision on the basis
of age discrimination and on the fairness of the process that had
been adopted. We represented our client, obtaining detailed witness
statements from relevant managers and warning the claimant’s
representatives about the weakness of the claim, given that all of
the proper procedures had been followed.
the results:
Advice was sought at an early stage, enabling the client to save
considerable costs; the process was run in a fair and transparent
manner, in accordance with the statutory obligations; only one
claim arose and this was abandoned due to the weakness of the
case.