Redundancy? Don't Be Miserable - Talk To Optimistic People!

REDUNDANCY? Or worried about being made REDUNDANT?
Perhaps this is bad news for you... But could also this be a great new opportunity?
If you have reached this page by doing a Google search for 'Redundancy' or for 'Redundant', or any similar term, there's something that you will have noticed: so many of the other results are for sites that look downright miserable! There are sites with redundancy pay calculators, redundancy procedures, redundancy letters, even redundancy tax. There's advice on unfair dismissal, and booklets from ACAS. Yawn, yawn... And, of course, there are all those 'Sponsored Links', as Google likes to call them. What the the rest of us call 'advertisements'... They are paid links by companies that want to relieve you of your redundancy pay. Maybe they want to sell you a franchise, maybe they want to get you to sign up for expensive re-training, but your money is what they are after. Every time you click on one of those ads they have to pay Google, but the chance of getting a bit of your new nest egg is so exciting for them that they are happy to pay up. Even if you feel sufficiently adventurous to think of starting your own business, a visit to the Business Link website will soon put a damper on your enthusiasm... Of course, if you do start your own business you will need information at some stage about employment law and health & safety, and trades descriptions legislation, and waffle waffle waffle - but what you need most now is A BIT OF HOPE! You need cheering up! You need FREE ADVICE! You need to talk to optimistic people! So that's where we come in... We are Sunbird Management, a business consultancy with a difference: We'll give you lots of free stuff to inspire you, and to motivate you, and to guide you towards something good for you. If you decide after looking at all the free stuff that our workshops might be useful to you, then we might ask you for a small fee, but you don't have to pay a thing to get your hands on lots of exciting free stuff first. So click through here to see what is on offer: Worried About Redundancy?
SUNBIRD MANAGEMENT "Managing The Future"
You really don't need to read any further. You'll die of boredom. You see, the text above was written to tell real people about our views on redundancy, and to direct you to the next page, where you can find a guide to what more is available to you. The rest of the text below, has been written just to impress the search engines. They use automated programmes, often referred to as 'spiders', to read web pages and to assess them for relevance to particular search terms. We want to be rated very highly for search terms such as 'redundant' and 'redundancy', so in order to impress the spiders we have to let them see lots and lots of text that refers to those terms. The trouble is, what makes for a page of text that will impress the spiders will often be seen as very boring for real humans! This is the process known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). It simply involves providing the spiders with lots and lots of text that they will find impressive because it repeats the words 'redundant' and 'redundancy' that we want to be highly rated for. There are lots of internet gurus around who say that 'onpage optimisation' doesn't work any more, and that for a page to get rated highly it has to have lots of links from other sites - and particularly that those links have to use relevant text links like "worried about redundancy" or "been made redundant?". There's no doubt that if you can arrange lots of links like that then it does help the page get well-rated. That is a process called off-page optimisation. Unfortunately, getting genuine links from relevant websites is a long and difficult process, so lots of webmasters cheat and set up groups where thousands of colleagues swap links. If we could find lots of people who would provide links using text phrase like "worried about redundancy" or "been made redundant?" then the search engines would rate us more highly, but it doesn't often help our human readers, does it? So we prefer the old-fashioned method of just providing lots of text that repeats the words 'redundant' and 'redundancy'. In our experience, this does still work despite what many so-called experts say about it. we have launched several websites recently using nothing but good on-page optimisation and a few relevant links from our own websites. In each case, our new website has entered the Top 5 of the Google search results within just one week! That is an excellent track record, so we are going to stick to it until we have to do otherwise... Of course, we will use our other websites to provide relevant links to this page so that people who are concerned about being made redundant or about redundancy in general will find this page. We will use text links like "worried about redundancy" or "been made redundant?", and hopefully that will contribute to this page being highly rated by the spiders... Anyway, that's enough about why this extra text is here. Now we have pasted in some other material that contains those key words 'redundant' and 'redundancy'. Mostly we have got this information from other websites, so it will be boring and depressing, but hopefully by now any human readers will have given up and moved on to better pages! If you are human, for goodness sake do the sensible thing and follow the link above: "Worried About Redundancy? Introduction to Redundancy: If you are going to be made redundant from your job, you must be treated fairly by your employer and there are certain steps they will be expected to follow. You could also be entitled to a redundancy payment. What is Redundancy? Redundancy is a form of dismissal from a job, and the reasons include: new technology or a new system that has made your job unnecessary the job that you were originally employed for no longer exists there is a need to cut costs, meaning staff numbers must be reduced the business is moving or closing down It may still be a genuine redundancy if someone else's job disappears but they are moved into your job, making you redundant. This is known as 'bumping', although it may be difficult for your employer to justify this as fair. Procedure In a redundancy situation, the following things must happen: Your employer should select you fairly, and not be seen to be picking on you unfairly You should be consulted first about the possibility of redundancy You should get any redundancy pay you are due, and be given the correct amount of notice according to your contract of employment Your employer must consider any alternatives to redundancy eg redeployment In a situation where there are fewer than 20 employees being made redundant then the statutory minimum dismissal procedure should be followed, but if there are 20 or more involved then the collective consultation procedure applies instead. If an employer uses redundancy to cover up another reason for ending your employment, or if they do not carry out the proper redundancy procedure, it may amount to unfair dismissal. The rights to redundancy payments and collective consultation are legally different matters and are claimed separately from unfair dismissal. Where to get help regarding Redundancy The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday. The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues for residents of Northern Ireland. You can contact the LRA on 028 9032 1442 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You can find your local CAB office in the phone book or online. If you are a member of a trade union, you can get help, advice and support from them. If you have doubts about the way your employer may have calculated your statutory redundancy pay you can call the Redundancy Payments Helpline on 0845 1450 004. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Redundancy Arrangements The following text contains links to Regulatory Guidance on redundancy, frequently asked questions and details of Redundancy Payments Offices. Redundancy Entitlement To save time employers can use the new interactive redundancy calculator on businesslink.gov.uk to calculate the statutory redundancy payment payable to employees, and to create a written statement showing the amount of the redundancy pay and how it was calculated. Jobcentre Plus can support employers and their employees in order to help minimise the impact of redundancies and provide help and advice when they are unavoidable. To find out about the support available, visit the Jobcentre Plus website and click‘Help with redundancies' to find your local Jobcentre Plus contact. Employees can find general information about the redundancy payments scheme under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and about information about provisions relating to time off to look for work and/or to make arrangements for training when facing redundancy: Redundancy entitlement statutory rights: a guide for employees . Employees can also calculate the amount of redundancy pay they are entitled to using a ready reckoner calculator . Further guidance for employees can be found on Directgov , the government website that provides public services all in one place. Redundancy Calculator Times Online's Redundancy Calculator is a quick and easy way to calculate redundancy payments. It is for UK statutory redundancy pay (SRP). Just put in your weekly pay or annual salary, age and years of service, and the calculator will do the rest. Help and advice about redundancy on Times Online includes: What is your redundancy cheque worth? Redundancy: what you need to know" Learn how to gain from redundancy Redundancy - some information When the economy is in difficulties redundancies are in the news; but even when times are better, redundancies still happen as firms have to reorganise or they get taken over. Redundancy is not the same as getting the sack. The key difference is between: dismissal: this is what happens when your employer decides to get rid of you for personal reasons, and redundancy: this is when jobs disappear anyway and it's nothing personal. Dismissal can be fair (eg if you are caught stealing, for example) or unfair (eg if you are sacked for being pregnant). Even so, employers must also follow fair procedures if they are dismissing someone. Redundancy is different. Strictly speaking, redundancy is a fair reason for dismissal. However, as the legal requirements are different to other forms of dismissal it is helpful to distinguish the difference between the two.) Redundancy happens when an employer reduces their workforce. Read on for more advice about redundancy rights. I have been made redundant. What payment am I entitled to? I have been told I will be redundant. What are my rights? How do I check I have been fairly selected for redundancy? My employer has offered me an alternative to redundancy, doing a different job. What is my position? My employer says I am not entitled to redundancy payment because I have waived my right. Is this correct? What consultation must an employer undertake before making redundancies? Can my employer make me redundant? I have been told of impending redundancies but the employer does not appear to have discussed this with staff. Is this right? My employer has announced redundancies and a selection process that is obviously unfair. What should I do? I have been made redundant but an advertisement has appeared for a similar post. What should I do? How is my redundancy pay calculated? Does my employer have to pay wages in full during my notice period? Should other provisions within my contract continue to be honoured during the notice period? I'm being made redundant, and my employer has offered me a new job that I'm not sure I want. Must I take it? I've been made redundant because my employer is bankrupt. Will I still get paid? What notice does my employer have to give when making me redundant? ACAS Advisory booklet - Redundancy handling Booklet summary The aim of the ACAS booklet is to provide guidance for employers, trade unions and employee representatives on how best to handle redundancies. Their booklet emphasises the importance of planning labour requirements to avoid or to minimise the need for redundancies. Also the benefits of establishing an agreed procedure for handling redundancies. And the need for fairness and objectivity when selecting members of the workforce for redundancy. The booklet considers the practicability of offering redundant employees some alternate work, some counselling or other assistance. It is hoped the booklet will act as an aid to improved employment relations practice by ensuring the need for redundancies is minimised, and also where they are unavoidable, that decisions are made in a fair and consistent manner. To differentiate between the extensive legal provisions and good employment relations practice. Also the statutory requirements relating to redundancy including consultation, unfair selection, alternative job offers and time off to look for work or to arrange training are in bold type. And good practice and the relevant decisions of employment tribunals remain in normal type. There's a good booklet available form redundancyhelp.co.uk: Redundancy Simply Explained: Every year, thousands of people are made redundant - with many left without any form of support or help. "Redundancy Simply Explained" is an essential resource on Redundancy. It contains over 40 pages of information , and each section will take you step-by-step through many of the processes. Here are just a few of the topics covered: What does Redundancy Means? What types of Redundancy Pay are there? When your job is redundant What to do if you suspect that your job is not redundant "Redundancy is a dry subject, but I found this document to be easy to read and a very useful resource." You'll discover: What does Redundancy Mean When is my job redundant What if I suspect my job is not redundant When should Redundancy announcements be made How long is it going to be from Announcements to Dismissal? What does Consultation Mean? What are the Requirements for Consultation? Consultation – What is it going to be like? What does Redundancy mean? When is my job Redundant? What if I suspect my job is not redundant? When should Redundancy announcements be made? How long is it going to be from Announcements to Dismissal? What does Consultation Mean? What are the Requirements for Consultation? Consultation – What is it going to be like? Why are my questions remaining unanswered? Should I start gathering any information? What documents do I need to get hold of? What is the Selection Process? Who should my Employer Choose? What happens following the Selection Process? What about Volunteering? What about Alternative Employment? Dismissal Understanding Dismissal What to do if you are unfairly dismissed Dismissal due to redundancy Now I have been selected, do I have the right to look for work? Can Employers make mistakes? Are there any tricks my employer can get up to? What types of Redundancy Pay are there? Statutory Redundancy Pay Excess payments of the Statutory Minimum Payment in Lieu of notice Accrued Holiday Payment in Lieu of other benefits Compromise Agreements What tax am I likely to pay? What is a Restrictive Covenant? Can I object or appeal against the Redundancy process? What is an Employment Tribunal? What can I expect from a Tribunal? What do I need to take when I leave? Do you know if you are entitled to Redundancy Pay and if so how much? Did you know that there are a number of different pay options available to you from Statutory Redundancy Pay to Payment in lieu of other benefits? And there's info called 'Redundancy' from cipd.co.uk: Revised October 2008, this factsheet gives introductory guidance: makes suggestions for managing and responding to workplace change flexibly encourages organisations to develop strategies which reduce, avoid or limit redundancy seeks to ensure that if redundancy occurs, it is handled in accordance with the law seeks to raise awareness of strategies which assist those affected to retain self-respect and enhance employability reminds organisations about the impact on those employees who remain includes the CIPD viewpoint. Predictions that the number of redundancies in the UK will rise sharply during the credit crunch have sadly been substantiated by the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. These have revealed an increase in the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance. The impact of the economic slowdown has been demonstrated by fewer job vacancies and a rise in the number of redundancies in the finance, business services and construction industries. Redundancy is one of the most traumatic events an employee may experience, so the announcement of redundancies will invariably have an adverse impact on morale, motivation and productivity. The negative effects may be reduced by sensitive handling of redundant employees and those remaining. The legal position Both statute and case law will determine redundancy obligations and rights. The main legislation governing redundancy is: The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 The Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/2587) The Employment Rights Act 1996 The Collective Redundancies and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/1925) The Collective Redundancies (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2387). CIPD members can find out more on redundancy law in our Redundancy FAQs. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 which came into force on 1 October 2006 have also affected redundancy, for example, by removing the previous upper and lower age limits (of 65 and 18 respectively) for statutory redundancy payments. The existing age bands used to calculate statutory redundancy pay are unaffected. For further details of the main provisions of the age regulations which affect redundancy, CIPD members should see our Age discrimination and retirement FAQs. Definition A genuine redundancy can only arise when either there has been, or is going to be: a cessation of business a cessation of business at the employee's site a reduction or cessation of work. In recent surveys, the primary reasons for making redundancies are listed as reorganised working methods and efficiency or improved competitiveness. Even during expansion, redundancies can occur if specific work is disbanded. In a minority of cases, redundancies are not accompanied by falls in total staff numbers and have either no effect on total numbers or are more than offset by recruitment. Confusion may arise because ‘making someone redundant' is often used as an euphemism for saying an employee is being dismissed for some reason other than redundancy. Managing redundancy It is preferable for an organisation to establish a formal procedure on redundancy. Many organisations have a formal agreement that may have been negotiated and agreed between management and trade union or employee representatives. Some organisations still deal with redundancies by an informal arrangement with a practice which can vary for each redundancy or they may only start to consider the appropriate procedure for the first time when a redundancy situation does arise. In order to plan and implement a redundancy situation properly, these stages will be followed in most redundancies: planning invitation of volunteers consultation, both collective and individual identification of a pool for selection notification of large-scale redundancies (more than 20 employees) to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) (formerly DTI) use of objective selection criteria compliance with all three stages of statutory dismissal procedures advance notice of individual consultation meeting permitting a colleague to be present at consultation meetings opportunity to appeal allowing seeking of suitable alternative employment statutory or other redundancy payment relocation expenses helping redundant employees obtain training or alternative work. Of course the procedure varies according to the timescale and size of the redundancy. T Planning and preventive measures Organisations should always attempt to avoid redundancies. Ways of doing this include: natural wastage recruitment freeze stopping or reducing overtime offer early retirement to volunteers (subject to age discrimination issues) retraining or redeployment offering existing employees sabbaticals and secondments. Seeking volunteers for redundancy Once the need for redundancies has been identified and planning has taken place, then offering a voluntary redundancy package and seeking willing redundancy volunteers may avoid compulsory redundancies. Individual and collective consultation Individual consultation is necessary for all redundancies. The law requires that collective consultation is required in the multiple redundancy situations referred to below. At an absolute minimum organisations must follow the three key steps of the statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedure. Consultation should also include: the reason for the redundancy dismissals why and how individuals have been selected possible ways of avoiding redundancy possible alternative work. Collective consultations with trade unions or elected representatives must start at least 90 days beforehand for proposed redundancy dismissals of 100 or more employees, and at least 30 days before notification of redundancies for 20–99 employees. Where collective consultation is required, it must be completed before notice of dismissal is given to any of the employees concerned. The law requires meaningful consultation - it is not enough simply to inform. The maximum compensation that can be awarded if an employer fails to consult is 90 days pay. Selection Employers will need to carefully determine the initial selection pool for redundancy. An employer should identify the group of employees who may be made redundant. This will be those who undertake similar work in a particular department, or work at a relevant location, or whose work has either ceased or diminished, or is expected to do so. These will be the selection pool. In the later stages of the redundancy process, individuals must be selected from within the wider pool. Where there is a choice between employees, selection must be based on objective criteria which may include: length of service attendance records disciplinary records skills, competencies and qualifications work experience performance records. Notification At least 90 days written notification must be given to if 100 or more employees are to be made redundant, and at least 30 days for 20 to 99 employees. For less than 20 employees, no notification is required. Unfair dismissals In law, there are many reasons which are automatically unfair for selecting employees for redundancy, including: trade union membership (or non-membership) part-time status pregnancy or maternity-related reasons sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, race or religion. A dismissal may also be a normal (ie not automatic) unfair dismissal if there is not a genuine redundancy or if the selection criteria are too imprecise or subjective. And although the reasons for redundancy may be completely fair, it may still be judged unfair on procedural grounds such as lack of consultation. Appeals Employees dismissed by reason of redundancy must be given an opportunity to appeal their selection for redundancy. The appeal must be handled carefully and must comply with the three key steps of the statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedure. Alternatives Employers must also consider suitable alternative work and are expected to look for alternatives throughout the organisation. There is an offer procedure dealing with this. The law removes entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment if an employee refuses unreasonably a suitable alternative. Time off The law requires employees who are being made redundant to be given paid time off to look for work during the final notice period. Compensation Dismissed employees with two or more years' service are entitled to a minimum redundancy payments based on a formula similar to the basic award for unfair dismissal. There is a maximum statutory payment (£9,900 from February 2008), but many employers pay more than the law prescribes. Giving the bad news about redundancy – counselling and support Giving employees notice is unpleasant and need careful handling. Common faults include being abrupt or too vague. Managers should be trained to handle redundancies with sympathy and clarity. Particular care may be needed to make sure that people know where to go for further advice or support. Employees will be badly affected by redundancy and could need support to accept reality and mount an effective job search. A well-designed redundancy programme could enable employees to refresh their interview skills, or redraft their CV's and reply effectively to job advertisements. Good counselling by outplacement consultants or others can also reassure those remaining that the organisation is prepared to treat redundant employees well. Survivor care In a redundancy situation, the immediate priority is the fair and sensitive treatment of the poor employees who are losing their jobs. If this has been achieved, the organisation's effectiveness in today's competitive market is then dependent on the morale of the survivors. But clumsy redundancy handling is bad for the employer's business and long-term reputation. A demoralised workforce that is anxious about job security and critical of the handling of the redundancies of colleagues, is un likely to display commitment, enthusiasm or initiative. Therefore, the objectives of management should be to: give all the workforce a full explanation of the situation and explain the policies and practices adopted to those made redundant demonstrate the necessity for change give an appraisal of future employment prospects and details of changes in working arrangements handle redundancies in a responsible, fair and effective way provide a forward-looking, positive attitude for the future and show survivors the value of their role in that future conduct, where necessary, individual discussions with remaining key workers to reassure them of their importance and employment prospects ensure that managers have, or develop, the necessary personal skills and attitude to operate effectively during periods of traumatic change. We believe it is unrealistic to suggest that redundancy can be avoided by a combination of planning and employment flexibility. The future can never be forecast with total accuracy, so unexpected events may necessitate workforce reductions and individual redundancies may occur when a job is no longer needed. However, we expect employers to: encourage their organisations to take all reasonable steps to avoid the necessity of redundancies develop planning and employment strategies which enable their organisations to deal with the requirements of short-term labour fluctuations, minimise the risk of enforced redundancies and maximise alternative opportunities manage redundancies legally and in a way that minimises the inevitable adverse impact both on those who lose their jobs and on the ‘survivors' implement communication strategies to ensure everyone in the organisation has the correct information about the reasons for redundancies. We acknowledge that the most carefully handled redundancies cano result in damage to the psychological contract and a negative organisational culture. It always makes sense to view redundancy as a last resort. This will also give a clear message to employees that they can trust the organisation not to make unnecessary redundancies. Redundancy - a legal definition What is redundancy? An employee is dismissed for redundancy, and may qualify for redundancy pay, if the following conditions are satisfied: The employer has ceased, or intends to cease continuing the business, or The requirements for employees to perform work of a specific type or to conduct it at the location in which they are employed have ceased or diminished. For consultation purposes only there is a different definition of "redundancy". A redundancy therefore applies where the workforce is reorganised and there is: less work, and/or; changes in conditions that result in the new job being quite different from the old one, and/or; work put out to contract by the employer. The test for redundancy is whether the employer really requires fewer workers to do work of a specific kind not just whether the work itself has ceased or diminished. Section 139 (Employment Relations Act, 1996) which defines rights to redundancy pay, makes direct reference to an employee's "place of employment" as the test for whether or not the dismissal is for redundancy. Though many employment contracts do contain mobility clauses this does not necessarily mean that an employee cannot be made redundant when their own work ceases. When employees work at one location they may be entitled to claim redundancy pay when that work ceases. Even if their contract stipulates that they can be required to work at alternative locations. A dismissal for redundancy purposes is defined in section 136 (Employment Relations Act, 1996) in a basically comparable way to that for unfair dismissal but it is irrelevant whether the workers have volunteered or been selected. An employment tribunal will view either as dismissal for redundancy purposes. from emplaw.co.uk: BASIC POSITION. "Redundancy" has two different meanings for the purposes of UK employment law. One derives from the 1965 Redundancy Payments Act and the other from European law. Specifically the Collective Redundancies Directive 98/59/EC (which repealed and consolidated the Collective Redundancies Directives, 75/129/EEC as amended by Directive 92/56/EEC). The first meaning is for the purposes of statutory redundancy pay and the law relating to dismissal is now in ERA 1996 s.139. The second meaning concerns the obligation to consult and inform employees about impending redundancies. For this purpose "redundancy" is simply termination of employment for a reason "not related to the individual concerned" (TULRCA 1992, s.195). ERA 1996 s.139(1) provides that: "For the purposes of this Act, an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to - (a) the fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease - (i) to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or (ii) to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed, or (b) the fact that the requirements of that business - (i) for employees to carry out work of a particular kind, or (ii) for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where the employee was employed by the employer have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish". Business includes business of an associated employer (ERA 1996 s.139(2). "Cease" and "diminish" can each be either permanent or temporary for the above definition (ERA 1996 s.139(6)). One of the most important practical implications of " redundancy" is that a dismissal by reason of redundancy is prima facie fair. Whether such a dismissal is in fact fair or unfair will then turn on whether the Tribunal considers that the employer acted reasonably in treating the redundancy"as a sufficient reason for dismissing the employee" (see ERA 1996 s.98(2)(c)) and notes at Unfair dismissal/reasons making dismissal prima facie fair/redundancy ). As noted above, there is a special euro-meaning of "redundancy" for the rules requiring consultation and information about impending redundancies. For the purposes of those rules any dismissal is a redundancy dismissal if it is for a reason which is "not related to the individual concerned" (TULRCA 1992, s.195(1) and see REDUNDANCY/consultation/trade unions ). It has been held that when construing an English contract dealing with termination of employment, the meaning to be given to the word ‘redundant’ should be the meaning given by ERA 1996 s.139 (above) - see Mallone v BPB Industries plc, 2nd March 2001 in the High Court, QBD, unreported (click here on ICR/Mallone v BPB Industries Ltd 2002 to go to the ICR headnote of the subsequent Court of Appeal ruling of 19th February 2002, on a different point in that case). See also REDUNDANCY/a general introductory note.
Stop reading all this rubbish, if you are human! Go to that link at the top of the page: Worried About Redundancy?