Redundancy Law Solicitors

Get specialist redundancy and restructuring legal advice from our expert HR solicitors in North Yorkshire.

Find out more about redundancy law and prices for our restructuring solicitors here.

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Redundancy law can be complex. If you’re restructuring or going through redundancies, make sure you are complying with current employment legislation by using specialist restructuring and redundancy solicitors. We have an expert employment law team who know everything there is to know about employment law around redundancies. Failing to comply with current legislation could end up in expensive legal claims or the redundancy process being dragged out over weeks and months.

Contact our expert employment law solicitors

UK employment law on redundancy

Redundancies happen when companies need to reduce their headcount – usually to save money, prevent the company from insolvency proceedings or as part of a major restructuring.

British redundancy law gives workers a number of rights when going through the process. As an employer, you need to make sure your process follows all the laws on redundancy including consultations with the employees, giving a notice period, providing some form of redundancy pay, time to find a new job and the option of moving within the company to a new role.

All these options must be provided, so making sure your redundancy process is correct is vital. The process may differ depending on the amount of employees at risk, that’s why redundancy solicitors are so important when choosing this form of dismissal.

Redundancy pay law

One of the main sticking points in redundancy law is the redundancy pay.

Legally, there is the statutory redundancy pay that must be provided to certain employees if they have been working at your company for more than two years. This is:

  • half a week’s pay for each full year the employee was under 22
  • one week’s pay for each full year the employee was 22 or older, but under 41
  • one and half week’s pay for each full year the employee was 41 or older

The other type of payment is contractual redundancy pay, which is at the discretion of the employer and is paid on top of the statutory pay.

There are several factors to be considered on who is entitled to redundancy pay, and to what level they are paid. Discuss these with a redundancy solicitor to make sure you’re creating a fair and legal redundancy process.

Things to consider when starting the redundancy process

Redundancy can be complex with various factors to consider and outcomes to deal with. Here we look at some of the most common complaints and complexities:

  • Unfair redundancy claims: For employees that feel their selection for redundancy was unfair, they can discuss the issue with the employer first. If this doesn’t resolve it, an appeal can be made. If this issue is not resolved during appeal hearings, employees could make an unfair dismissal legal claim.
  • Redundancy during pregnancy or maternity leave: People who are pregnant or on maternity leave can still be made redundant as long as their pregnancy/parental status is not the reason for the redundancy. Maternity leave officially classes are annual leave.
  • Disability discrimination redundancy claims: As with maternity and pregnancy, disabled people can be made redundant as long as the disability is not the reason for the redundancy.
  • Redundancy redeployment laws: Employers must consider whether employees can be redeployed elsewhere in the company before being made redundant. This ‘suitable alternative’ could be at another location, within another department or in another role.
  • Voluntary redundancy law: During a round of redundancies, some employees who aren’t being made redundant might be asked whether they wish to take voluntary redundancy.
  • Bumping redundancy law: This involves moving someone at risk of redundancy into another role and making the person who was in that role redundant instead. This can be complex, so legal advice should be sought before ‘bumping’ someone.

Our Solicitors Fees for Redundancy Advice

We are well known for our expertise in the field of employment law, helping provide expert and independent redundancy and restructuring legal advice.

Our HR solicitors charge on the basis of hourly rates ranging from £225-£265 per hour (plus VAT at 20% (£50-£53)).

Get in touch for more information on our pricing.

What are some factors that could make redundancy legal fees cost more?

  • If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
  • Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the redundancy

 

  • Neil Largan
      • Neil Largan
      • Director, Head of Dispute Resolution Team
      • 01904 624185
      • View profile