How to Handle Employee Redundancies: A Guide for Employers

Let’s face it—making redundancies is never easy. Whether you're running a small business or managing a large team, letting go of people is one of the toughest parts of the job. But sometimes, it’s unavoidable. Maybe you’re trying to cut costs, going through a restructure, or relocating the business. Whatever the reason, it’s important to handle the redundancy process the right way.

Here’s a quick breakdown to help you stay on the right track.

What Is Redundancy (Really)?

Redundancy happens when a role is no longer needed in the business. It’s not about poor performance or someone’s behaviour at work—that’s a whole different process. Redundancy should always be about the job, not the person. If it's based on the individual, not the role, you could run into some serious legal trouble.

How to Communicate Redundancies to Your Team

If you’ve reached the point where redundancies are unavoidable, clear and timely communication is absolutely key. Your employees need to understand:

• Which roles are at risk
  
  
• Why the redundancies are happening
  
  
• How many people may be affected
  
  
• What the redundancy process will look like
  
  

Being open and honest throughout helps everyone feel a little more supported during a tough time.

Voluntary Redundancy – Is It an Option?

Before making any final decisions, consider offering voluntary redundancy. This gives employees the chance to put themselves forward, which can make the process less stressful all around.

Just be cautious—don’t single people out based on things like age, gender, or any other protected characteristics. That could be seen as discrimination. Instead, if you’ve got a group doing the same role, you could open the floor to those who might want to take the option, like less experienced team members.

Redundancy Selection – Keep It Fair

If you do need to make tough calls, the selection criteria must be fair and based on clear, factual data. While you can’t make someone redundant because of poor performance, you can include performance, attendance, or quality of work as part of your selection criteria—as long as it’s consistent and backed up with records.

Never make decisions based on personal characteristics like age, disability, race, religion, or gender. That’s not just unfair—it’s illegal.

Redundancy Consultations – What You Need to Know

Collective Consultation

If you’re planning to make 20 or more people redundant, you’ll need to carry out a collective consultation. This usually involves trade unions or employee reps, depending on how your business is set up. These meetings are a chance to:

• Explain the reasons for redundancy
  
  
• Talk through any possible alternatives
  
  
• Discuss how the selection process will work
  
  
• Explore ways to reduce the number of redundancies
  
  

Individual Consultation

If fewer than 20 roles are being made redundant, you’ll still need to hold individual consultations. This gives employees the chance to ask questions, share their concerns, and feel heard during what is often a very uncertain time.

Need HR Advice?

At Inspired CVs, we support businesses through tricky HR situations like redundancies. If you need tailored HR services such as CV workshops or interview workshops, we’re here to help. Contact us here or book a session to chat with one of our friendly consultants.