Large-scale redundancies- An update

Employment Relations Minister, Jo Swinson said,

“We want to improve the quality of consultations by making sure that there are tools available to help employers manage this process fairly and successfully to deliver the best possible outcomes for all parties. Acas will be working with stakeholders to produce non-statutory guidance that will be designed to help improve the quality of consultations.

“The process is usually completed well within the existing 90-day minimum period, which can cause unnecessary delays for restructuring, and make it difficult for those affected to get new jobs quickly.”

Employee representatives will retain the statutory right to be consulted on proposed redundancies and the new 45-day period will be a minimum period, with businesses able to consult for longer where appropriate. The changes are expected to be made by 6 April 2013.