Making staff redundant
Avoiding redundancies
You should take steps to avoid compulsory redundancies, for example by:
- seeking applicants for voluntary redundancy or early retirement
- seeking applications from existing staff to work flexibly
- laying off self-employed contractors and freelancers
- not using casual labour
- restricting recruitment
- reducing or banning overtime
- filling vacancies elsewhere in the business with existing employees
- short-time working or temporary lay-offs
Offers of alternative work
If you’ve selected someone for redundancy, you must try to find them a suitable alternative job.
Some employees have a right to be offered suitable alternative jobs even if other colleagues are more suitable for the role.
You must first offer any suitable alternative jobs to employees who are:
- pregnant
- on or returning from maternity leave
- on or returning from adoption leave
- on Shared Parental Leave
- returning from at least 6 continuous weeks Shared Parental Leave
Employees returning from maternity leave, adoption leave or at least 6 weeks Shared Parental Leave have the right to alternative job offers for 18 months from the date their child was born or adopted.
For example, an employee returning from maternity leave 12 months after the birth of their child will have the same right for 6 months after returning to work.
Some employees only have the right to be offered a suitable alternative job up until they return to work. This applies if an employee:
- is taking less than 6 continuous weeks Shared Parental Leave
- returned to work before 6 April 2024
Making a valid offer
For an offer to be valid:
- it should be unconditional and in writing
- it must be made before the employee’s current contract ends
- it should show how the new job differs from the old
- the job must actually be offered to the employee - they should not have to apply
- the new job must start within 4 weeks of the old job ending
Having a trial period
Employees who accept an offer of alternative work are allowed a 4-week trial period to see if the work is suitable. If you both agree that it is not, they can still claim redundancy pay.
The trial period can be longer than 4 weeks if you agree this in writing.
If you think the job is suitable but the employee refuses to take it, they might lose any redundancy pay entitlement.