With offices in Birmingham and Northampton, Witan Solicitors offer expert employment law advice and guidance. If you are making employees redundant, we can work with you to ensure your process is fair and compliant with employment legislation. Let’s start with this easy-to-follow redundancy selection criteria template!
*Click here to download template*
If your business is in a position where making staff redundant is compulsory, you will need to follow the correct procedure and apply a fair redundancy selection criteria matrix to avoid any risk of a claim for unfair dismissal.
Redundancy rules require that as well as giving the grounds for redundancy and going through a consultation process, you must also put together a pool of potential candidates from which you will select those who will go. You need to decide how to be fair in making redundancy selection and put together a list of criteria to apply to those in the selection pool.
Redundancy selection process
In choosing employees for the selection pool, you should look not just at those who are doing the jobs that are no longer needed but also those in similar roles. You should take care not to limit the pool in any way that could be considered discriminatory, for example, by including only part-time workers, when most of those workers are women.
Once you have a pool of candidates, you will need to consider how to decide who to make redundant.
Redundancy selection criteria matrix
When you look for a redundancy selection criteria template, a reliable redundancy selection matrix is needed, as it is considered an effective and fair way of selecting employees for redundancy. It is a robust option and will stand up to legal scrutiny in the event that it is challenged.
The redundancy matrix includes selection criteria such as performance, skills, qualifications, knowledge, attendance and disciplinary record.
Each employee is scored, usually on a scale of 0-5, by a minimum of two managers.
By way of example, looking at the skill level of employees, scores could be awarded as per the following template:
5 Has a full range of the knowledge required to carry out the job
4 Has core knowledge
3 Has some of the knowledge needed for the job, but has some identifiable gaps
2 Has limited knowledge
0 Has insufficient knowledge and requires close supervision to carry out the job
As with pool selection, it is important to ensure you avoid discrimination when using a redundancy criteria matrix. For example, if someone is disabled and has a poor attendance record because of this, giving them a low score could be classed as discrimination, potentially making their redundancy unfair.
Whilst it is possible to use the matrix above as a redundancy selection criteria template, it is advisable to have a bespoke matrix drafted to ensure that it takes into account the specific needs of your business. Redundancy criteria should be objectively selected and applied and those involved in the process need to be able to justify their selection if called upon to do so.
Employees should have the procedure explained to them, be shown their scores and have the chance to challenge the figures if they disagree.
Professional guidance when making staff redundant
Making compulsory redundancies is never easy. Making the right redundancy selection and following the correct procedure adds to the burden on employers. At Witan Solicitors we can work with you to draw up a bespoke, fair redundancy selection criteria template, tailored to your business needs and put in place the legal documentation to ensure the process is compliant with employment law.
Furthermore, we can offer guidance when it comes to making staff redundant due to coronavirus and the alternatives to redundancy you can implement in those difficult times.
If you have had a redundancy challenged on the grounds that it is unfair, our experienced employment law solicitors in Birmingham can defend you and advise you of your options.
We can also advise you in respect of negotiating and entering into settlement agreements, where you pay an employee to leave in return for them agreeing to a number of terms, including not to make any claims against you or your business.
Contact us
At Witan Solicitors we have in-depth experience of drawing up fair selection of criteria for redundancy. If you are planning to make redundancies and you would like advice on following the correct procedure, reasons for redundancy or selection criteria and you would like to discuss this with an expert employment lawyer, email us at info@witansolicitors.co.uk or fill in our contact form.
