Your Redundancy Consultation Rights

What consultation means

Consultation means your employer must genuinely discuss the situation with you and consider alternatives before making any decisions about your employment. It is not a formality — it is a legal right.

A proper consultation process means your employer must:

• Tell you why they are considering redundancies
• Explain who is at risk and how they have been identified
• Share the selection criteria they plan to use
• Give you the opportunity to respond and suggest alternatives
• Consider any representations you make before finalising their decision
• Offer you any alternative employment available within the organisation

If your employer has already decided who will be made redundant before speaking to you, that is not genuine consultation — it is a sham process, and you may have grounds to challenge the dismissal as unfair.

How long consultation must last

The law sets minimum consultation periods when 20 or more employees are at risk:

• Under 20 employees at risk: a reasonable period — typically at least a few days, but courts look at what is reasonable given the circumstances
• 20 to 99 employees at risk: minimum 30 days before any dismissals take effect
• 100 or more employees at risk: minimum 45 days before any dismissals take effect

For individual consultation with one or a small number of employees, the period should be reasonable — typically at least a few days to a couple of weeks to allow the employee to prepare a response.

Your right to be accompanied

At every consultation meeting, you have the right to be accompanied by:

• A colleague of your choice
• A trade union representative (if you are a union member)

Your employer cannot refuse this request — it is your legal right. If your employer refuses to allow you to bring a companion, this is itself a breach of law.

Write down the name of the person who will accompany you and confirm this with your employer in advance of the meeting.

Selection criteria — what to ask for

You are entitled to know how your employer plans to select who will be made redundant. Ask for the following in writing:

• What selection criteria are being used
• How the criteria are weighted
• What your scores are against each criterion
• Who else is in the selection pool
• How your scores compare to other employees in the pool

If any of the criteria seem unfair or not relevant to your ability to do the job, raise this with your employer. Common selection criteria include: length of service (last in, first out), performance record, disciplinary record, skills and qualifications, and attendance. All criteria must be objective and non-discriminatory.

Alternative employment — your rights

Before confirming any dismissal, your employer must offer you any suitable alternative employment that is available. This includes roles anywhere in the organisation or in any associated group company.

If a suitable role is offered and you unreasonably refuse it, you may lose your entitlement to statutory redundancy pay. But if the alternative is substantially different from your current role, significantly worse in terms, or in a location that creates unreasonable difficulties, you may have good grounds to refuse and still claim redundancy.

Ask your employer explicitly whether any alternative roles are available before accepting a redundancy dismissal.

What to do if consultation is inadequate

If you believe your employer has not consulted properly — for example, if they have already decided to dismiss you before speaking to you, have not given you enough time to respond, or have not offered you alternative employment — you can:

1. Write to your employer setting out your concerns and requesting a proper consultation meeting
2. Attend the meeting with a companion and raise your concerns formally
3. Appeal the dismissal decision if your employer has issued one — you have the right to appeal
4. Contact ACAS (0300 123 1100) for free, confidential advice
5. Apply to the employment tribunal if the process was defective — you have 3 months from the date of dismissal to make the claim