Employee wellbeing and work/life balance are phrases that have appeared in the workplace with increasing regularity over recent years. Being able to request flexible working arrangements is now a statutory right for employees and employers must be seen to give all such requests due consideration. Indeed, employers need to present a strong business case to deny flexible working requests.

The idea of spending less time at work and having more quality time to share with family was even seen as a vote-winner by Labour in the last General Election. The party’s manifesto included a promise to reduce the full-time working week to just 32 hours with no loss of pay within 10 years of being elected; employers being expected to shoulder the costs.

Despite this aspiration to work less, the increase in the number of people working from home might actually mean that we’re working more.

It’s difficult to find specific figures that identify the extent of homeworking, but the implication is that the numbers are rising significantly. As broadband Internet access becomes more readily available and collaborative software such as Microsoft Teams and SLACK become more prevalent, working from home is an option for more and more of us.

The often-cited benefits of homeworking include reduced office costs, higher morale, a wider talent pool and environmental advantages. It sounds like everyone’s a winner. However, there might be some downsides that are being overlooked.

Some business owners will hold the concern that the productivity of unwatched employees is likely to suffer. Conversely, evidence suggests that this is not the case and in reality there is an increase in output. But is this because we have an inherent guilt complex that compels us to overwork in order to dispel any insinuation that we might be skiving? Could this result in burnout or other health conditions because we feel compelled to work longer hours to justify the fact that we’ve been allowed to work from home?

Furthermore, we should consider the effects of loneliness and the lack of social interaction. There are numerous studies which suggest that social isolation is a major risk factor for mortality in humans. Moreover, that the risk to health caused by a lack of social relationships rivals the effects of well-established health risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure and obesity.

It’s quite a conundrum. In our efforts to be seen as responsible and flexible employers, offering competitive terms and striving to carve out a reputation as being a great company to work for, are we inadvertently causing detriment to our employees’ health? Whilst we might undertake a risk assessment of a worker’s home to ensure it complies with Health & Safety regulations, are we appraising the potential risks to mental and physical health that might be as yet, un-researched side-effects of home-working?

Until further research is undertaken, our advice is to include mental health as a consideration when assessing the viability of a position that involves working from home and when evaluating the suitability of an employee who requests it. This might form part of a wider wellbeing strategy that we’ll find in place with all businesses in due course.

We’re probably still a while away before this issue is recognised as a mainstream problem and a case comes to Tribunal, but you wouldn’t want to be the first.

For support with all aspects of employee management and HR, including employee wellbeing, call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

At the risk of repeating information you may have already heard from other sources regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus, we thought an update would be a good idea so that we are confident that we have given full advice to our clients and contacts.

The UK Chief medical officers have raised the risk in the UK from low to moderate. The situation is so fluid we strongly recommend that the government’s latest information and advice is checked and applied. Check it at least daily at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

We recommend having a plan and some rules in place now and that they are communicated to all staff. You don’t want to be in the position should the worst happen that you and your team are floundering around because no-one knows what to do. Cancelling business trips to high risk areas should be high on your list and you may consider your options for homeworking.

We’ve compiled something of an FAQ list from an employers perspective that should help you to make a judgement on what action you need to take and when:

Q. What are my responsibilities towards my staff.
A. Duty of care is the key phrase here. You should take reasonable staff to keep you employees safe whilst they are working for you so make your team aware of NHS guidance (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/) and make sure they have opportunity to apply it. Post information in prominent places. Make sanitizer available for example and allow more time for staff to wash their hands more frequently.

Q. Should I send staff home?
A. Again the NHS guidance will help but generally send staff home who have symptoms or who are unwell. You might also consider asking staff who have recently returned from high risk areas to stay at home and self-quarantine for two weeks.

Q. Do I need to pay staff I send home or keep away from work?
A. This is a grey area because being in quarantine isn’t the same as being sick. Obviously if someone is unwell then they are entitled to SSP or company sick pay if you provide it. If you have asked someone to self-quarantine, because they have recently returned from abroad perhaps, and they can’t work from home then you probably need to pay them; through moral obligation if nothing else. If an employee is quarantined by force, under the public health protection rules, then strictly speaking you don’t have to pay them but they may be able to claim Universal Credit.

Q. What if staff can’t get home because their flight home from Tenerife has been cancelled, for example?
A. This is a similar to the flight cancellation issue we had a few years ago when the Icelandic volcano erupted. You’re not obliged to pay staff if they don’t turn in to work. They you be paid at least SSP if they are genuinely ill or you might negotiate allowing them to take more holiday days or agree a period of unpaid leave.

Q. Do I have to pay staff who are absent because their child’s school is closed
A. You have to allow staff time off to deal with dependants, but this doesn’t need to be paid. You also wouldn’t expect you member of staff to be absent indefinitely. The time off should be used to make alternative care arrangements for their child or dependant.

Q. What if staff can’t work because components are not available from locked-down countries.
A. This is a scenario where a lay-off clause in contracts might come into force. You could temporarily lay staff off and not be obliged to pay them if you have no work for them. You must have a lay-off clause to enforce this however.

Ultimately, it’s your choice whether or not you continue paying staff who are not strictly entitled to it, but as we always say, consistency is key. Treating members of staff differently could potentially open a whole other can of worms. Generally staff will want to come to work if they are able so you might find yourself insisting that staff stay at home if they are high risk due to exposure or travel for example.

As an island nation the UK has some advantages in minimising the potential for an outbreak but if the worst does happen, expect a raft of new guidelines. It might be worth considering how a worse case scenario would affect your business and plan what you could do to mitigate losses.

As usual contact us for further advice on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The tragic death of TV presenter Caroline Flack last week has notably re-ignited awareness around mental health and wellbeing. It’s a subject that has increasingly influenced the advice that we give in regard to people management over the past 24 months, with stress and anxiety often being key factors. We introduced a suite of specific training courses more than 12 months ago to help organisations manage mental health issues. However, we would be the first to state that whilst some training should form part of your mental health strategy, organisations should implement an ongoing structured approach.

Mental health issues can be complex, diverse and wide ranging. As mentioned, the more commonly recognised conditions include stress, anxiety and depression. It should also be remembered that severe and enduring mental illness can be life changing.

Work isn’t always the main cause. For example, the physical decline or death of a loved one can trigger a mental health episode, as can physical illness or a partner’s job loss. We might find that pressures or conditions at work such as a tough work schedule or tight deadline might exacerbate external factors however.

It’s widely reported that admitting to having mental issues remains shrouded with stigma and is seen as a weakness; especially amongst men. Historically, individuals have been unwilling to admit to being unable to cope or feeling stressed for fear of being accused of being inadequate. However, we should be trying to create an environment where employees do not feel this way and instead can freely express their concerns, problems and feelings.

The increase we have seen in cases where mental health is a factor, is likely to be a result of more people feeling comfortable about admitting to issues. Mental health organisations on the other hand will probably say that we still have a long way to go.

One approach that organisations can consider is to encourage the view that we all have mental health; just as we all have health generally. It’s fair to say that most of us will suffer something during our lives that affects our general health; and equally, we might also suffer something that affects our mental health. In other words, many of us can expect to have poor mental health at some time in our lives.

As employers, our approach to mental health should be the same as any other health condition. We have a duty of care towards our employees and should ensure they are safe and that the work environment is a safe place to be.

Because mental health issues don’t generally have any outwardly visible signals like a plaster cast would be for a broken arm, or a streaming nose and red eyes from an allergy, we need to take other steps to identify it.

If we are able to catch the triggers and causes of mental health issues early on then we can do something about it, thereby increasing the chances of resolving the issue before it gets out of hand and causes anyone to need to take time off work.

More and more organisations are introducing Mental Health First-aiders; employees within a business that other employees can approach in absolute confidence if they feel a mental health issue might arise. Although not qualified in dealing with mental health issues per se, the first-aiders are trained to spot the early signs of mental health issues and can signpost individuals towards an appropriate course of action or mental health practitioner.

Our own two-day Mental Health First Aid training courses are regularly available.

In addition, organisations can provide in-house mental health awareness training for all staff and we have training solutions for this too.

For further support and advice about implementing your own mental health strategy, call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have ever been in receipt of a Subject Access Request (SAR) from an employee or, ex-employee, you will know how very resource and time consuming they can be. At HR Champions we have seen more SARs being requested amongst our clients, usually by disgruntled employees. They often arise because the employee is looking for something against which they can make a claim.

The potential impact and effect that a SAR can have is, on its own, a good reason to pay attention to how you handle employee data.

Simply put, on receipt of a SAR an employer (although this could be any organisation that holds data about individuals) is obliged to provide any and all information about, and which identifies the individual in question.

Employee records will of course comprise some of this information, including records and notes regarding any disciplinary actions. You will also have to include any communications that identify or mention the individual, and in the digital and e-mail age this could amount to many thousands of pages.

Additionally, communications across other platforms will have to be included; so text messages, Whatsapp and Twitter, if you use these in your business for communication purposes; all adding to the pile.

To make matters worse, in providing this information, you must also keep private the personal details and information of other individuals. You may therefore find yourself having to redact others’ names and details from the information you collect.

You may have cursed GDPR legislation when it was introduced back in May 2018, but by keeping to some of its principles you may reduce your burden should you ever receive a SAR. To remind you, the six lawful reasons why you might process and retain personal data are:

• Consent: the individual has given clear and informed consent for you to process their personal data for a specific purpose
• Contract: the processing of data is necessary for you to fulfil a contract you have with the individual, or because they have asked you to take certain steps before entering into a contract
• Legal obligation: you are processing the data to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations)
• Vital interests: the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life
• Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law
• Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for your legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party unless there is a good reason that overrides this

Therefore, if you only hold onto data for as long as is strictly necessary, you’ll minimise the amount of work you’ll have to do should a SAR ever land on your desk. For example:

Job applicants can enter a claim if they think that they have been discriminated against during the recruitment process but the time period to bring a claim is usually three months. Therefore, safely dispose of information collected during the recruitment process after this time.

Although it varies between companies, disciplinary action should only stay on an employee’s file for twelve months, after which it cannot be taken into consideration. Holding onto this information for any longer therefore holds no purpose so you might consider just getting rid of it. This will also mean any notes and comments are disposed of too.

You might consider following The CIPD’s advice to keep employee records including training and disciplinary records for six years after the employee has left the organisation’s employment. However we think that it would be very difficult to justify why you would need to hold information for that length of time.

Unless e-mails are work critical, keep on top of inboxes and delete anything that is no longer required. Even if e-mail content is innocent, you will still have to provide it if the individual is mentioned and you might then have to redact anyone else’s details, all of which costs time. If you have sensitive information to share about an individual via e-mail, consider using a code for the person concerned. If they can’t be identified, you don’t have to provide the information.

Communication threads on Whatsapp etc; delete regularly so you only keep current discussions and communications. There’s little point holding onto chats that are year’s old and that will only add to the information you must provide.

Payroll data you need to keep for six years for inland revenue purposes and Right to Work information must be held for up to two years after the employee has left to satisfy Home Office rules. Otherwise, after the three months has passed to make a Tribunal claim (six months for redundancy), there’s really no need to hold onto employee information.

Under GDPR, and Data Processors who hold information on your behalf might also need to provide information on the application of a SAR so make sure you are protected with a robust Data Processor Agreement to show that you have taken reasonable steps to keep information protected.

You can’t stop someone applying for a SAR but by following these tips you might just minimise the amount of work you have to do if one ever arises.

For help and guidance with any aspect discussed here, call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Most employers will allow their employees a few hours of paid leave here or there to enable them to keep medical appointments such as a doctor, dentist or physiotherapist. However there is no obligation on the employer’s part to do so. The exception is for pregnant women attending doctor or hospital appointments related to their pregnancy and employers must grant paid leave in these cases.

Employers should remember that they have a duty of care towards their employees, so if a member of staff requires some time off for medical attention or therapy then it should be considered. However the employer is entitled to withhold payment for the time that the employee is not working for them.

Most of the time, occasional absence for a few hours isn’t going to damage a business and it is good for employer/employee relations to allow this time off as paid. More persistent absence however, such as for a long term course of therapy, may require a different approach. Under these circumstances an agreement may be that the time absent is either unpaid or the hours are accumulated and taken as holiday. Another option is to work back those hours at a mutually convenient time or period of time.

Employers are also obliged to allow time off work for employees to deal with issues involving dependants, ie children or elderly relatives. But again, this does not have to be paid leave. Furthermore, it’s only reasonable to allow time off to deal with the actual emergency. Once that it dealt with, if further care or support is required for the dependant, the employee should make alternative arrangements to cover this.

We recommend that employers encourage their staff to arrange medical appointments either at the beginning or at the end of the day to minimize the impact on the normal working day. This approach can be included in the company’s staff handbook so that it is recognised as normal company practice.

For help managing absence, including long term absence or persistent absence, contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. We’ll also be discussing managing absence at our forthcoming seminar.

Cases of Wuhan novel coronavirus, now officially names Covid-19, continue to rise with 9 cases confirmed in the UK. Official figures state that the number of global cases has now exceeded 73,000 with at least 1,870 deaths. Most of these cases are confined to mainland China and southeast Asia but there have been numerous cases reported in other countries including France and Germany, and now over 400 cases on-board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. With an estimated incubation period of five days, the number of cases could potentially explode overnight.

Current figures suggest that Covid-19 won't be as deadly as previous outbreaks such as SARS, but the economic impact of the outbreak is already being felt in some countries and so businesses should take steps to protect themselves. With isolation for two weeks being the initial course of action for those suspected of being contaminated there are some aspects regarding pay that may affect individuals but which nobody else seems to be talking about.

We have failed to find any government guidelines around how employers should pay staff who are quarantined due to viral outbreaks like the one we are seeing with Covid-19. Strictly speaking, potential sufferers are not sick (yet), and therefore not subject to a doctor’s note keeping them off work. However, we should consider the potential threat and possible outcomes of not keeping an individual isolated if they are in a high-risk group or have been exposed to someone from a high-risk group.

Whilst deaths are relatively rare, having a large swathe of your workforce depleted due the flu-like symptoms of Covid-19, even just for just a few days, might be highly problematic for some businesses.

Should you find yourself in a position where a member of staff is quarantined, we recommend that you treat them the same as if they are sick and therefore follow sick pay rules. If you pay company sick pay, then continue to do so.

For those who only pay SSP, a significant drop in income for two weeks could be quite painful for employees so you might consider being a little more generous. Enhancing the paying of employees who are off work sick is usually discretionary anyway so you could continue to pay them, allow them to take the time off as holiday or carry out work from home if this is feasible for your business. Make it clear however that these decisions are a one-off due to exceptional circumstances.

In the meantime, and whilst we await further developments, it makes sense to take one or two extra precautions around the workplace, especially if the environment is one where multiple people share a space or where people are coming and going often. It’s cheap and easy to keep offices and work-spaces well ventilated and to keep hand sanitizer and disinfectant sprays to hand. Indeed, at this time of year when cough’s and sneezes are generally around more, it makes sense to implement a few quick wins to help keep your employees healthy anyway.

Hopefully the early diagnosis of the UK Covid-19 cases will help to keep the disease under control but we should remember that in such circumstances it’s up to everyone to remain vigilant and act decisively.

For further help and support with this or any other aspects of HR and Employment Law, please contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A contract of employment exists immediately an agreement is reached to pay somebody in return for them undertaking or carrying out of work. Even when made verbally the contract is binding. Under a normal recruitment process, we might expect the rate of pay to be negotiated, but if there is an advertised salary then it would be fair for a job applicant to assume this is what they will be paid if a job is verbally offered.

If a job offer is made in writing, we would expect pay and other benefits such as holiday allowance, bonus scheme and pension provision to be clarified in the offer letter. Full terms of employment must be put in writing within eight weeks of an employee starting work.

From 6th April however, this will change with the implementation of the first tranche of recommendations from the Government’s Good Work Plan.

One of the aims of the Good Work Plan is to redress the balance of risk between employers and employees. From the 6th April, all employees/workers must be provided with a written statement of their employment particulars on or before the employee’s first day of work. 

A job offer letter will usually lay out the most critical terms such as start date, place of work, working hours, remuneration and holiday entitlement. A well written and comprehensive offer letter can act as an employment contract. However, under the new legislation, we recommend that a separate contract document is issued that is consistent across the workforce. Compulsory clauses from 6th April will be:

• The hours and days of the week the worker/employee is required to work, whether they may be varied and how
• Entitlement to any paid leave
• Any other benefits not covered elsewhere
• Details of any probationary period
• Details of training provided by the employer

There are a number of other clauses that we recommend appear in the Employment Contract to form a robust document against which employees can be held to account. There should also be provision for the employee to sign the contract as acceptance of its terms.

Contracts should stipulate the terms that are specific to each employee. Rules and conditions that cover everyone should be referred to in the Staff Handbook. So, a driver may have a different contract from a cleaner in terms of pay and contracted hours, but they would both be subject to the same absence and sickness policies as laid out in the Staff Handbook.

Failing to issue written contracts and staff handbooks prevents you from specifying rules or conditions to which your employees must adhere whilst they work for you. In the event of a dispute or grievance you will have to revert to statutory law or case law to hold employees to account.

Contracts of Employment and Staff Handbooks need to be looked at and updated regularly so that you are not exposed to any risks from changes in Employment Law. Attending our regular Employment Law Updates will help you to keep the terms of your contracts and handbooks compliant with current legislation although we recommend a full professional review at least every three years.

If you would like us to review your employment contracts and staff handbooks, or if you need support with any other aspects of HR and Employment Law, please contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There's a lot of talk about digital transformation at the moment. Visibly, the effects of our access to the Internet and digital technology are most noticeable with the closure of high street brands like Mothercare and Toys R Us. Behind the scenes, manufacturing and agriculture are embracing digital technology and robotics at an ever increasing rate. Indeed, when we talk about digital transformation in the workplace, thoughts probably jump to robots and artificial intelligence; automatons taking over the jobs that are, or were, traditionally done by humans.

But not so fast. Digital transformation is in fact all about people.

For employers, it’s about having a strategy to bring employees into the 21st Century by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a digital age.

It’s a shame to see the demise of well-known high street names, some of which have been with us all our lives. However, we cannot deny that it has been a failure by the leaders of these organisations to move with the times, embrace technology and recognise its impact on consumer habits that has ultimately led to their collapse.

We should also recognise that technology for technology’s sake is not a solution. I’m sure I’m not alone in hearing stories of businesses spending thousands of pounds developing “an app that will revolutionise the industry”. Often however, little thought is given to how that app might affect employees or the processes they follow to do their jobs. When costing app development, remember to plan for implementation and to allow for employee training or for the recruitment of staff with specialist skills.

As we look at implementing digital transformation across an organisation, it might pay to categorise our employees so that we can apply the most appropriate strategy to them. We can identify three distinct groups:

• Digital Dependants: These are people born at or after the turn of the century and who have always known life with digital technology. For them technology is a must-have.
• Digital Natives: Are those who grew up alongside technology and have seen the changes happen. Being able to adopt and adapt to change is likely to come naturally for this group.
• Digital Migrants: Born without mainstream technology, this group have had to make a step-change from life without to life with.

There is nothing to say that any one group has an advantage over the others when it comes to digital transformation. What is important is that we recognise that the differences exist. We need to understand the composition of our own workforces so that we can take this into account when implementing any form of technological change. How our people are likely to react will influence the pace of change and the levels of training required.

For example, if you install a digitalised HR system to control processes like absence management, holidays and appraisals, you might need to ensure that everyone has the technological ability to access it as well as the necessary skills. You might also need to ensure that there is a contingency for when it becomes inaccessible; when there is a loss of Internet service for example.

The pace of technological innovation continues at a blistering rate, so we’re probably closer than you think to driverless cars and Saturday night takeaways delivered by drone. If you feel like there’s a storm brewing, you might benefit from some support with organisational and cultural change. We’d be delighted to help; in person of course. Call us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We’ve seen a significant rise in calls to the to the helpline recently from employers who have had an employee storm out the businesses, declaring that they quit. Understandably, employers are left confused about their position and what they should do.

In this circumstance, don’t ignore it. Follow up with some positive action. Recruitment and induction is an expensive business so you should make some effort to salvage the situation if the employee is worth retaining in the business.

If an employee storming out comes as a surprise, you might want to first take some time to consider why it’s a surprise. It’s probable that there has been a series of issues or incidents and the employee has reached a tipping point.

Ask yourself if there a channel of communication that is available to members of staff where they can speak openly and confidentially about problems and issues at work. This might be unfair or unreasonable treatment, workload or the style and behaviour of their manager. There might just be a personality clash. If you know about it, you’ll have the opportunity at least to take action and avoid a situation reaching the stage where employees feel that quitting is their only option.

Transferring someone from one department or team to another for example might be all that is required to relieve tension and solve the issue; meaning you get to retain a good worker and maintain morale.
If you’re beyond that point however and your member of staff has slammed the door on their way out, then you need to manage the situation rationally. Remain pragmatic and don’t react to the behaviour in a way that could worsen the situation for either party.

Give the employee a period of time to cool off. Wait to see if he or she returns to work for their next shift. If they do then their return to work interview is an opportunity to hold a conversation with them to determine if there are any underlying problems or mitigating circumstances. If these do exist, then offer support and sign post them to the appropriate procedure to raise complaints.

If the employee cannot justify their behaviour then you may have no choice but to take some form of disciplinary action to protect yourself from further incidents.

If an employee fails to show up for work without any form of contact, then it is a case of unauthorised absence and should be managed as such until they return to work (or not). Until you have a written resignation, you still have a duty of care and some responsibilities, not least those that come under HMRC and taxation rules.

Your first action maybe to call or write to them and check their wellbeing. Check to see if they live alone, who are their next of kin? There is a fine line between respecting someone’s human right to privacy verses a duty of care to check they are safe and well.

If you receive no response from the wellbeing contact, you’ll need to write to the employee and ask them to attend a meeting. We recommend delivering a letter by hand on the same day or by recorded delivery to arrive the next day. Or both. The initial meeting will be an investigation and an opportunity for your employee to present their side of the story and/or reasons for not showing into work.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, including whether or not they attend, you’ll either agree a return to work and/or continue through a disciplinary process. The employee may still decide to tender their resignation of course but at least now it will be officially done and not in the heat of the moment.

You’re not obliged to pay an employee for the time that they do not work and if they storm out never to return then you won’t have to pay any notice either. Remember however that you’ll need to pay them for the time they have worked and there might be some holiday pay to calculate.

For help and support with any HR and Employment Law matters, especially the prickly ones, call us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Just as we were all getting used to the uncertainty caused by Brexit, we get thrown a curve-ball with the announcement of a general election. As if running a business wasn’t difficult enough!

With the main parties having announced their manifestos this week, we at least have some idea of how the country might be run. We don’t know who’s going to win of course so for the time being the uncertainty remains. Whilst we can’t plan, we can prepare. Nobody wants to make redundancies of course, but we must acknowledge that the risk of job losses often sits behind big political decisions. By ensuring we are comfortable with how redundancies should be handled, we can help to minimise the amount of disruption that they might cause.

We should remember that even in times of growth businesses often have to remodel and re-shape to accommodate or react to shifts in economic conditions. The need to making redundancies then isn’t always as a result of economic downturn. It might be to ditch unprofitable lines and add resources to better performing areas of the business.

If redundancies are on the cards, “last in, first out” isn’t an acceptable strategy, although it’s surprising how many people still think that it is. A transparent and equitable system that fairly scores employees’ abilities against the skills required to fulfil the available positions should be the go-to process that organisations adopt.

In all redundancy situations, the key point to remember is that it is positions that are made redundant and not people. Therefore, where a position is identified as being redundant and more than one person is currently employed who can fulfil it, operating a fair selection process is paramount in conjunction with the appropriate consultation period for the numbers being made redundant.

We recommend employees are scored against a ‘selection matrix’ that awards points for each requirement of the position including skills, qualifications, track record and experience. The scoring could include minus points for poor attendance and any disciplinary history. The lowest scores are those who are dismissed.

So if a company suffers a downturn in business and requires two less technicians, telephonists or roofers from a team of 10, then all 10 employees must be put “at risk”. A fair scoring system must then be applied to establish who the top employees are, based on their ability and aptitude. The bottom two scorers will lose their jobs.

Equally, employees that do similar roles at different offices or sites across the country may all need to be put at risk of redundancy if the need for one of those workers becomes unnecessary. So if the bookkeeping role of four offices could be managed by just two bookkeepers then all four would need to be put at risk and the best two selected following a fair selection process.

For clarity, unacceptable selection methods for redundancy include:

• Last in first out
• Drawing lots
• Selection based on the lowest cost
• Selection because someone is perceived as a difficult person.

To avoid going through the redundancy process, other options might be available to employers such as offering voluntary redundancy or reducing the hours of the whole team if everyone is in agreement.

Finally, make sure you can prove your scoring matrix is fair and does not favour or discriminate against any individual or group. A redundancy situation that can be construed as an excuse to exit a specific employee could lead to an unfair dismissal claim so it’s crucial that your process is flawless. Those who are absent on maternity leave may need special consideration and this may extend to parental and shared parental leave.

For further help and support with making redundancies contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.