A third of UK companies may make redundancies by January — what are your rights?

Redundancy can be very scary, but it helps to know your rights (Picture: Getty Images) If you thought your day couldn’t get any worse, there’s a nearly one in three chance your company could be making redundancies by the new year. ACAS reports that 33% of British businesses are likely to make redundancies by January 2027, or may have done so already. It’s bleak news as Christmas looms and mortgage rates just hit 6% for first time in three years. We’re already seeing this come to fruition. This week alone Greggs announced it will cut around 740 jobs, while Royal Mail plans to cut 2,500 employees. Unfortunately, you never know when you’ll be drawn into a consultation period, so we’ve got a run down of exactly what your rights are if you’re affected. The redundancy process companies must follow If your role is at risk, your employer needs to consult with you before making a final decision. This is called a consultation period. If fewer than 20 employees are being made redundant there is no legal length of time the consultation period should last for, but one to two weeks at least is recommended. If 20 to 99 employees will lose their jobs, the consultation must start at least 30 days before dismissals take effect, while 100 or more employees requires a minimum of 45 days. A lot of UK workers could be at risk before the end of the year (Picture: Getty Images) If there are 20 or more employees affected, there will need to be collective consultation with trade union representatives or with elected representatives,’ Nicola Smyrl, employment lawyer and partner at Taylor Walton, tells Metro. ‘Employers then have to provide certain information to those reps and then meet individually with affected employees as well.’ Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. They do not have to offer voluntary redundancy for employees in the process. The consultation also has to be ‘meaningful’ according to the lawyer. ‘It should be undertaken before the decision has been made and the employer should be engaging with questions and counter proposals to mitigate the effects of the proposals.’ The lawyer adds the company should be clear about what the proposal is and why it creates a redundancy situation for particular roles, as well as how selection will work. ‘The consequence of not having individual meetings with workers, for the employer, is that any subsequent dismissal and redundancy grounds are likely to be unfair,’ she adds. What should you do if you’re at risk? Nicola wants you to first read all the information provided to you by the employer carefully, so you can prepare the questions you’ll want to ask at the consultation meeting. Once you’ve read the fine print, you should check your notice period, final salary and any redundancy pay you’re entitled to receive. ‘You’re entitled to your notice period, either to work or be paid in leiu, and your entitled to a statutory redundancy payment if you’ve got two years service or more,’ Nicola explains. ‘This takes into account your salary, age and length of service.’ You can feel upset by the process but the lawyer advises engaging fully in the consultation regardless of your feelings (Picture: Getty Images) The lawyer recommends keeping your own notes during meetings, although you shouldn’t record them without permission. ‘During meetings, you might want to ask why your role is affected, what will happen to your duties and if there are any alternative roles,’ Nicola explains. ‘Some employees might be annoyed they’ve been selected and reluctant to engage in the process but you need to do what you can to understand why you’re affected, even if that’s because you believe it’s unfair.’ You’re entitled to time off to job hunt ‘You’re entitled to be open about job hunting,’ the lawyer explains. ‘But, you might want to be slightly careful in case there are alternative roles you could apply for at the company.’ If you have worked for your employer continuously for at least two years as at the termination date, you are entitled to reasonable time off to look for another job, interview or arrange training. ‘You can take this in normal working hours and your employer can’t ask you to make the time up,’ Nicola explains. ‘Statutory pay for this is 40% of one week’s pay for this time.’ So, if you took five days off to job hunt, you would get two days worth of pay. Your employer can ask for proof to verify that the time is genuinely being used to find work, so have applications at the ready. Feel you’ve been unfairly dismissed? Currently, if you feel your redundancy was unfair, you can bring an unfair dismissal claim if you’ve worked there for two years or more. But, as of January 1, 2027 Nicola says this reduce to six months employment to bring a claim. ‘For dismissals up to September 30, you need to bring your claim within three months of your dismissal, but from October 1, you have up to six months,’ the lawyer says. Companies have told ACAS they’re looking to make redundancies (Picture: Getty Images) There will be an internal appeal process at the end of your employment but if this fails you can go to ACAS, The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which offers employment guidance and can act on your behalf to try and secure you a settlement. If not, your case can go to an employment tribunal. Reasons you could win an unfair dismissal case include: There isn’t a legitimate redundancy situation affecting your role ‘The most common reason employers give is a reduced requirement for employees to carry out a particular type of work,’ Nicola says. ‘If there’s a restructure and a new role which is similar to your existing role, you might argue there’s no reasonable redundancy situation.’ Lack of meaningful consultation ‘This might be the employee hasn’t had enough information to participate in the process, or it felt like a tick box exercise with a lack of meetings that the employer doesn’t engage with properly,’ Nicola points out. Selection ‘An employee might feel they’ve been unfairly selected based on how the selection pool was drawn up,’ Nicola says. ‘If the pool is too wide or too narrow that could lead to a claim. ‘The selection criteria needs to be fair and objective, and not discriminatory.’ Alternatives to redundancy ‘The employer must consider alternative positions for the employee and if that’s not done with due care and attention, that can result in a claim,’ Nicola explains. Ultimately, if you feel your dismissal is unfair, Nicola recommends seeking legal advice to see if you have a claim. Or contact ACAS as a starting point. Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk Arrow MORE: The one phrase you should never use when asking your boss for a pay rise Arrow MORE: I’m a private detective — these are the professions most likely to cheat Arrow MORE: 6 signs your Sunday scaries are actually telling you to quit your job