Redundancy consultation

Q: Our employer has just made 80 staff redundant without consulting the union. What compensation will they be entitled to?

A: An employer has a duty to carry out collective consultation if it proposes to dismiss 20 employees or more. The minimum length of the consultation period is 30 days if the number of jobs at risk is 20-99, and 90 days if the number is 100 or more.

If an employer fails to consult, the union can bring a tribunal claim for a "protective award" on behalf of each employee affected. As a result of a change in the law in 1999, the maximum award is 90 day's pay, regardless of whether the consultation period is 30 days or 90.

This was confirmed recently by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Newage Transmission v T&G (UKEAT/0131/05). In that case, the employer proposed to make 30 to 35 employees redundant but failed to consult the union properly. A tribunal made a protective award of 80 days' pay for each employee, which was upheld on appeal.

The protective award's purpose is to be a sanction against the employer, and a tribunal should start with the 90-day maximum and reduce it only if there are mitigating circumstances to justify a reduction (T&G v Morgan Platts UKEAT/0646/02).