BDA advice

Redundancy

March 2019
 Redundancy

Contents Overview
3 What is redundancy? When faced with reducing the number of employees, you must consider all the
alternatives before deciding that you need to make one or more of your employees
3 Consider the alternatives first
redundant. It is a difficult and emotional process, which demands that you handle
4 Talk to your staff it correctly. You need to reassure those involved that you will be following a fair and
objective procedure, so explain what will happen and the timescales involved and
4 Selection emphasise that you will consider all suggestions that might remove the need for
The pool redundancy.
Selection criteria
Scoring Having a plan will help you manage the redundancy process correctly and know
what needs done and when. Involving your practice manager early can make the
6 Redundancy notice and pay process easier; they should carry out discussions with your staff, the redundancy
process and the consequent restructuring of your practice.
7 Employee notice period rights
Key learning points
7 Appeals
This advice explains the procedures for redundancy that you must follow to ensure
8 Focus on the future of your practice fair decisions. It explains:

• What is involved in a fair redundancy process

• How to conduct the consultation process and hold individual meetings
• What to consider when identifying your pool of affected employees
• Identifying fair and objective selection criteria to help you avoid making
decisions based on how you feel about a person
• The timescales for giving a redundancy notice and calculating redundancy pay
• The rights of employees to have time off work to seek alternative employment
• Setting up and managing an appeals’ process and avoid industrial tribunal
claims.

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 What is redundancy?
Redundancy is a form of dismissal usually associated with the need to reduce the
workforce either because the work disappears completely (for example, the practice
is closing) or where the amount of work reduces. Redundancy can be voluntary or
compulsory.
If you must make employees redundant, you must have reasonable reasons for
doing so – for example, because you no longer
• Carry on the business for which you employed someone
• Work in the location where you employ someone
• Need your employees to carry our certain work
• Need your employees to carry out work in a specific location.
Where a reduced workload leads to a decision to reduce the number of people you
employ, you must be able to justify it:
• What has changed?
• Have you given it long enough to make a fair assessment?
• Have you considered alternatives that might prevent the need for
redundancies?
You must also be aware of the rights that your employees may have, including
• Redundancy pay
• Notice period
• Consultation
• The option of a different job within the practice
• Time off to find a new job
© BDA March 2019
Consider the alternatives first
Before you start a redundancy process, consider your options for reducing or
preventing the need for any redundancies. Your options will depend on the size of
your practice and how it is structured but they could include, for example:
• Reducing or stopping overtime
• Suspending recruitment and, if possible, retraining staff
• Stop using agency workers or casual staff
• Offering flexible working – part-time working, job shares etc
• Offering voluntary redundancy or early retirement to everyone. You must not
single out employees, nor do you have to accept a request for redundancy.
• Temporarily lay off employees with reduced pay or reducing their working hours
• Changing the terms of employment (salary, hours or duties).
If you decide that redundancy is your only option, you must make sure that you
develop a plan of what you need to do to ensure that you follow a fair redundancy
process. This will include:
• Discussing the process with your practice manager and developing your plan
• Consulting with your staff
• Selecting redundant staff
• Giving redundancy notice and pay
• Employees’ rights to notice periods
• Employees’ right to appeal their selection for redundancy
• Focussing on the future of your business
Lay-offs and short-time working
If your employee contracts allow, you can lay-off your employees or cut their working
hours. There is no limit for laying-off staff or putting them on short-time working but
an employee can apply for redundancy and claim redundancy pay if they have been
laid off without pay or put on short-time and receives less than half a week’s pay for
four consecutive weeks or six weeks in a 13-week period.
Within four weeks of the last day of the lay-off or short-time period, your employee
must write to you and claim redundancy. You have seven days to accept the claim or
give written counter-notice to indicate that work will be available within four weeks
and last for at least 13 weeks. The employee must resign to receive redundancy pay.
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 Talk to your staff
Begin the consultation as early as possible and while proposals are still at a
formative stage and genuinely capable of being influenced by meaningful dialogue.
You must have meaningful individual meetings with all affected staff, not just those
who are to be made redundant. Your employees are more likely to feel included in
the process and have input (which can improve morale) and allow you to consider
new ideas and options and become aware of other relevant issues. Don’t skip these
one-to-one meetings or replace them with a group meeting; if you hold a group
meeting, it must be in addition to the individual meetings. Without the individual
meetings, any redundancies may be deemed unfair and you may end up before an
employment tribunal.
Meeting individual employees privately, at least once, provides an opportunity for
you to:
• Explain the situation, what you intend to do about it and why
• Describe how the process will work, the proposed timescales and your selection
criteria
• Explore opportunities for avoiding or minimising redundancies
• Help employees to update their CV and equip themselves to find another job
A private meeting also allows the employee to express their views and offer
suggestions (which you must consider). At the end of each meeting, you should give
the employee a written summary of your proposals, deadlines for comments and
timescales.
There is no fixed period of consultation, but it needs to be long enough to be
meaningful; for a small number of redundancies, 28 days is a suitable consultation
period.
Voluntary redundancy
At these initial meetings, you can invite employees to volunteer for redundancy and,
if you wish, offer enhanced redundancy payments. Any volunteers should be
allowed time to consider the implications before confirming their wish to be made
redundant. Seeking information about voluntary redundancy must not prejudice
an employee in the selection process if they decide not to take it up.
© BDA March 2019
Selection
You must be fair and objective when choosing individual(s) to be made redundant
and assess those at risk of redundancy (the pool) against objective criteria.
The pool
Identify the pool of employees at risk of redundancy:
• What type of work is ceasing or diminishing
• The extent to which employees are doing similar work
• The extent to which jobs are interchangeable
• Whether there are employees doing similar work at other locations.
For example, if a dentist leaves and is not being replaced, all nurses in the practice
should be included in the redundancy pool, not only the nurse who worked with the
dentist. Then consider the additional skills – for example, if any dental nurses can
undertake reception duties, you might widen the pool to include receptionists who
are also qualified dental nurses.
If there is a business need, you can widen the pool to include staff with a lower skill-
level (even if they weren’t directly affected by the redundancy) to ensure that you
retain key staff for the future growth of the practice.
Selection criteria
Having identified your pool of at-risk employees, you need to establish fair and
objective selection criteria based on, for example: absence and attendance;
disciplinary records; performance; skills, experience and qualifications; and last in,
first out. Aim to use two or three criteria to demonstrate that your selection is fair
and in line with the future needs of the practice, and consult with your employees
about your choice of criteria. If you are making more than one group of staff
redundant, you can use different selection criteria for the different groups.
Reference to records held by the practice will help you demonstrate objectivity.
Interviews may help you decide who should be made redundant, but they can be
subjective. You must avoid making your choice based on how you feel about a
person rather than how they meet your selection criteria. For this reason, you should
use interviews only as part of a wider, more objective selection process.
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 Absence and attendance
Scoring absences and punctuality fairly requires you to have good records. Be
cautious about comparing staff with different lengths of employment and consider
whole employment periods, rather than discrete periods as this might distort your
results. Exclude any absences that you have approved – holidays, parental leave,
medical appointments, for example. You should also exclude absences or
attendance issues in relation to disability, pregnancy or maternity.
Disciplinary records
You must have good disciplinary records if you intend to use this as one of your
selection criteria and your disciplinary procedures must have been fair. You can
include whether a formal disciplinary warning has been received, received but
expired, or in the process of being received.
Performance
If you hold regular appraisals that are applied consistently to all employees and
have records of these, you can include performance as a selection criterion. You
should decide whether to include positive performance measures (such as meeting
targets) or negative measures (such as patent complaints) or a mixture of both.
Scoring
Having identified your selection criteria, you should assess the available evidence
and consider applying a numerical score (say, one to five, or one to ten) to enable
you to make objective comparisons of employees in the pool. The scores will help
you eliminate some employees from the possibility of redundancy. Interviews can
be used to further assess the candidates for redundancy, but you must recognise
the possibility of subjectivity. If you decide to hold individual meetings, the
employee should be allowed to be accompanied by a work colleague or a trade
union official. You can discuss the selection criteria and invite the employee to
comment on their own performance.
Following any interviews, you should review your final scores to decide who to make
redundant. You should confirm your decision to the employee at an individual
meeting and issue formal written notice.

Skills, experience and qualifications

These are often used together to reduce the risk of age discrimination – balancing
experience against qualifications. You must, however, decide which formal
qualifications or experience are relevant for the at-risk group of employees.

Last in, first out

This approach of the most recent employee being the first to be dismissed, must
not be used on its own as it could be discriminatory – if, for example, your most
recent employee is younger than your longer-serving staff. It can, however, be used
as part of a wider selection process or if there is no other way to choose fairly
between two employees.

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 Redundancy notice and pay
When you have identied which team members will be made redundant, you must
give notice that you are dismissing them and make sure that they are paid correctly.
You should check the employment contract for any formal dismissal procedure that
you have agreed before holding a formal dismissal meeting and confirming the
details in writing, including the process for appealing your decision. You should keep
a record of the day that that you give the notice and the date that the employment
ends.
Notice of dismissal
Notice starts on the first full day after the employee receives the notice. This is
important if you are posting written notice or have employees on leave.
The notice period must be the longer of either their contractual notice period (as
included in their contract of employment) or the statutory notice period, which is:
• One week if the employee has been continuously employed for one month or
more but less than two years; or
• One week for each year of employment (up to a maximum of 12 weeks) if the
employee has been continuously employed for two years or more.
If the employee leaves before their statutory redundancy notice expires but is within
the terms of their contract with you (as you may have a shorter notice period), they
retain their entitlement to redundancy pay.
If the employee commits an act of misconduct during the redundancy notice period,
dismissal on grounds of misconduct replaces redundancy and the employee loses
their right to redundancy pay. You should exercise caution as an employment
tribunal may decide that redundancy remains the main reason for dismissal.
© BDA March 2019
Redundancy payments
If the employee has at least two years’ continuous employment, they will be entitled
to statutory redundancy:
• 0.5 week’s pay for each full year they were under 22 years
• 1 week’s pay for each full year they were 22 years or older but under 41 years
• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year they were 41 or older.
Length of service is capped at 20 years. Weekly pay is also capped, which affects
the maximum statutory redundancy pay due to the employee. You can use the
online calculator for statutory redundancy payments.
If your employment contract enhances your employees’ redundancy payments,
your employees must receive more than they would have done under the statutory
scheme and your enhancements should reflect the age-based provisions of the
statutory scheme above.
You must let the employee know how you have calculated their redundancy pay.
Redundancy pay below £30,000 isn’t taxable but you will need to deduct tax and
NI from any other moneys due (wages and holidays, for example).
Dispute over redundancy payment
If your employee disputes the redundancy payment, they have six months from the
date the contract ended to request (in writing) that you consider their concerns or
refer the matter to an employment tribunal, or both. By submitting a written claim,
the employee has the right to refer the matter to a tribunal at any time. If they fail
to make a claim within six months, a tribunal may consider the reasons for the delay
and decide that a payment is due.
Notice pay and payment in lieu of notice
You must pay your employee throughout the notice period or pay them in lieu of
notice. Any contractual benefits that you provide (private healthcare insurance, for
example) must continue throughout the notice period (even if you pay in lieu of
notice).
Payment in lieu of notice is in addition to any redundancy payments due and is
subject to tax and National Insurance deductions.
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 Employee notice period rights
Time off to look for work or arrange training
If the employee has at least two years’ continuous service by the time their notice
ends, they have a right to reasonable time off during working hours to look for work
or arrange for training – for example, to visit job centres and recruitment agencies,
attend interviews, get help with writing/updating CVs, education events.
Regardless of the amount of time off you allow, you are only required to pay 40 %
of the employee’s normal weekly pay during the entire notice period (equivalent to
two full days' pay for an employee who works a five-day week).
Suitable alternative work
As part of the consultation process, you must consider whether there is any suitable
alternative work that you can offer to the employee selected for redundancy. The
alternative work must be suitable and reasonable and take into account the
hours/working pattern of the employee, the place of work, pay and contractual
terms and what the work involves.
The offer of a suitable role should be made within the notice period (before the end
of employment) and as early as possible. The employee usually has a four-week trial
period, starting when their employment ends, to allow you and the employee to
assess whether the role is suitable.
• If the role is suitable, the employee can continue without being made
redundant; no redundancy pay is due, but you should provide written
confirmation of the terms of the new role
• If the employee does not find the role suitable, you should continue with the
redundancy from the time that their original contract came to an end and pay
the redundancy pay that is due
• If the employee unreasonably refuses the trial or rejects it without good reason,
you may consider the employee to be no longer eligible for redundancy pay.
What constitutes unreasonable depends on the circumstances but, if handled
wrongly, the employee may claim unfair dismissal.
© BDA March 2019
Appeals
Although there is no statutory requirement for you to have an appeal procedure for
redundancy dismissals, it is good practice to allow an employee selected for
redundancy to appeal against your decision. Allowing appeals, gives you early
warning that an employee is unhappy with the process or the redundancy and
allows for early resolution (reducing the likelihood of an employment tribunal
claim).
• When notifying the employee of their redundancy, you should let them know
that you will consider a written appeal, which should include their reasons. The
reasons should not simply restate objections already raised
• Arrange a meeting to discuss their appeal at a suitable time and allow them to
bring a work colleague or a union representative
• If possible, arrange for another senior member of the team who has not been
involved in the decision-making to conduct the appeal meeting. If you or your
practice manager hear the appeal, you must both try to be as impartial as
possible.
Without delay, you should consider matters raised at the appeals meeting and
make a decision:
• If you refuse the appeal, the redundancy dismissal, pay and notice continue as
you originally proposed
• If you uphold the appeal and the redundancy notice period has not ended, the
employee’s employment continues without change
• If you uphold the appeal but the employee has ended their redundancy notice
period, you must reinstate them and pay any arrears of wages that are due.
Their continuous service applies from their original employment date
• If you uphold the appeal but have already made a redundancy payment, you
must inform the employee that upholding their appeal requires them to return
the payment.
You should consider seeking independent legal advice before making your final
decision and confirming it in writing.
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 Focus on the future Further information
Unless you are closing your practice completely, you must remember that the The reasons for pursuing a redundancy process are varied and the following BDA
redundancy process should be the first step in getting your practice back to being advice may provide additional useful information:
healthy. You should consider what you have learnt from the process, how to make
the best use of your remaining staff and managing change. Employing staff
Business planning and managing change
What you have learnt Buying a dental practice
The need to make changes is likely to encourage you to consider your options; Death and serious illness
discussions with your employees may generate more suggestions. Take time to Disciplinary procedures and dismissal
consider all options and how they might benefit your practice.
This BDA advice reflects the guidance on redundancy published by Acas and
If your practice manager or another colleague worked with you on the redundancy GOV.UK:
process, they will have developed skills and experience in consulting and
Acas
negotiating, which might be useful in other practice situations. You might consider
further training in these areas to help them develop their expertise. Handling small-scale redundancies
Advisory booklet – how to manage change
Your remaining staff
GOV.UK
Your remaining staff will have also had a difficult time; the effect of being at risk of Employee rights
redundancy or losing a colleague because of redundancy can make them concerned Calculating statutory redundancy pay
about their future. Involve them in your plans for how you want to take the practice Lay-offs and short-time working
forward and encourage them to contribute with ideas. Insolvency – employee rights

Redundancy can mean that some remaining staff need to take on more
responsibility or have increased workloads. You may have to make minor
adjustments to workloads to ensure that some staff are not overloaded. Major
adjustments may require you to amend or vary employment contracts – see BDA
advice Employing staff.

Managing change
Working through a redundancy process is likely to be one of the most significant
examples of managing change that you will experience, and the effect is likely to
continue while you get your practice back on track. See the Acas advisory booklet
How to manage change for more information.

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