You have been told you need to reduce your organisation’s head count. The pool of employees who are at risk have been identified…what now?
The Redundancy Selection Process
As an employer it is important to have a fair selection process in place as it is key to fair dismissal. In terms of a process for redundancy it will also help you retain the best employees within your organisation.
As part of a selection procedure, criteria such as skills, ability, knowledge, qualifications, and experience can be considered when selecting for redundancy, also consider what is needed as necessary for the future.
Other common criteria could include performance, attendance and absence and disciplinary records of an employee. Although when using attendance be cautious as absence for maternity or disability related reasons should not be considered to avoid any potential discrimination.
An employer should always ensure that the selection criteria chosen are both necessary and appropriate and are operated in an objective way.
Having ascertained the selection criteria to be used, they should then be applied in conjunction with the consultation procedure.
The Scoring Process
During the selection process, it is advisable to have more than one manager to carry out the scoring which will avoid any unfairness or bias. It is important to include line managers as they know their employees the best and can justify the scores given. Any manager’s that are involved in the scoring process must be trained, ideally as a group, so that they are aware of the criteria and how to score against them.
In determining the reasonableness of a redundancy dismissal, an Employment Tribunal is likely to examine your pool for selection (the group of employees from which the redundancies were made), the selection criteria which were applied to them and the way in which the criteria were applied.
Guildford HR can provide training on the redundancy process. If you need any further information or support, please contact us on 01483 362732 or info@guildford-hr.co.uk