Redundancy An information guide Compiled May 2011 www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Contents Section One  Foreword Section Two  Being made redundant  Leaving your job  Making a claim for benefits Section Three  Things that may help you cope with redundancy Section Four  Useful contacts  Sources www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Section One Foreword This guide has been compiled as an aid for people who may be redundant. Any organisations mentioned in this guide are not endorsed by Hertfordshire County Council, Work Solutions, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust or the Enhanced Primary Mental Health Service. It is not a comprehensive guide and there may be alternative support / organisations and information which are not mentioned within. The purpose of this leaflet is to simply provide information which may be of assistance to you. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Section 2 Being made redundant Facing the possibility of redundancy can be an extremely stressful and anxious time but there is support available. If you are going to be made redundant from your job, you should be treated fairly by your employer. There are certain steps your employer is expected to follow. What is redundancy? Redundancy is a form of dismissal from your job, caused by your employer needing to reduce the workforce. Reasons could include:  New technology or a new system has made your job unnecessary  The job you were hired for no longer exists  The need to cut costs means staff numbers must be reduced  The business is closing down or moving  If your employer is making less than 20 employees redundant in one establishment it is an individual consultation.  If your employer is making 20 or more employees redundant in one establishment within a 90 day period it is a collective redundancy.  Collective redundancies generally occur when there is a:  Business or building closure, meaning your employer no longer needs as many employees  Reorganisation or reallocation of work There is a range of support available to help you cope with redundancy. How should my employer be selecting employees for redundancy? Ideally, your employer should consult affected employees over this issue. The redundancy selection criteria arrived at should be objective wherever possible, precisely defined and capable of being applied in an independent way. This is to ensure that the process is conducted fairly. The chosen criteria should be consistently applied by all employers, irrespective of size. There should also be an appeals procedure. Examples of such criteria:  Attendance record (if this is fully accurate and reasons for and extent of absence are known)  Disciplinary record (if this is fully accurate)  Skills or experience  Standard of work performance  Aptitude for work  Formal qualifications and advanced skills should be considered, but not in isolation. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk When are redundancies 'unfair'? Your employer cannot select people for redundancy based on the following grounds: Gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, disability, religion or belief, age, trade union membership, health and safety activities, working pattern (eg part-time or fixed-term employees) If your employer does select you for redundancy based on one of these grounds, then your redundancy becomes an automatic unfair dismissal. You will be found to have been unfairly dismissed if you were unfairly selected for redundancy:  For asserting a statutory employment right  On parental leave / working parents or maternity-related grounds  Because you work part-time  Because you are a fixed-term worker  For exercising or seeking to exercise the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing.  Requesting flexible working arrangements  For a reason relating to rights under the Working Time Regulations 1998  For a reason relating to rights under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998  For a reason relating to the Tax Credits Act 2002  For whistleblowing  For participation in trade union activities, for membership or nonmembership of a trade union and in respect of trade union recognition or de-recognition  For carrying out duties as an employee representative or candidate for election for purposes of consultation on redundancies or business transfers  For taking part in an election of an employee representative for collective redundancy purposes  For taking action on health and safety grounds as a designated or recognised health and safety representative, or as an employee in particular circumstances  For taking part (or proposing to take part) in consultation on specified health and safety matters or taking part in elections for representatives of employee safety  For taking lawfully organised industrial action lasting twelve weeks or less (or more than twelve weeks in certain circumstances)  For refusing or proposing to refuse to do shop work or betting work on Sundays (England and Wales only)  For performing or proposing to perform the duties of an occupational pension scheme trustee  For performing or proposing to perform the duties of a workforce representative for the purposes of the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 or if the selection criteria employed were deemed to be discriminatory under any of those grounds prohibited by law. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Your employer should use a fair and objective way of selecting people to make redundant. This means that it should be based on some evidence, rather than your employer just deciding who they want to give notice to. If you feel you have been treated unfairly you should seek advice from an organisation such as ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) or the Citizens Advice Bureau. Methods of selection If a method for deciding redundancies has been agreed with a trade union, your employer should follow it. Otherwise, there are some common approaches your employer could use and combine when selecting employees for redundancy. In some cases there may be no need for your employer to follow a selection process because the group of employees to be made redundant will be clear. For example, if your employer is closing down a particular operation in a company and will have to make all the employees working there redundant. Selection pools One method your employer could use is to consider which group or section of the workforce the redundancies will be selected from. This is called the ‘selection pool’. After identifying the selection pool, the employer should apply selection criteria to it, to narrow down the employees. Your employer should, as far as possible, use objective selection criteria that can be applied equally and fairly across the workforce. Should my employer help me to find other work? In addition to allowing time off to look for new work or for training, it is good practice for employers to give redundant employees as much information as possible to help them at this difficult period of their working lives. Such information may include: The financial effects of redundancy on the individual (redundancy pay, pension payments and state benefits) How to complete application forms and present themselves at job interviews The importance of discussing the implications of redundancy with their family as early as possible How to search for appropriate vacancies in the press and follow up opportunities The importance of being prepared to consider a wide range of alternative jobs In addition, where resources permit, your employer may offer with individual counselling, ideally before redundancies take effect. This would ideally be with a trained counsellor or welfare officer to carry out the interviews, but where that is not practicable, HR managers may be given appropriate training for the task. Where possible, some support and advice should remain available to redundant employees after their dismissals. What information must my employer disclose about proposed redundancies? To ensure employee representatives can play a useful part in the consultation process over proposed redundancies your employer must disclose certain information in writing including: Reasons for the proposed redundancies Numbers and descriptions of employees affected Proposed method of selecting the employees who may be dismissed www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Proposed method of carrying out the dismissals, taking account of any agreed procedure, including the period over which the dismissals are to take effect How redundancy payments, other than the legal minimum, will be calculated. What if my employer fails to consult about proposed redundancies? In cases where employers have failed to consult with employee representatives over proposed redundancies an employment tribunal can make a 'protective award'. The employer is required to pay employees covered by a protective award their normal week's pay for each week of a specified period, known as the protected period, regardless of whether or not they are still working. To be covered by an award, you must:  Belong to a group specified in the award  Be someone your employer plans to dismiss or has already dismissed as redundant  Be someone for whom your employer has failed to comply with the information and consultation requirements. What is redundancy pay? You have the right to a lump sum 'redundancy payment' if you are dismissed because of redundancy. The amount is related to your age, length of continuous service with the employer, and weekly pay up to a maximum. The employer must also provide you with a written statement showing how the payment has been calculated at or before the time it is paid. Any dispute about whether a redundancy payment is due, or about its size, should be resolved within the organisation, if at all possible. Failing this, and as a last resort, it can be determined by an employment tribunal. If your employer has cash-flow problems so serious that making the redundancy payment would put the future of the business at serious risk, the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) can arrange to pay you direct from the National Insurance Fund. If your employer is insolvent, the RPS makes the payment and the debt is recovered from the assets of the business. You may also be entitled to redundancy pay. Direct.gov has a redundancy calculator you can use online to work out how much redundancy pay you are entitled to. Redundancy notice periods If your employer has selected you for redundancy you must be given a notice period before your employment ends. The statutory redundancy notice periods are:  at least one week’s notice if you have been employed between one month and two years  one week’s notice for each year if employed between two and 12 years  12 weeks’ notice if employed for 12 years or more  However, you should also check your contract of employment because your employer could have set out longer notice periods Payment in lieu of notice In some cases your employer may have included a payment in lieu of notice clause in your employment contract. This means that your employer can end your employment contract with no notice, however they must give you payment for all of the pay you would have received during the notice period. This covers basic pay and may include other matters such as the equivalent amount of pension contribution or private health care insurance www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk These notice periods were accurate at the time of making this guide, up to date information is available on the direct.gov and acas.org.uk websites. Community Legal Advice Community Legal Advice can provide free help and advice on what your rights are when you are made redundant. (CLA) is a free and confidential advice service in England and Wales paid for by legal aid. If you are living on a low income or benefits, you may be eligible for free specialist advice from legal advisers on issues including: benefits and tax credits, debt, education, housing, employment and family problems. The advice is independent and confidential. Community Legal Advice will ask you questions about your problem and find out what help you need. You will be asked a number of questions about your finances to see if you are eligible for legal aid. Telephone: 0845 345 4345 or email: [email protected] Insolvency Service The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It deals with insolvency matters in England and Wales and some limited insolvency matters in Scotland by administering and investigating the affairs of bankrupts, companies and partnerships wound up by the court and establishing why they became insolvent. It also assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy where an employer cannot or will not pay its employees and provides information on insolvency and redundancy. Telephone: 0845 602 9848 Email: [email protected] www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Leaving your job On your last day at work you should receive all the wages you are entitled to, plus payment for any outstanding period of notice that you have not worked. You should receive:  accrued holiday pay (payment for holiday owed which has not been taken)  Income Tax form P45  redundancy pay  a letter stating the date of redundancy How your retirement might be affected If you are worried or have questions about how saving for your retirement might be affected by redundancy, you can contact the Pensions Advisory Service. It is an independent not-for-profit organisation that provides free information and guidance. The service can also help you if you have a problem, complaint or dispute with your occupational or private pension provider. Finding work and redeployment If you need to find work with a new employer, we have put together another guide which contains practical tips and advice on finding a job, please ask your contact for a copy of this guide which is called ‘Preparing for employment’ Offers of alternative employment Your employer may offer you a different job. Find out about the different processes associated with each and how you can get help. If your employer is making you redundant, where possible they should try to offer you 'suitable alternative employment' within their organisation or an associated company. Whether a job is 'suitable alternative employment' depends on several things including:  How close the work is to your current job  The terms of the job being offered  Your skills, abilities and circumstances in relation to the job  The pay (including benefits), status, hours and location of the job  If you are being made redundant because there is not enough work, it might be that work picks up again before your redundancy. Your employer can offer you your own job back as 'suitable alternative work  Any offer for alternative employment should be made before your old job ends. You should be given enough information about what the new job involves so you know how different it is from your old job  During your redundancy period, you should be told about available job vacancies within the company  If your employer has suitable alternative employment but does not offer it to you, your redundancy could be an automatically unfair dismissal. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Trial periods If your employer offers you alternative employment you have the right to a four-week trial period. This period is to help you decide if the job is suitable alternative employment, and for your employer to decide if you are suitable. If you need training for the new job, the four-week period can be extended with written agreement. If you decide the new job isn't suitable, you should tell your employer during the trial period. This will not affect your employment rights, including your right to Statutory Redundancy Pay. If you haven't given notice by the end of the trial period your right to Statutory Redundancy Pay ends. If you refuse an offer If your employer offers you suitable alternative employment and you unreasonably refuse it, you may lose your right to Statutory Redundancy Pay. Disputes about whether employment is suitable or whether your refusal is unreasonable, can be decided by an Employment Tribunal. They can decide whether you are entitled to redundancy pay. Starting a new job before your notice has expired If your new job starts before your redundancy notice expires, try to negotiate with your employer for early release without losing your redundancy pay. Employers are often happy to make these arrangements. If your employer doesn't agree to let you go early you should give them 'a written counter notice' stating when you would like to finish. Your employer should write back to you and say whether or not you can leave early. If you leave early without your employer's permission you run the risk of losing some or all of your redundancy pay. Normally this only becomes an issue if your employer has given you a longer redundancy notice period than the statutory minimum. If you have a problem, try talking to your employer first. An employee representative (eg a trade union official), may be able to help. If this doesn't work, you may need to make a complaint using your employer's internal grievance procedure. Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can speak to them if you are unsure about your rights. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Making a claim for Benefits As part of your benefit claim, you may be asked about any redundancy payments you have had from your employer. Your Jobcentre Plus adviser will explain whether these payments will have any effect on your claim. You or your partner may get a payment from your employer when your job ends, eg final pay, wages if you worked a week in hand, holiday pay. These payments are not taken into account when considering your claim. You can use the jobcentre plus online benefits adviser to help you find out which benefits you are entitled to. It is important to make a claim straight away. Do not go into your local Jobcentre to do this – you will only be sent away!! To make a benefit claim, you have 2 options: 1. Call the Contact Centre on 0800 055 66 88 Text phone: 0800 023 48 88 if you are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech difficulties. Calls to 0800 numbers are free from BT landlines. Charges for calls from mobile phones, cable and other network providers may be different. Phone lines are open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The operator will book a time to call you back and this follow-up call will take about 40 minutes. You should call from home, if possible; or from somewhere where you are comfortable and where other people cannot overhear your personal information. During the call you will be asked to provide information including:  Your National Insurance number  Your Bank details  Details of your rent or mortgage  Details of your past or present employment and  Details of other income and savings. Please make sure that you have this information to hand when you call. The operator will tell you what will happen next with your claim. If claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance they will book you an appointment to see an adviser at your nearest Jobcentre Plus office to help with your search for work. They can also tell you who to contact if you have a question about your benefit We can only accept calls from the person who is making the claim, unless you have made previous arrangements with jobcentre for someone to act on your behalf. 2. Go to the website and claim online Go to http://www.direct.gov.ukfollow “do it online”, go to “money, tax and benefits online” and then under “working age benefits” apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance If you claim online, the contact centre will call you back to confirm that your claim has been received and they will book an appointment to see an adviser at your nearest Jobcentre Plus office. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Section 3 Things that may help you cope with redundancy Prioritise personal development For many people it is important to keep busy, this period of time may afford you the opportunity to update or to develop new skills. If you are interested in pursuing formal or informal learning ask your contact for a copy of our guide called ‘Thinking about education and training’. Be open to learning job seeking skills For many people trying to secure employment can be a daunting prospect and for some it has been a while since they have looked for work. Preparation is key to success there are many great guides on how to present yourself well in person and in writing. These will help ensure that you have a good quality CV, are able to complete good quality application forms with covering letters, which will lead to interviews and an opportunity to present yourself in person. All of these stages are important and everyone can learn how to do these better. There are also a range of local service providers that may be able to provide you with specialist support. If you would like additional support speak to your contact about how you may access these services or ask for a copy of our guide ‘Preparing for employment’. Begin budgeting Any loss or reduction in household income can put a additional strain on day to day life, taking practical steps to economise will help minimise the effect this can have on you and will help not only financially but also your general wellbeing. If you would like help and advice on managing your finances ask your contact for our guide on where to get help and advice on finance and benefits The following are easily said but no less valid as research shows that people that do this are more likely to keep well and find work sooner:        Allow yourself time to grieve See redundancy as a positive opportunity for change Use the tools you have learned from your health professional to help you through difficult thoughts and feelings Look after yourself, keep fit and watch your health Keep busy and have fun Be social and get out of the house Consider volunteering, if you are interested in this ask your contact for a copy of our guide ‘Thinking of volunteering’. www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Section 4 Useful Contacts Jobcentre Plus Jobseeker Direct www.direct.gov.uk 0845 606 0234 0845 605 5255 (Text phone) Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) www.acas.org.uk 08457 47 4747 08456 06 1600 (Text phone) Career information, advice and guidance for young people and adults www.connexions.gov.uk 080 800 132 19 Citizens Advice Bureau www.adviceguide.org.uk European Employment Services (EURES) EURES Adviser www.eures.europa.eu 0113 307 8094 Learn Direct www.learndirect.co.uk Course and Centre Information 0800 101 901 Training Advice 0800 100 900 Skills Funding Agency www.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk 0870 900 6800 Next Step www.nextstep.org.uk 0800 931 700 Redundancy Payments Helpline or Dept. of Trade & Industry 0845 145 0004 www.dti.gov.uk Tax Credits Helpline www.hmrc.gov.uk 0845 300 3900 The Insolvency Service www.insolvency.gov.uk The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) www.pensionadvisoryservice.org.uk 0845 601 2923 The Pension Service (to request a Pension www.direct.gov.uk Forecast) 0845 60 60265 Train to Gain www.traintogain.gov.uk 0845 6009006 Voluntary work (Hertfordshire) www.volunteeringherts.org Kickstart Trust(Bishop’s Stortford)Ltd www.stortfordkickstart.org.uk www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk Sources www.direct.gov www.acas.org.uk http://www.hertsdirect.org Jobcentre Plus www.hertspartsft.nhs.uk