ACAS PUBLISHES NEW GUIDANCE ON DEALING WITH COLLECTIVE REDUNDANCIES
9 April 2013
The 6 April saw new legislation come into effect which applies to employers proposing 100 or more redundancies.
A collective redundancy is when an employer proposes to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days. This can arise if an employer needs to:
close or move all or part of their business make cost savings due to a change in customer demand or an efficiency drive reorganise the way their business is run. A key change for employers is that they must start consultation at least 45 days before any dismissals can take effect. This has been reduced from 90 days. Acas have published Advisory booklet – How to manage collective redundancies to help employers understand their legal obligations. The guide sets out the principles and behaviours behind a good quality consultation to help employers manage collective redundancies more effectively.
Acas Chair Ed Sweeney said:
"This new guidance draws on our knowledge, expertise and experience in helping to resolve the thousands of workplace disputes every year.
"In 2011/12 11 per cent of Acas' collective conciliation cases related to redundancies and of the 925,000 calls to our helpline, around 20 per cent were seeking information on redundancy-related situations.
"This guide will help employers and employees understand the recent changes and the new laws around collective redundancies with top tips on how to handle them."
Acas advises that for organisations to manage collective redundancies well and help ensure their future success, they need to have: good working relationships with employees, unions and employee representatives agreed procedures for handling redundancies an organisational culture that recognises the emotional as well as economic impact of change a plan for restructuring and looking to the future. The consultation period for businesses that plan to make between 20 and 99 employees redundant remains unchanged. The consultation must start at least 30 days before any dismissals can take effect.
TAKING ON YOUR FIRST EMPLOYEE?
17 April 2013
ACAS have produced a step by step guide aimed at helping businesses faced with taking on their first employee.
This useful step-by-step guide is a tool which is aimed at small firms and organisations, and line and team managers in larger organisations.
It covers the following essential steps:
CIPP Policy News Journal
16/04/2014, Page 77 of 519
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