How To Get Advice On Redundancy

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If you’ve been made redundant or you’re at risk of redundancy, you may benefit from approaching an employment law solicitor. Their in-depth understanding of UK employment legislation allows them to break down your situation and the applicable legislation to advise you on how to protect your job or ensure that your redundancy package is satisfactory.

How A Solicitor Can Help With Redundancy Issues

A solicitor will determine the legality of your redundancy to establish whether there’s a case for unfair dismissal, enabling you to claim loss of earnings and compensation at an Employment Tribunal. If you have been selected for redundancy, they can review the selection process to ensure that it was fair. They can help:

• Employees
• Executives
• Directors
• Board Members
• Professionals
• Consultants

You can reach out to a solicitor for an initial discussion where they will get to know you and understand your situation before agreeing on how to proceed.

Benefits Of Seeking A Solicitor’s Advice

Redundancy can be stressful and threatens your immediate financial security. A solicitor can minimise this stress and protect your interests by defending your legal rights and ensuring that you’re treated fairly throughout your case. 

A specialist employment law solicitor provides rational, clear guidance that helps you understand your rights and negotiate with your employer to protect your job or secure a fair redundancy package. If this negotiation is unsuccessful, they can prepare your tribunal case and represent you.

Employment Tribunal Fees

When taking a case to a tribunal, you may have to pay for an expert witness, such as a medical report, legal advice leading to the case, and representation from a solicitor during the case.  

Your employer may say that you’ll have to pay their legal fees if you lose, often to persuade you to drop the case, though it is unlikely that a judge will rule that you have to do this. However, you may have to pay your employer’s fees if your case had no chance of winning, you behaved inappropriately in the process or you turned down a good offer to settle your case out of court. 

Every employment tribunal case is different so solicitors often can only estimate costs based on their experience. These estimates show the likely fees you would need to pay to a solicitor to conclude a full hearing at an employment tribunal. 

How We Can Help You

Personal, proactive and productive, are three defining traits of our services, which combine to ensure that you benefit from the right legal advice that helps bring your case to the best possible outcome.

Working with our solicitors provides you with access to legal advice at every stage of your case. We’re a Legal 500 top-tier law firm, so you can rely on our specialist solicitors to provide expert counsel with personalised attention and care. Contact the Cartwright King team today for more information.

FAQ

Can I challenge my selection for redundancy?

If all your colleagues have been made redundant because your employer is closing a site, challenging a redundancy on the grounds that you were unfairly selected isn’t possible. However, you can question your selection for redundancy if only a certain percentage of your colleagues are being made redundant.

On what grounds can my employer select me for redundancy?

Employers can select you for redundancy based on objective factors, including your disciplinary record, attendance, worker appraisal scores etc. However, your employer can not discriminate against you based on:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender
• Marital Status
• Maternity or Paternity Leave
• Membership in a Trade Union
• Pregnancy
• Race
• Religious Beliefs
• Sexual Orientation
• Whistleblowing

What compensation will I receive?

UK employment law states that you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay provided you have completed two years’ service with your employer. The amount of redundancy pay you are entitled to is determined by your age:

• If you’re under the age of 22, you will receive half a week’s pay for each full year of employment.
• If you’re aged 22 – 40, you will receive a full week’s pay for each full year of employment.
• If you’re 41 or over you’re entitled to 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of employment.

Weekly payments are capped at £538, while there is a £16,140 maximum on the amount of statutory redundancy you will receive. However, these are statutory amounts, and you could be entitled to a bigger payout if confirmed in your employment contract. If your total redundancy amount is less than £30,000, it’s completely tax-free.