It has been reported by Acas that redundancy related enquires have increased by 160% over the past two months when compared to the same period in 2019. There is a reported backlog in the Tribunal of approximately 36,600 single cases.
This shows despite the support from the Government through the furlough scheme, it seems that in 2020, redundancies are inevitable for many businesses.
Assistance for Employers
Redundancies can be a confusing process for many employers as there are specific legal requirements that must be followed even during furlough and lockdown. If approached poorly, redundancies can lead to legal difficulties and claims for unfair dismissal or discrimination claims.
To help you with the redundancy process we have created a step by step guide for employers and managers in order to address a redundancy fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. The guide is designed to provide a simple yet detailed step by step guidance and to explain how to make a completely transparent redundancy which will greatly reduce any legal risks. Furthermore, by following a well thought out and fair process, this will ensure you keep your most talented employees whilst reducing your long-term costs.
Our step by step guides are available to purchase; please just reach out to us.
Alongside our step by step guide to redundancy, we have created multiple blogs around the topic of redundancy. If you wish to read our blogs you can find them linked below:
- What is a collective redundancy and what are employers obligations?
- The importance of redundancy consultations – the problem with Jamie’s Italian.
The Tribunal Backlog
With the enquires made to Acas increasing this could result in a backlog of claims occurring. This is because if Acas is busy, this will mean Tribunal are also busy. This could be made even worse due to the virus and the new safety precautions which have to be put in place at Tribunals.
It’s important, at this stage, to point out that the Tribunal was backlogged before the virus; there were 30,600 cases in the backlog in March and this has only increased by 6,000 since then.
However, as time runs on, we can only expect more delays and backlogs. On 6 August 2020, the London Central employment tribunal closed, to enable precautionary cleaning after someone working in the building reported having symptoms of coronavirus.
While in-person hearings have already been postponed in Tribunals, the closure of the court means that on this date there was limited telephone service and very little email traffic. This could slow down the claim process dramatically. If this becomes a common occurrence, the delays will only get worse.
Like Acas, here at Thrive we have been receiving multiple enquires about redundancies both from employers and employees through our Coronavirus helpline. Whether you are an employer or an employee please know we are always available and here to help. For more information, please send any related enquiries to coronavirus@thrivelaw.co.uk.
