{"id":190099,"date":"2024-08-28T05:14:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T04:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=190099"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:46:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:46:44","slug":"redundancies-during-restructuring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/redundancies-during-restructuring\/","title":{"rendered":"Redundancies During Business Restructuring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Redundancy is a dismissal that happens when your business no longer needs a particular job done. If you restructure and a role disappears, UK law expects a fair process before anyone loses their job: warn and consult the affected staff, use objective selection criteria, look for suitable alternative work and give proper notice and redundancy pay. Two changes matter now. Since 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failing to consult collectively has doubled to 180 days’ pay. From 1 January 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025<\/em> makes fire and rehire automatically unfair in most cases. Get the process wrong and a tribunal can rule the dismissal unfair. This article will explain some legal aspects of restructuring and redundancy for business leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Restructuring and Redundancy Mean<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Restructuring means changing your organisation or its job roles. You might merge teams, drop activities that no longer fit your plans, or bring in technology that changes how the work gets done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes that leaves you with roles you no longer need. Redundancy is the dismissal<\/a> that follows when a job, not the person, is no longer required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The reason has to be real. You must be able to objectively show the role itself is going, not that you are using redundancy to remove a particular employee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Steps to Take Before Making Redundancies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Redundancy affects people’s livelihoods, so treat it as a last resort. Before you start, look at what else could close the gap. You could reduce or stop overtime, pause recruitment, end contractor or freelancer arrangements, introduce short-time working, agree temporary lay-offs or offer voluntary redundancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each option buys you room without a compulsory dismissal. Write down what you considered. If a claim follows, a tribunal will want to see you looked at alternatives first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. From 6 April 2026, statutory redundancy pay is capped at \u00a3751<\/strong> a week, giving a maximum statutory payment of \u00a322,530.<\/li>\n
  2. From 6 April 2026, tribunals can award up to 180 days’ pay per employee<\/strong> for failure to consult collectively, up from 90 days.<\/li>\n
  3. From 1 January 2027, employees can claim ordinary unfair dismissal<\/strong> after 6 months’ service, down from 2 years.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n