In response to the Covid-19 crisis, unprecedented actions were
taken by a range of stakeholders to maintain employment and avoid
"collective redundancies", i.e. redundancies effected by
an employer where in any period of 30 consecutive days the number
of dismissals falls within certain thresholds set out in the
Protection of Employment Act 1977.
Unfortunately, notwithstanding the collective efforts of
employers, employees, representatives and the Government, the
number of potential collective redundancies notifications between
January and October 2020 was more than double that of the same
period for 2019. The notifications made in this period affected
more than 10,000 roles. Having regard to this trend and the likely
ending of popular Government support schemes in 2021, we examine
new developments in respect of collective redundancies that
employers should be aware of.
