Redundancies can be somewhat of a minefield for employers, with
a variety of rules and processes which must be followed in what can
already be a fraught situation within an organisation when
headcount needs to be reduced. Most employers are keen to avoid
dismissing staff in whom they have invested time and money but this
is not always possible, particularly during tough economic times,
and staffing costs are often an employer's largest
overhead.
But are there options available to employer to limit expenditure
on staff before the decision to begin a redundancy process is
reached? I consider five practical and legal options below.
- Restricting / freezing recruitment
Before seeking to reduce the number of employees by way of
dismissals, the first step when employee costs are becoming
unsustainable is for an employer to halt recruitment of any new
roles. This can be a particularly useful option for larger
employers or those with a higher rate of staff turnover
