Changes To Collective Consultation

Where 100 or more employees are affected, the current 90 day minimum consultation period before the first redundancy can take effect will be reduced to 45 days. There will be no change to the rules where 20-99 employees are to be made redundant. Despite the decreased consultation period, the maximum protective award for failure to consult will remain at 90 days’ pay. This reflects the fact that the award is not linked to the length of consultation, but to the employer’s efforts to comply;

a new ACAS non-statutory code of practice will provide guidance on best practice in relation to the process and content of consultation, and will deal with non-standard redundancy situations;