Redundancy Solicitors in East London

Being made redundant or facing the possibility of redundancy can be incredibly stressful. Understanding your legal rights at this time is essential to ensure that your employer is following the rules, such as giving you enough notice and paying you all the wages, holiday pay and other payments to which you are entitled.

Our London-based employment law solicitors act for employees at all levels, from junior employees to senior executives. The law surrounding redundancy is complex and employers often do not follow a proper process (be it intentionally or unintentionally). We offer a bespoke redundancy service to guide you through the process and ensure your employer honours your legal rights and your rights under your employment contract.

We regularly represent individuals during disputes with their employer, including negotiating settlement agreements and exit packages, advising on ACAS procedures, and representing individuals during Employment Tribunal proceedings.

For expert redundancy advice, get in touch with our employment lawyers in South Woodford by giving us a call or using our simple contact form to request a call back.

Why choose Huggins Lewis Foskett’s redundancy solicitors?

Our employment law team have decades of combined experience providing advice to employees about redundancy and representing employees in redundancy disputes.

Our aim is to demystify redundancy law and empower you to enforce your legal rights. With strong skills in negotiation, our clients rarely need to take their case to an Employment Tribunal to achieve a positive outcome. However, we are also more than capable of representing you in Employment Tribunal proceedings giving you the best possible chance of receiving a fair result.

Our team is headed up by Michael Legister, a Partner in our firm who has 30 years of legal expertise and a Master’s Degree in employment law. Our team also includes Nicky Maisuria, a litigation specialist with over 18 years of experience.

Our redundancy law expertise

We can assist with all redundancy related issues and disputes, including:

Advice about your redundancy rights

  • Whether your employer’s reasons for your redundancy are unfair and whether they followed a proper process
  • Whether you are entitled to redundancy pay and in what amount
  • Your notice period, payment in lieu of notice, garden leave and other notice related matters
  • Negotiating enhanced exit packages
  • Whether you may have a claim for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal or constructive dismissal

Settlement agreement advice

If you have a dispute with your employer they may offer you a settlement agreement. It is important to remember that if you sign a settlement agreement, you can no longer pursue your employment law claims at an Employment Tribunal. Therefore, getting the very best legal advice is essential (it is also a requirement that you get legal advice for the agreement to be valid). Our expertise includes:

  • Reviewing the terms of settlement agreements
  • Providing advice on the contents of settlement agreements
  • Negotiating terms that are beneficial to you, such as increased compensation

Voluntary redundancy advice

If your employer asks you to voluntarily take redundancy, it is important to seek legal advice to assess whether this would be in your best interests. Sometimes, an employer may be prepared to provide incentives – such as offering higher redundancy pay – to persuade an employee to take voluntary redundancy. The employee will still have their employment rights, however, accepting voluntary redundancy may affect other things like your eligibility for benefits or your mortgage.

TUPE advice

If your employer’s business is changing hands and you are concerned about redundancy, we can help. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) apply to situations where a person’s employment is transferred to a new employer. We can provide advice on all matters relating to TUPE, including:

  • Whether you are covered by the Regulations
  • Advice on redundancy procedures before, during and after a transfer
  • Protecting the terms and conditions of your employment contract

Redundancy disputes

If your employer has treated you unfairly when making you redundant, we can provide advice on making a redundancy claim. Our expertise includes:

  • Redundancy pay claims
  • Claims for unpaid wages, holiday pay, bonuses and other payments
  • Discrimination claims, e.g. if the reason for your redundancy was based on a characteristic such as age, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or pregnancy
  • Taking action if your employer did not follow a fair process when selecting you for redundancy
  • Notice period disputes

Redundancy FAQs

What are my redundancy rights?

If you are being made redundant and you have worked for your employer for at least 2 years, you could be entitled to things like:

  • Redundancy pay
  • A notice period
  • The opportunity to move to a different role
  • Time off to look for a new job
  • A consultation

When selecting you for redundancy, your employer must use a fair process. They cannot make you redundant because of a personal characteristic or another unfair reason, such as:

  • If you need to take family leave, e.g. paternity leave
  • Because you are the member of a trade union
  • Because you are part-time or on a fixed term contract
  • Because you raised concerns about things like health & safety regulations or rest breaks
  • Because you raised concerns about being paid less than minimum wage

You employer also cannot indirectly discriminate against you, e.g. if they make you redundant because you are a flexible worker, this could indirectly discriminate against you because you are a parent.

If you believe you have been unfairly made redundant, you should be able to make a complaint to your employer. Failing that, you can make a claim for unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal. We can assist you throughout these processes.

How much redundancy pay am I entitled to?

Your redundancy pay will depend on:

  • How long you have worked for your employer
  • Your age
  • Whether your contract of employment includes any redundancy pay terms

Even if your contract does not include any terms about redundancy, you may still be entitled to statutory redundancy pay.

You do not get any statutory redundancy pay for the first 2 years you worked for your employer. After 2 years, you are entitled to:

  • If you are 22 or under – ½ a week’s pay for each full year worked
  • For the years you are aged between 22 and 41 – 1 week’s pay for each full year worked
  • For the years you are aged over 41 – 1.5 week’s pay for each full year worked

Your pay is capped at 20 years of service and if you are made redundant after 6 April 2020, your weekly pay is capped at £538.

For example, if you are 30 years old, your weekly pay is £600, and you worked for your employer for 5 years before being made redundant, your redundancy pay would be £2,690 (£538 x 5 years).

We can help you work out your redundancy pay as well as any other payment you may be entitled to, such as holiday pay.

My redundancy pay is wrong, what can I do?

If your employer has calculated your redundancy pay incorrectly, you should first talk to them about it and (if necessary) make a complaint through their grievance procedure.

If the matter cannot be resolved informally, you can take them to an Employment Tribunal. Before applying to an Employment Tribunal, you must inform ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service). ACAS will give you the opportunity to use their Early Conciliation procedure to try to resolve the dispute without litigation.

If Early Conciliation does not work or it is not suitable for your case, you can take your complaint to an Employment Tribunal who will make a judgment on what amount of redundancy pay you should receive.

How much notice am I entitled to?

Your employer must give you notice before they make you redundant. How much notice you get will depend on how long you have been working for your employer. You can get statutory redundancy notice if you have been working for at least one month – your employer cannot give you less than the statutory amount but they can give you more if they wish.

You are entitled to at least:

  • 1 weeks’ notice if you have worked for your employer for between 1 month and 2 years
  • 1 week for every year you have worked for your employer from 2 years up to a maximum of 12 years
  • 12 weeks if you have worked for your employer for 12 years or more

What are payments in lieu of notice?

Your employer may give you ‘payment in lieu of notice’ if it is written into your employment contract or they offer it to you and you accept. This means they can ask you to leave before your notice period is up but they must still pay you for your whole notice period.

What are the time limits for making a redundancy Employment Tribunal claim?

Generally, you have 3 months less 1 day from the date your employment ends to make an Employment Tribunal claim, such as for claims about unfair dismissal.

For, claims about redundancy pay, you have 6 months to start your claim.

If you decide to use ACAS Early Conciliation, the limitation period gets extended so you have the opportunity to take full advantage of the process.

If you do not start your claim within the limitation period, you may be unable to make a claim. Therefore, it is important to get in touch with us as soon as possible for advice. We will always ensure that we work within the limitation period and will provide our advice about making a claim to you with plenty of time so you can take the time to make an informed decision.

Our London redundancy lawyers

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  • Teresa Tapster

Speak to our redundancy solicitors in South Woodford, London today

For expert redundancy advice, get in touch with our employment lawyers in South Woodford by giving us a call or using our simple contact form to request a call back.