Redundancy is one of the hardest decisions a business owner makes — and one of the easiest to get legally wrong. We guide Sussex and Surrey employers through a fair, well-documented process, so you can reshape your team with confidence and treat people with respect.
You’re considering reducing headcount or hours
You’re unsure how to select fairly
Work has genuinely diminished or a role is disappearing
You want the process watertight before you start
A redundancy is only lawful where the need for a particular kind of work has genuinely reduced or ceased. Getting there fairly means consulting properly, using objective selection criteria, and considering alternatives to dismissal.
For an SME without in-house HR, the process is full of traps: pooling, selection scoring, consultation timescales and redundancy pay all have to be right.
That’s where MJV Consulting comes in. We plan the process with you end to end, so it’s fair, defensible and handled with care.
Redundancy is understandably an area where employers want to feel sure of their footing. A fair, well-documented process — genuine consultation, objective selection, and proper consideration of alternatives — protects your business and gives affected employees the clarity and respect they deserve.
Employment law here is also evolving. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal is expected to shorten, so a sound process matters from an earlier point than before. (ERA 2025 timings are still being finalised.) We keep you on the right side of it.
We confirm the business case, define the pool, and map out a compliant timeline before anyone is told anything.
We run individual (and, where needed, collective) consultation with the letters, scripts and meeting support you need.
We help you build fair, evidenced selection criteria and score consistently, so the outcome stands up to scrutiny.
We calculate redundancy and notice pay, confirm outcomes correctly, and advise on settlement agreements where useful.
The framework we work through with every client — and the
version we’re happy to talk through on a free discovery call.
✓ Advice grounded in employment law and the ACAS approach
✓ All consultation letters, scripts and scoring tools prepared for you
✓ Support with collective consultation where 20+ roles are affected
✓ Honest guidance on selection, pay and settlements
A redundancy is genuine where the need for a particular kind of work has reduced or stopped — for example a role disappears, a site closes, or the business needs fewer people doing something. It has to be about the role, not the person. We’ll help you confirm the situation is a true redundancy before anything else happens.
Employees with two or more years’ service are entitled to statutory redundancy pay, calculated from their age, length of service and weekly pay (which is capped). Your contracts may offer more. We’ll work out the correct figure for each person so there are no surprises on either side.
For fewer than 20 redundancies there’s no fixed minimum, but consultation still has to be genuine and unrushed. For 20 or more at one establishment, collective consultation minimums apply. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to change how those collective thresholds work, so it’s worth checking the current position. (Detail is still being finalised.) We’ll set the right timeline for your situation.
Start by defining the pool of roles at risk, then apply objective, evidence-based selection criteria — things you can measure and justify, rather than personal opinion. Documenting your reasoning as you go is what makes the process fair and reassuring for everyone. We’ll help you build a selection matrix that stands up to scrutiny.
Yes — a fair process includes genuinely looking at alternatives, such as suitable alternative roles, reduced hours or voluntary redundancy, before confirming any compulsory redundancies. Where a suitable alternative role exists, a trial period may apply. Showing you’ve explored the options is an important part of getting it right, and we’ll help you do it properly.
You can include them in a genuine redundancy, but employees on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave have enhanced protection, including priority for any suitable alternative vacancy. This is an area to handle with real care, so it’s best to talk to us before you take any steps.
Restructuring is reshaping how the business is organised; redundancy is one possible outcome of that, where roles genuinely disappear. A restructure can happen without redundancies — for instance through changed duties or reporting lines — but if roles are lost, the redundancy rules apply. We’ll help you plan the change and handle any redundancies that flow from it correctly.
If another genuine role exists that would suit the person, you should offer it rather than move straight to redundancy — it’s part of running a fair process. What counts as suitable depends on the pay, status, location and skills involved. We’ll help you identify any alternatives and handle trial periods, so nothing is missed and the process stands up.
Yes, and inviting volunteers can take a lot of the difficulty out of the situation. You keep the final say over who leaves — you’re not obliged to accept every volunteer, particularly if losing someone would leave a skills gap. We’ll help you set it up clearly so people understand it’s genuinely voluntary and the terms are consistent.
It’s not automatically a problem, but it can undermine a redundancy if a near-identical role reappears soon after — it invites the question of whether the redundancy was genuine. The safe path is to be clear about why the need has changed. If circumstances shift, talk to us first and we’ll help you handle it cleanly.
Your employees deserve a workplace where they can thrive and so does your business. Contact MJV Consulting to explore how our workplace wellbeing solutions can transform your organisation.
