As the Coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on the workplace, British employers planned more than 300,000 redundancies in June and July as reported by BBC News. A huge 1,784 firms made plans to cut approximately 150,000 jobs in July, and 1,888 planned 156,000 cuts in June.  Worryingly, this may only be the tip of the iceberg, as many smaller businesses are not included in these figures.

If you are one of the affected, and your employer failed to follow the correct procedures, then you may be entitled to compensation. It is important that if your employer is changing your role in any way, whether it’s your pay, working hours, furlough leave or redundancy, you are communicated and consulted with.

Redundancies

If you are now facing redundancy, it is imperative that your employer follows the correct procedures. Your employer must review all appropriate roles, have appropriate selection criteria, apply the criteria fairly, and consult with you throughout the process. They must also consider alternative employment before making you redundant. Failure to do so can lead to you becoming entitled to make a claim for unfair dismissal or a Protective Award.

Protective Awards

A Protective Award is an award of compensation for employees who have not been collectively informed and consulted with prior to their redundancy. They act as a way to penalise an employer for failing to perform their obligation to consult with their staff.

If your employer has failed to consult with you, and made more than 20 redundancies, you may be eligible to claim. At the discretion of the Employment Tribunal, a Protective Award can be worth up to 90 days’ gross pay, creating a little helping of ease in a troubling and uncertain time.

Next steps

The employment law team at Terry Jones are on hand to advise and support you through this time. No matter your question, we are able to offer support and guidance.

Please contact us on enquiries@terry-jones.co.uk today for confidential, expert advice.