REDUNDANCY & RESTRUCTURING
Whether you are reducing costs, reorganising teams or changing the way your business operates, we help you establish the right employment process and put it into action.
From consultation and selection through to employee correspondence and final documentation, you get clear advice, a recommended route and the practical support needed to manage the change properly.
Queries received before 3pm on a working day receive a response that working day.
THE BUSINESS CASE
A restructure should begin with a clear understanding of what the business needs to look like afterwards.
That might mean reducing costs, removing management layers, combining roles, centralising work or changing how a particular function operates.
The important question is not simply “who is at risk of redundancy?”
It is:
What work will the business need in the future, and what structure is required to deliver it?
Once that is clear, the employment process can be designed around the genuine commercial change.
That means identifying which roles are affected, whether redundancy actually arises, what consultation is required and how any selection process should work.
The redundancy process should follow the business rationale — not be used to create one afterwards.
Reducing overheads or headcount where the current structure is no longer sustainable.
Reorganising teams, responsibilities or reporting lines to support a different way of working.
Adapting the workforce where particular work has reduced, disappeared or changed.
Combining departments, roles, sites or functions to remove duplication.
Changing roles where systems or technology alter how work is carried out.
Removing unnecessary layers or redistributing responsibilities to create a more effective structure.
HOW WE SUPPORT YOU
Restructures rarely involve one isolated decision. The business case, affected roles, consultation, selection and documentation all need to work together.
Harrington Raine helps you structure the process from the outset and supports management through the decisions that follow.
01
We help assess whether the proposed changes create a redundancy situation, identify the roles affected and consider how the future structure should operate.
02
We help plan the consultation process, prepare the necessary correspondence and give managers clear guidance on what needs to be discussed and documented.
03
Where selection is required, we help establish an appropriate approach to pools, criteria and scoring so decisions can be explained and supported by evidence.
04
We help assess redeployment opportunities, suitable alternative roles and situations where restructuring may involve changes to existing jobs or contractual arrangements.
05
We prepare the letters, scripts and supporting documentation required as the process progresses, including outcome correspondence and dismissal documentation where redundancy ultimately proceeds.
06
Where the change involves larger numbers of employees, collective consultation issues, employee representatives, overlapping grievances or other complications, we help identify the additional requirements and build them into the process.
Clear advice. A structured route. The documentation to put it into action.
MEANINGFUL CONSULTATION
Consultation is more than informing employees that a decision has already been made.
Affected employees should have a genuine opportunity to understand the proposal, ask questions, put forward alternatives and respond to the issues that may affect them before final decisions are reached.
That does not mean the business has to abandon a genuine commercial change simply because an employee disagrees with it.
It means the process should be open enough for relevant points to be considered properly — and structured enough for management to reach a clear decision afterwards.
What is changing, why the change is being proposed and how employees may be affected.
Whether there are realistic alternatives that could achieve the business objective without, or with fewer, dismissals.
Where selection is required, how the proposed pool, criteria and assessment process will operate.
Whether suitable opportunities exist elsewhere in the new structure or wider organisation.
Questions, objections, alternatives or information raised during consultation that could affect the proposal or individual outcome.
Once consultation has been completed properly, management can decide how the restructure should proceed.
Consult properly. Listen genuinely. Then make the decision the business needs to make.
REDUNDANCY SELECTION
Where more employees are affected than the business needs in the future structure, a selection process may be required.
That process should start with the roles and work affected by the restructure — not with a predetermined view of which individuals should leave.
A defensible approach means being able to explain:
Which employees or roles formed part of the selection exercise, and why.
The criteria used to decide who best fits the requirements of the future structure.
Where scoring is used, decisions should be based on evidence rather than assumption or personal preference.
Managers should use the agreed approach consistently and be able to explain the decisions reached.
Good selection is not about creating a perfect spreadsheet. It is about making a reasoned business decision that can withstand scrutiny.
Harrington Raine helps employers structure selection pools, criteria and scoring where they are required, and prepares the documentation managers need to run the process properly.
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
A business can change significantly without every affected employee being made redundant.
Roles may be redesigned. Responsibilities can move between teams. Reporting lines may change. Existing jobs might be combined, while new positions are created elsewhere in the structure.
The change might involve:
Depending on the circumstances, the appropriate approach may involve consultation, agreement, contractual variation, redeployment, selection or redundancy.
Harrington Raine helps establish what the change actually means for the employees affected, then recommends a structured route to move the business into its new position.
01
Changing responsibilities or creating a different structure around the work the business still needs.
02
Moving duties between existing roles, departments or locations.
03
Introducing positions that reflect the future needs of the organisation.
04
Where the new structure requires changes to contractual terms, hours, location or working patterns.
05
Moving affected employees into appropriate alternative positions where opportunities exist.
06
Where the circumstances create a genuine redundancy situation and dismissal may ultimately be required.
OUTCOME-FIRST SUPPORT
A restructure is easier to manage when the commercial objective and employment process are considered together from the beginning.
Harrington Raine helps turn the proposed change into a clear, workable process — then prepares the documentation needed to put it into action.
01
We start with what the business needs to achieve and what the organisation should look like afterwards.
02
We consider the roles, employees, contractual position and employment risks affected by the proposed change.
03
We establish the appropriate process, including consultation, selection, redeployment or contractual change where relevant.
04
We draft the correspondence, meeting materials and supporting documents managers need to run the process.
05
We support the business through final decisions, employee outcomes and the practical steps required to move into the new structure.
Depending on the restructure, we can prepare:
business-case documentation;
at-risk and consultation letters;
consultation meeting scripts;
selection criteria and supporting matrices;
employee correspondence;
alternative-role documentation;
redundancy outcome letters;
dismissal documentation;
appeal correspondence.
We do not simply tell managers what process to follow. We help structure it and prepare what they need to carry it out.
COMPLEX RESTRUCTURES
A straightforward redundancy exercise can become significantly more complex when other employment issues overlap with the proposed change.
That does not necessarily mean the restructure should stop. It means the process needs to account for those additional issues from the outset.
larger numbers of employees may be affected;
collective consultation obligations could apply;
employee or trade union representatives are involved;
pregnant employees or employees on family-related leave are affected;
disability, discrimination or whistleblowing concerns arise;
employees are already absent or involved in another employment process;
grievances overlap with the restructure;
senior or strategically important employees are affected;
employees are being asked to accept contractual changes;
competitive selection is required for roles in the new structure;
settlement agreements are being considered as part of the wider strategy.
The more moving parts a restructure has, the more important it is that the commercial plan and employment process remain aligned.
Harrington Raine helps identify those issues early, decide how they affect the proposed route and keep the restructure moving in a controlled way.
REDUNDANCY ADVICE FAQs
Employers dealing with a restructure often have practical questions about process, consultation and redundancy risk. These are some of the points we are most commonly asked.
Related employer support:
Broader advice on difficult employment decisions.
Ongoing advice, drafting and day-to-day employer support.
Support if an employment dispute becomes a Tribunal claim.
See the options for ongoing HR & Employment Law support.
A redundancy situation may arise where the business no longer needs employees to carry out work of a particular kind, needs fewer employees to do that work, or is closing or relocating all or part of the business. The legal position depends on what is actually changing, not simply on the label given to the process.
The right process depends on the proposed business change and how many employees are affected. In broad terms, an employer should identify the business rationale, establish which roles are affected, consult properly, apply any necessary selection process fairly, consider suitable alternative employment and then communicate final decisions clearly and properly.
There is no single answer for every situation. Consultation should be long enough to be meaningful and to allow affected employees a genuine opportunity to understand the proposal, respond to it and raise alternatives. Where collective redundancy rules apply, additional legal requirements may arise and the timing should be checked carefully before the process begins.
Selection should reflect the genuine business need and be capable of objective explanation. That usually means identifying the correct group of employees affected, applying relevant criteria where needed and supporting decisions with evidence rather than assumption or personal preference.
Not always. Whether a pool is required depends on the structure of the roles affected and the nature of the change. In some cases the position is straightforward. In others, identifying the appropriate pool is one of the most important parts of the process.
Suitable alternative employment is another role that is appropriate for the employee in light of the duties, status, location, terms and the employee’s skills and circumstances. Whether a role is genuinely suitable depends on the facts, so it should be considered carefully rather than treated as a box-ticking exercise.
Yes. A restructure does not always mean redundancy. Depending on what is changing, the right route may involve redeployment, redesigned roles, contractual changes, consultation about a new structure or another managed process. The starting point should always be the change the business actually needs to make.
Collective consultation currently applies where an employer proposes 20 or more redundancies within a 90-day period at one establishment. Additional requirements apply to employee representatives, consultation timing and notification to the government. The rules are subject to legislative change, so employers planning larger-scale redundancies should check the current position before starting the process.
Yes, in some restructures employees may be asked to apply or compete for roles in the new structure. Whether that is the right approach depends on what is changing and how many employees are competing for the available roles. Any selection process should be fair, evidence-based and genuinely connected to the requirements of the future structure.
Employees should normally be given an opportunity to appeal where they believe they were selected unfairly or the redundancy process was not followed properly. An appeal gives the employer an opportunity to review the decision, correct any problems and demonstrate that concerns have been considered before the matter potentially escalates.
A genuine redundancy situation can affect an employee who is pregnant or taking family-related leave, but additional legal protections may apply. In particular, certain protected employees have priority for suitable alternative vacancies where one exists. Selection must never be influenced by pregnancy or family leave, and employers should take specialist advice before making decisions in this area.
Yes. Harrington Raine helps employers assess the proposed change, structure the process, support consultation and selection, and prepare the documentation needed to implement the route properly. That can include letters, scripts, consultation documents, selection materials and outcome correspondence.
Tell us what needs to change and what you are trying to achieve.
We will help assess the employment position, recommend the appropriate route and prepare the documentation needed to put the change into action.
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