Redundancy Consultation Guide

Redundancy consultation is the stage at which an employer explains what it is proposing, listens to affected employees and genuinely considers whether the proposal, selection process or consequences should change before final decisions are made.

The business does not have to enter consultation without a view about what needs to happen. It can have a genuine proposal and a preferred commercial direction. What it should not do is treat consultation as a formality after the outcome has already been fixed.

For the wider sequence from identifying a potential redundancy situation through to dismissal, see our redundancy process for employers.

What is redundancy consultation?

Redundancy consultation is a two-way discussion between the employer and affected employees about proposed redundancies.

Its purpose is not simply to explain why redundancies are happening. Consultation should give employees a proper opportunity to understand the proposal, raise questions, challenge relevant assumptions, comment on selection arrangements and suggest ways of avoiding or reducing redundancies or limiting their impact.

Acas advises employers to consult before making a decision about redundancies and to use the process to discuss the proposed changes, ways of avoiding or reducing redundancies, selection criteria and employee concerns.

Consultation does not give employees a veto. An employer does not have to accept every suggestion made. It should, however, consider reasonable representations genuinely and be able to explain why a suggestion has or has not been adopted.

When should consultation begin?

Consultation should begin while the proposal can still be influenced.

That does not mean the business cannot have concluded that change is necessary. For example, it may have identified a need to reduce costs, remove a management layer or reorganise a department.

The distinction is between deciding that there is a business problem requiring change and predetermining the final redundancy outcome.

The employer should therefore avoid issuing communications that describe employees as already redundant, announcing final selections before consultation or presenting proposals as decisions that cannot be reconsidered.

Acas states that employees should be consulted before a decision is made. For collective redundancy, consultation must start in good time and before redundancies have been decided.

What should employees be told?

Affected employees need enough information to understand what is being proposed and respond meaningfully.

Normally, this should include:

• the business reason for the proposed change;
• which roles or areas of the organisation may be affected;
• approximately how many redundancies are proposed;
• why the employee’s role is at risk;
• the proposed selection pool, where one is needed;
• the proposed selection criteria;
• the anticipated consultation and decision timetable;
• any alternatives already identified;
• how vacancies and redeployment will be considered; and
• what happens next.

Employees who are formally at risk should normally receive written confirmation of that status and an outline of the consultation process. Acas recommends confirming this in writing.

The wording matters. “At risk of redundancy” accurately reflects a proposal. “Your role has been made redundant” may suggest the consultation outcome has already been decided.

The first consultation meeting

The first individual meeting should establish a clear starting point rather than attempt to finish the process immediately.

The employer should explain the business proposal, why the employee is affected, how the process is expected to work and any proposed selection arrangements.

The employee should then be invited to ask questions and comment.

Useful questions for the employer to explore include:

• Is there anything about the proposal that we should reconsider?
• Are there alternatives that could avoid or reduce the proposed redundancy?
• Is there anything relevant to the proposed selection pool or criteria that we have missed?
• Are there other roles or working arrangements you would like us to consider?
• Is there information you need before the next consultation discussion?

Employees should also be free to challenge the rationale, pool, criteria, scoring, timetable and available alternatives.

Acas recommends at least one private individual consultation meeting and says employees should have a genuine opportunity to make suggestions.

Where the employer wants an experienced consultant to conduct or participate directly in consultation meetings, HR Consultancy & Meeting Support is available separately from advice and drafting support.

What makes consultation meaningful?

Meaningful consultation involves more than holding a meeting.

The employer should listen to what is said, provide reasonable information, investigate points that need checking and consider proposals before reaching the final decision.

A useful practical test is this: if an employee raises a credible alternative tomorrow, is there still a realistic possibility that the employer would consider it?

If the answer is no because the final outcome has already been locked down, there is a risk that the consultation has started too late.

Meaningful consultation does not require agreement. Acas expressly recognises that an employer does not have to accept employees’ suggestions, but reasonable proposals should be seriously considered.

Harrington Raine’s practical recommendation is to record significant employee proposals and the business’s response to them. That creates discipline in the decision-making process and helps demonstrate later that consultation was substantive rather than theatrical.

Consulting about pools and scoring

Where fewer roles will remain than there are employees doing the work, the employer will usually need a selection pool and objective selection criteria.

Acas recommends considering employees doing the same or similar roles and, where appropriate, roles involving similar skills. Criteria should be as objective and measurable as possible and should be applied consistently.

The proposed pool and criteria should form part of consultation rather than appearing for the first time after scoring has been completed.

An employee may reasonably argue that:

• another role should be included in the pool;
• their role is materially different from others in the pool;
• a criterion is inappropriate;
• evidence used for a score is inaccurate;
• relevant evidence has been overlooked; or
• a criterion disadvantages employees with a protected characteristic.

The employer does not automatically have to agree, but it should consider the point on its merits.

Where provisional scoring is used, Harrington Raine recommends giving the individual sufficient information about their own scores and the evidence behind them to identify genuine factual errors or inconsistencies before the final decision. Other employees’ confidential individual scores do not normally need to be disclosed. Acas similarly advises employers to explain an individual’s scoring while protecting other employees’ information.

Particular care is needed with criteria such as attendance. Acas states that attendance data should not include absence relating to disability, pregnancy or maternity. Selection criteria must also avoid unlawful direct or indirect discrimination.

Considering alternatives to redundancy

Consultation should actively consider whether the proposed redundancies can be avoided or reduced.

Possible alternatives depend on the circumstances but may include:

• voluntary redundancy;
• recruitment restrictions;
• reducing overtime or agency labour;
• different working arrangements;
• reduced hours by agreement;
• job sharing;
• redeployment;
• retraining;
• changes to the proposed structure; or
• a different distribution of responsibilities.

The fact that an option has been suggested does not make it commercially sensible or legally required.

The employer should assess whether it is workable and explain its decision. A proposal that does not achieve the required saving, creates another operational problem or simply postpones an unavoidable restructure can legitimately be rejected.

Good consultation is commercial, not ceremonial: alternatives should be considered properly, but consultation does not need to be prolonged simply to create the appearance that more options are being discussed.

Suitable alternative employment

Employers should look for suitable alternative employment as part of the redundancy process rather than waiting until the last meeting.

Potential vacancies within the organisation, and where relevant associated organisations, should be considered and discussed with affected employees. Acas advises employers to identify available jobs and consider whether affected employees could move into them instead of being made redundant.

There are additional statutory protections for some employees who are pregnant or taking or returning from certain forms of family leave.

During the relevant redundancy protected period, an employee who is protected must be offered a suitable alternative vacancy, if one exists, as a priority. Depending on the form of leave, protection can extend for up to 18 months from birth or placement. Current protections cover pregnancy, maternity leave, adoption leave and qualifying periods of shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and bereaved partner’s paternity leave.

This does not automatically remove a protected employee from a fair redundancy selection exercise where existing roles are simply being reduced. The special priority applies to suitable alternative vacancies where the statutory protection is engaged.

How many consultation meetings are needed?

There is no universal statutory number of individual redundancy consultation meetings.

Acas recommends meeting each affected employee privately at least once, but the number required in practice depends on the issues that need to be discussed.

A straightforward redundancy affecting one unique role may require fewer meetings than a competitive selection exercise involving several employees, disputed scoring and multiple redeployment options.

Two meetings are not automatically fair. Four meetings are not automatically safer.

The question is whether the employee had a genuine opportunity to understand and respond to the proposal and whether the employer properly considered the points raised before making its decision.

How long should consultation last?

For individual redundancy consultation, legislation does not prescribe a universal minimum consultation period. Acas confirms that there is no statutory rule governing how long individual consultation should last. Contractual policies or collective agreements may impose additional requirements.

The process should therefore last long enough to be meaningful, but it does not need to be artificially extended after the relevant issues have been explored and reasonable representations considered.

Different rules apply where statutory collective consultation is triggered.

Collective redundancy consultation

As at 9 September 2026, statutory collective consultation is required where an employer proposes 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less. The employer must consult appropriate representatives: normally the recognised trade union for affected employees or, where there is no relevant recognised union, properly elected employee representatives.

For 20 to 99 proposed redundancies, consultation must begin in good time and at least 30 days before the first proposed dismissal takes effect. For 100 or more, the minimum is 45 days.

These are not automatic lengths for every consultation exercise. Collective consultation may continue for longer. It may also reach agreement sooner, although dismissals cannot take effect before the applicable minimum period has expired.

Representatives must receive prescribed information about the proposals, including the reasons, numbers and categories affected, the relevant workforce numbers, proposed selection method, how dismissals are proposed to be carried out and redundancy-payment arrangements. Current Acas guidance also identifies information concerning relevant agency workers.

The employer must also notify the government’s Redundancy Payments Service using the HR1 process where the statutory threshold is met. Notification must be made before individual dismissal notices are issued and at least 30 or 45 days before the first dismissal, depending on the number proposed. Failure to comply can result in prosecution and a fine.

Collective consultation does not replace individual consultation. Employers should still consult affected employees individually about their own circumstances. The two processes may sometimes overlap.

Since 6 April 2026, an employment tribunal can make a protective award of up to 180 days’ pay for each affected employee where collective consultation duties are breached.

A 2027 change to watch

The Employment Rights Act 2025 contains provisions for an additional organisation-wide threshold that will extend collective-consultation obligations across multiple establishments. That new threshold is not currently in force. The government timetable places implementation in 2027 and the detailed threshold is to be set through secondary legislation. Employers should therefore continue to apply the present establishment-based rules while monitoring implementation.

Employees who need particular consideration

Employees who are absent should not simply disappear from the consultation process.

Someone on maternity or other family leave should be kept informed and given a proper opportunity to participate. The enhanced suitable-alternative-vacancy protections described above must also be checked.

For an employee who is off sick, Harrington Raine recommends considering the reason for the absence and whether consultation can take place by video, telephone, in writing or at a rearranged meeting. One missed meeting should not automatically be treated as a refusal to consult.

Where an employee is disabled, the Equality Act 2010 may require reasonable adjustments to the consultation or selection process. Disability must not itself be used as a reason for selection, and employers should consider whether arrangements or criteria place the employee at a disadvantage.

Remote consultation can also be appropriate. Acas accepts telephone consultation where both parties agree and there is a clear need, and wider redundancy communications can be held online for remote employees.

Where a restructure may be connected with a business transfer, employers should separately consider when TUPE applies, because different information, consultation and timing issues may arise.

Ending consultation and making decisions

Consultation can conclude when the relevant issues have been explored, reasonable information has been provided, employee representations have genuinely been considered and there is no remaining issue that realistically requires further consultation.

Agreement is not required.

Before confirming a redundancy, the employer should be able to explain:

• why the business proposal remains necessary;
• what alternatives were considered;
• how significant employee suggestions were addressed;
• why the final pool and selection approach were used;
• how any scoring challenge was dealt with;
• what alternative employment was considered; and
• why redundancy remains the appropriate outcome.

Only after meaningful consultation is complete should the final redundancy decision and notice be issued. Acas states that redundancy notice should be given once consultation has finished.

Where the employer needs support with the final decision or related termination issues, our dismissal advice for employers explains the commercial support available.

Good records are important. Harrington Raine recommends retaining the proposal documents, at-risk letters, consultation notes, employee representations, responses, selection evidence, scoring records, vacancy searches and the reasoning behind the final decision.

Common consultation mistakes

Common problems include:

• describing a final decision as a proposal;
• beginning consultation too late;
• giving employees too little information to respond meaningfully;
• treating consultation meetings as a script-reading exercise;
• refusing to consider alternative structures or working arrangements;
• finalising pools or scores before relevant challenges are heard;
• relying on subjective or discriminatory selection criteria;
• failing to correct factual scoring errors;
• overlooking suitable vacancies;
• excluding employees because they are absent or on family leave;
• assuming a fixed number of meetings makes the process fair;
• confusing the 30- and 45-day collective rules with individual consultation;
• issuing notice before meaningful consultation has concluded; and
• keeping inadequate records of how representations were considered.

Employers dealing with a live restructure can find further guidance throughout our HR & Employment Law resources, or speak to Harrington Raine about redundancy and restructuring support.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employee bring someone to a redundancy consultation meeting?

There is not a general statutory right to a companion at an ordinary individual redundancy consultation meeting in the same way as there is for certain disciplinary or grievance hearings. A contract, policy or collective agreement may provide additional rights. Acas recommends that employers consider allowing a companion because they can provide support and help the meeting run effectively.

Can redundancy consultation meetings be held remotely?

Yes, where remote consultation still gives the employee a proper opportunity to understand the proposal and participate. Video or telephone consultation can be particularly useful for remote workers or employees who cannot reasonably attend in person.

What if an employee refuses to attend consultation?

The employer should make reasonable efforts to involve them, explain why consultation matters and offer sensible alternatives such as another meeting, remote attendance or written representations. Harrington Raine would not normally recommend treating one refusal or missed meeting as automatic permission to end the process.

If an employee persistently refuses to engage despite reasonable opportunities, the employer may ultimately have to decide using the information available, provided it can demonstrate that genuine opportunities to consult were offered.

What if an employee is off sick?

Do not assume sickness means consultation must either stop indefinitely or proceed without the employee. Consider the employee’s health, likely duration of absence and whether alternative arrangements would allow meaningful participation. If the condition could amount to a disability, reasonable adjustments may be required.

Does the employer have to accept an alternative suggested by an employee?

No. Consultation requires genuine consideration, not agreement. An employer can reject an alternative that is unworkable or does not meet the business need, but should be capable of explaining the reason for doing so.

Is there a minimum individual redundancy consultation period?

No universal statutory minimum applies to individual consultation. The process must instead be long enough to be genuine and meaningful, subject to any contractual policy or collective agreement.

Does collective consultation replace individual consultation?

No. Where collective consultation applies, employers should still consult employees individually about matters affecting them personally.

Can redundancy notice be issued before consultation finishes?

It should not be. The final redundancy decision and notice should follow meaningful consultation rather than pre-empt it. In collective redundancies, the applicable 30- or 45-day minimum period must also be respected before the first dismissal takes effect.