Redundancy consultation is the stage at which the majority of unfair dismissal claims are won or lost. Get it right and your business is protected. Get it wrong — rush it, skip steps, or fail to document it — and you’ve handed the claimant exactly what they need.
This guide sets out the framework smart HR leaders use to conduct redundancy consultations that are legally compliant, genuinely fair, and tribunal-proof.
Step 1 — Build Your Legal Foundation Before Anyone Is Notified
The consultation process starts long before the first meeting. Before any employee is told their role is at risk, your business must have documented:
The genuine commercial rationale for the restructure — in writing, specific, and defensible The pool for selection — drawn fairly and logically, covering all employees in comparable roles The selection criteria — objective, measurable, and applied consistently across the pool Standardised scorecards for every pool member — completed before individual meetings begin “We thought we could complete the paperwork after the meetings,” one HR manager told an employment law firm after a successful tribunal claim against their employer. “The tribunal saw it differently. The lack of prior documentation suggested the decision had already been made.”
Document first. Consult second. Never the other way around.
Step 2 — Launch Collective Consultation Transparently
If 20 or more redundancies are proposed within 90 days, collective consultation with elected employee representatives is a legal requirement — not a courtesy. But even where numbers fall below that threshold, opening a collective phase before individual meetings builds trust, demonstrates good faith, and significantly strengthens your legal position.
In collective consultation:
Present the financial realities and business rationale openly to elected representatives Provide written information including the reasons for redundancy, the numbers affected, the selection method, and the proposed timeline Create structured channels for representatives to submit alternative proposals — cost savings, reduced hours, voluntary redundancy — before any individual decisions are finalised Allow adequate time. Rushing collective consultation is one of the most frequently cited failures in tribunal proceedings Employees who feel the process was transparent from the start are significantly less likely to bring claims — even when the outcome goes against them.
Step 3 — Conduct Individual Consultations With Care and Precision
Individual consultation meetings are where most employers make their most costly mistakes. Every meeting must be:
Genuine — not a formality. You must be open to changing the outcome based on what the employee says. A meeting held purely to inform, not to listen, is not consultation.
Documented — take contemporaneous notes of everything said by both sides. These notes are your primary evidence if a claim is made.
Repeated — at least two individual meetings per employee, with adequate time between them for the employee to consider their position and respond.
Accompanied — employees have the right to bring a trade union representative or work colleague. Denying this right is an automatic procedural failure.
Focused on alternatives — every individual meeting must include a genuine exploration of suitable alternative roles within the organisation. Document every role considered and every reason it was or wasn’t offered.
Share individual scoring outcomes in writing before the meeting, giving the employee time to review and prepare a response. An employee who sees their scores for the first time in the room cannot meaningfully challenge them.
Step 4 — Document Every Decision Precisely
Once individual consultation is complete, every decision must be recorded in writing before outcome letters are issued. Your documentation should include:
Notes from every collective and individual meeting The completed scorecard for every pool member A record of every alternative role considered The basis for the final selection decision Confirmation that the right of appeal was offered Outcome letters must state the final decision clearly, set out the notice period, itemise all payments due, and confirm the right of appeal in writing. Vague or incomplete outcome letters are regularly used against employers at tribunal.
Step 5 — Run a Genuinely Independent Appeals Process
Every employee must be offered the right to appeal. The appeal must be heard by someone who was not involved in the original decision — ideally a more senior manager or an independent HR professional. A sham appeal process, or one conducted by the same manager who made the original decision, carries no legal weight.
Resolve appeals promptly. An appeal resolved fairly in-house eliminates the need for external proceedings in the vast majority of cases.
Step 6 — Support Departing Employees and Future-Proof Your Process
The way your business treats departing employees is watched closely by those who remain. Outplacement support, career counselling, and access to mental health resources signal to your whole workforce that the business acts with integrity — and reduce the likelihood of post-redundancy grievances significantly.
After every redundancy exercise, review your HR processes against current legal standards. Employment law evolves — what was compliant in 2024 may carry new risk in 2026.
Protecting Your Business Starts Here
The full employer redundancy compliance guide — including consultation frameworks, documentation checklists, and legal timelines — is at myredundancyrights.co.uk/employer/process.
Your Next Steps
Access the full employer compliance guide at myredundancyrights.co.uk/employer/process Review employee rights at myredundancyrights.co.uk/my-rights