This guide explains exactly who you can bring, what they can and cannot do in the meeting, and the precise steps to take if your employer tries to refuse.
Your Statutory Right: What the Law Actually Says
Your right to be accompanied is set out in the Employment Relations Act 1999. It applies to any formal disciplinary or grievance hearing — and it applies equally to formal redundancy consultation meetings.
The right is absolute. It does not depend on your length of service, your contract, or whether your employer agrees. If the meeting is formal, you can bring a companion.
Understanding this legal baseline immediately shifts the power dynamic before discussions even begin. Walking in knowing your rights is not the same as walking in hoping for the best.
Who You Can Legally Bring
The law specifies two categories of permitted companion:
A trade union representative or certified union official. This applies even if your workplace does not officially recognise that union. Your companion does not need to be from a union your employer has agreed to work with — they simply need to be a certified official of an independent trade union.
A workplace colleague. A fellow employee at your organisation who agrees to accompany you and who your employer must give reasonable paid time off to attend.
Who You Cannot Bring
This is where many employees are surprised by what the law actually says.
Family members are not permitted companions under the statutory right — unless your employer’s own handbook extends the right beyond the legal minimum, or unless reasonable adjustments are required due to a disability.
Legal counsel — your solicitor — is also not automatically permitted at the meeting itself under the statutory right. They can advise you before and after, review any offers made, and help you prepare. But they do not have an automatic right to be present in the room unless your employer agrees or your company policy allows it.
Always check your company handbook. Some employers grant broader accompaniment rights than the legal minimum. If yours does, you can rely on that policy as well as the statutory right.
What Your Companion Can Do
Your companion’s role is defined by the law, and understanding its scope helps you use them effectively.
They can:
Address the meeting on your behalf Present your case and sum up your arguments Confer with you privately during the meeting Take detailed notes throughout Help you analyse any alternative employment offers or severance calculations presented
They cannot:
Answer questions directed at you by your employer Prevent your employer from explaining their business rationale speak over you or take control of the meeting entirely
Used correctly, a good companion changes the dynamic of the whole meeting. Brief them thoroughly beforehand on your work history, your key concerns, and your preferred outcome. Agree a simple signal — a word, a gesture — so you can pause the meeting and take a private break whenever you feel overwhelmed.
What To Do If Your Employer Refuses
An employer who refuses your valid companion request is breaching their statutory duty. This is not a grey area — it is a clear legal breach.
Step one: Submit a written request immediately, citing your statutory right under the Employment Relations Act 1999. Keep a copy.
Step two: If your chosen companion is unavailable on the proposed date, you are entitled to request a postponement of up to five working days to allow them to attend.
Step three: Document every interaction. A refusal of your companion right does not just stand alone — it actively strengthens any unfair dismissal or wrongful redundancy claim if the process continues without your companion present.
An employment tribunal can award up to two weeks’ additional pay as compensation for a breach of the right to be accompanied. More importantly, a flawed consultation process can undermine the entire redundancy — making it potentially unfair or unlawful.
Your Next Steps
Know your rights at myredundancyrights.co.uk/my-rights Check whether your redundancy process is lawful at myredundancyrights.co.uk/legality-checker Read more employment law guides at myredundancyrights.co.uk/blog