Workers ‘must be consulted over redundancy’

Posted 05/10/2009

Employers have been reminded of the need to consult workers on the issues of cutbacks and redundancy in order to avoid industrial or legal action over their rights under employment law.

The Institute of Employment Rights (IER) has advised companies that workers have become increasingly demoralised and insecure about their positions in the current economic climate.

This is due to the rising rates of redundancy in the last year, with Office for National Statistics figures showing that 107,000 more workers were laid off in the second quarter of 2009 than in the same period a year earlier.

As a result, staff have become increasingly willing to stage actions such as sit-ins and rallies if they feel they are being treated unfairly.

Carolyn Jones, director at the IER, therefore stated that workers should be consulted over employment issues and offered alternatives such as reduced hours, limits on overtime or voluntary redundancy.

She added: “If [employees] are not treated with respect, the discontent will be a ticking time bomb.”