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End of Probationary Period Or Redundancy

As we return from Furlough, a few of our team have returned on a part time basis only. A few others, who had joined the team and are in their probationary period are still on Furlough. Just before Furlough was introduced the whole company went under consultation for redundancy. This was halted at the last moment as Furlough was introduced by the government.

We now have to review our team, due to being a small company, and we now unfortunately have to let a few of our team go.  Do we need to re consult with the individuals concerned who are still on Furlough for redundancy, or can we end  their contracts of employments based on their probationary period as a result of business decline?  Any advice would be welcomed as I cannot find the correct guidance for this situation at present.

Thanks in advance.

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  • If you are making them redundant, the law hasn't changed and you must still consult. However, if they have less than two years' service and there are fewer than twenty employees affected, your consultation can be pretty brief.
  • In reply to Robey:

    Thank you Robey.
  • In reply to Robey:

    Robey, as a matter of interest, as we already started the process but halted it, can we resume the initial consultation again or begin again from scratch?
  • In reply to Clayre Patricia:

    There is no prescribed format for individual consultation. Whatever form it takes, it only needs to be adequate and of course fair. So in principle nothing wrong with resuming something that was recently started but interrupted as long has nothing has changed and you check that they're still clear about what went before.
    (By the way, those with less than approx 2 years continuous employment unless it's for unlawful discrimination etc can't of course bring any unfair dismissal claims even if dismissed by 'unfair' process - not advocating that you treat them any differently, but worth bearing in mind.)
  • In reply to David:

    Thanks David for the clarity. Much appreciated.