It’s also quite harsh making someone redundant but it’s life.

Generally the right to serve counter notice only arises after the end of consultation and when redundancy notice has been served.

One week is very short but I would advise to accept it and move on. I think the legislation requires reasonableness on both sides but would have to check that.  Of course the individual loses the remaining 11 weeks notice  pay ....

In reply to Keith:

Hi Mike and welcome to Communities

As far as I know, if the reason for counter notice from employee having been served notice of redundancy dismissal is take up another job offer then it's highly unlikely that any Tribunal would find a week's counter notice to be sufficiently unreasonable to justify employer trying to withhold redundandancy pay. Depends on the particular facts of course, but imho there would need to be unusual and compelling ones for it to be any different.

As Keith says, the employer is about to take away someone's entire livelihood, so from their soon to be ex employee's standpoint if they have the chance of securing another job they need to jump at it: why is it reasonable to expect them to put their present employer's interests ahead of those of their own and those of their dependants etc?

thanks for your response Keith. I would agree that if you find a job then security and paying the mortgage comes first. I was not aware that it would be acceptable for an employer to withhold the 11 weeks pay in lieu of notice. That seems harsh although I suppose the individual would lose the 11 weeks pay by serving one weeks counter notice. The redundancy pay regarding length of service is a given.

In reply to Mike :

Yes in law serving counter notice in effect changes the length of notice required - in these circumstances there is no legal necessity to pay the full notice period as PILON but of course you can be more generous than the statutory provisions.

I am sure the individual isnt aware of this ..... so a discussion maybe in order

As David says the statutory redundancy payments are totally unaffected by these arrangements.

In reply to Keith:

Thank you Keith and David, your responses has helped me a lot. I will have a discussion with the individual, I would hate them to lose out . A new lesson learnt today in regards to an employee serving counter notice changes the length of notice required ( payment) from an employer.