Know your rights in the workplace

If you are worried about your future at work, you can access free, impartial advice on your rights, the rules and best practice, including with regards redundancy, from Acas. This is its advice for this situation:

WHO GOES?

Before your employer selects anyone for redundancy, by law they must follow a consultation and selection process. They might consider changing working hours, offering voluntary redundancy or moving employees into different roles. Your employer must consult you and meet with you at least once, even if you’re not at risk of redundancy yourself.

You can choose to put yourself forward for redundancy before being selected (voluntary redundancy). This is not a right, but if you are stopped from volunteering because of your sex, age, disability or another ‘protected characteristic’, it could be discrimination.

Your employer must also not use criteria that indirectly discriminates against you.

For example, if they use flexible working as a criterion, they could be discriminating against women.

YOU HAVE A VOICE

Your employer is legally required to:

● Listen to your ideas

● Try to come to an agreement with you

HOW MUCH NOTICE?

Your notice period depends on how long you’ve worked for your employer, and possibly the terms of your contract.

● Calculate your statutory redundancy pay at gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay

● If your employer is insolvent, you can apply for redundancy pay from the government’s Redundancy Payments Service. Call the helpline on 0330 331 0020.

FURTHER READING

‘Why strategic networks are important for women and how to build them’ by Herminia Ibarra of London Business School; herminiaibarra.com