New Acas guidance on consultation
The Acas guidance: How to manage collective redundancies, April 2013, includes a sample redundancy procedure which suggests the following areas for consultation:
• Commitment to keep local trade unions/employee reps informed as fully as possible about staffing requirements and any need for redundancies;
• How long consultation is to last;
• Who is to be consulted;
• What must be discussed;
• How the consultation should be conducted, focusing on the spirit of the consultation — with a view to reaching agreement and including a commitment to consider alternative proposals;
• What statutory information must be provided;
• Additional areas on which to consult, including:
◊ The effect on earnings, where transfer or down-grading is accepted as an alternative to redundancy;
◊ Arrangements for travel, removal and related expenses where a new role is on a different site;
◊ Arrangements for reasonable time off with pay to look for jobs or arrange training;
◊ Help with job hunting;
◊ Arrangements to transfer apprenticeships.
Measures to avoid redundancy can include:
• Natural wastage;
• Restricting recruitment of permanent staff;
• Reducing use of agency workers;
• Filling vacancies from among existing staff;
• Reducing overtime;
• Reducing hours e.g. by short-time working;
• Training, retraining and redeployment.