Redeployment

An employer must still consult collectively even if it plans to redeploy some of the affected employees, so that fewer than 20 are likely to end up being dismissed. This is because the test looks at “proposals” to dismiss at the start of the consultation process. The fact that fewer than 20 employees eventually end up being dismissed is irrelevant. This is unsurprising, since one of the key purposes of collective consultation is for unions and employers to work together to find ways of avoiding compulsory redundancies (Hardy v Tourism South East UKEAT/0931/04 [2005] IRLR 242).