Redundancy
The legislation dealing with redundancy can be complex. On this page you can find ICAEW insights alongside eBooks, articles and online resources providing practical guidance and best practice.
ICAEW is providing a collection of resources with help, advice and resources to assist those affected by redundancy. Find out more at the redundancy support for employers and individuals hub.
ICAEW insights and guidance
Template redundancy letters and agreements
Model documents covering individual and collective consultations for redundancy can be provided by email from the ICAEW Library & Information Service on request.
Taxing termination payments
Updated 20 May 2020: Sarah Bradford, director at Writetax Ltd, explains the new rules regarding taxing termination payments applying from April 2018. She covers termination awards, post-employment notice pay and statutory redundancy pay among other things.
Chartered accountants facing redundancy
Professionals, including chartered accountants, are not immune from redundancy. If you are in this position it is important to get specialist advice and support. The Support Members Scheme has produced this information sheet to help you find the advice and support you might need.
An ICAEW overview guide to managing a redundancy process
Economic conditions, mergers or a change in business operations can lead to your company needing to make staff redundant. This guide covers the general legal and human resource issues you would need to consider.
The implications of reorganisations, restructures and redundancies
During any change initiative, there are formalities to observe. Jemima Coleman and Christine Young of Herbert Smith Freehills offer guidance and practical advice on the legal issues for managers to keep in mind when contemplating change.
Legal Alert
Legal Alert is a monthly checklist from Atom Content Marketing highlighting new and pending laws, regulations, codes of practice and rulings that could have an impact on your business.
June 2021
Employers considering redundancies as COVID restrictions ease should beware inadvertently discriminating either directly or indirectly against disabled employees when choosing who to let go and take care when considering whether they need to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled employees.
May 2020
Employers are making contingency plans to avoid redundancies – or at least make them a last resort – if the government’s furlough scheme is not extended beyond 30 June 2020.
October 2017
Employers should take care what they say to employees about their rights leading up to possible redundancies, or risk their statements being treated as contractual promises which they must then deliver to those employees.
eBooks
The Library provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.
Terminating employment
This chapter covers the termination of employment includes: types of termination; avoiding unfair dismissal; wrongful dismissal; constructive dismissal; rights of redundant workers including statutory redundancy payments.
Employment
This chapter on employment covers the difference between employees and contractors, terms of an employment contract, termination of employment , wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and redundancy.
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supplier pages for full terms of use.
Bloomsbury Core Accounting and Tax Service
Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising more than 60 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Core Accounting and Tax Service.
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Accountants Legal Service
2021
A chapter on termination of employment in this time-saving reference guide for accountants who are faced with an unfamiliar legal problem or query. Topics covered include deemed dismissal and how to avoid allegations of constructive dismissal.
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Accountants Legal Service
2021
This chapter covers two separate matters - giving an employee reasons for dismissal and providing references for a dismissed employee.
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Accountants Legal Service
2021
A chapter on unfair dismissal in this time-saving reference guide for accountants who are faced with an unfamiliar legal problem or query. Topics covered include excluded categories, the reason for dismissal, automatically unfair dismissals and the test of reasonableness.
Terms of use: You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the Acceptable usage terms.
Acas guidance
Advice, guidance and practical resources on a wide variety of recruitment topics for both employers and employees, produced by the
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas. Acas is the employment relations service for England, Scotland and Wales offering practical, independent and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives.
Acas
Acas information for employers on redundancy issues, covering key points and employee rights.
Acas
Letter template for employees raising an appeal against being made redundant. Free to download and use.
Acas
Guidance for employees on their rights during redundancy.
Online articles
The Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Redundancy... the do's and don'ts
Article explains the rights and wrongs of redundancy.
The redundancy process
The article provides information on the redundancy process in the employment. Topics discussed include the importance of the handling of redundancy dismissals in line with the law, the criteria for selection of redundancy based on the length of service, disciplinary record and performance of employees and finding an alternative to find an alternative for redundancy by communication of employer and employee.
"We'd like to make you an offer"
The article discusses issues related to exit agreements for employees as part of human resources (HR) work. Topics include the negotiation of settlement agreements with employees who have become redundant, the need for documentation of offers to avoid unfair dismissal claims, and the role of confidentiality clauses in agreements.
Terms of use: You are permitted to access articles subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by
individual publishers. Please see individual
supplier pages for full terms of use.
Useful external resources
HM Government
Government calculator for employers to work out payments based on age, weekly pay and number of years service.
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Guidance for employers and workers on work absences due to COVID-19. It highlights the penalties for asking employees to work somewhere other than where they are self-isolating, when to tell employers if you must quarantine, Statutory Sick Pay, leave, dismissal, redundancy, reasonable adjustments, pregnancy and maternity, and returning to the workplace.
HM Government
Government guidance covering lay-offs and short-time working, non-compulsory and compulsory redundancies, staff consultations and redundancy pay.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Factsheet , Q and As and case law on redundancy from CIPD. Registration is required to access this material.
Insolvency Service
Form and guidance for employers who need to notify the government of potential redundancies.
Further reading
Articles and books in the Library collection
The ICAEW Library has a world-class collection of books and journals covering a wide range of topics including accountancy, auditing, law, taxation, finance and management.
To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.
You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.
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