by Greg Burgess, of ASB Law

No-one can deny that it's been a tough few years for the economy, and there are signs of continuing difficult times in 2012.

Challenging trading conditions may result in employers revisiting their strategies and growth forecasts, and organisations may also need to review the levels of staffing required to fulfil business requirements.

Here are some of the key things to consider when planning a restructure that could lead to a number of redundancies:

1Consider the circumstances.

Is there a genuine redundancy situation in line with the legal definition? Are there any enhanced redundancy or collective agreements in place which require initial negotiations with a trade union or employee body?

2 Do your maths.

How many employees will be affected? If it is between 20 and 99 proposed redundancies in one establishment within a 90-day period, then a 30-day consultation period will be necessary. If 100 or more proposed redundancies, then a 90-day consultation period is necessary. Don't forget it's not about how many people will be made compulsorily redundant; it's about how many roles you propose to remove.

3 Volunteers.

Is it appropriate to ask for volunteers before moving to compulsory redundancies? Remember that volunteers count towards the overall number of proposed redundancies for the purposes of collective consultation.

4 Timing is everything.

Make sure you begin your consultation in good time and allow enough time for the consultation to conclude before any redundancies are confirmed.

5 Draw up appropriate selection criteria.

Think about whether it is appropriate to consult on the proposed selection criteria with any trade union/representative body.

6 Elect your representatives.

The Regulations give broad outlines as to the running of the elections, but there is no specific guidance as to how the elections should be managed in practice. Generally speaking, it is advisable to write to each affected employee explaining the essentials of the representation and consultation process, and inviting nominations for each workgroup.

You must also provide your representatives with certain information about agency workers within your organisation, including: the number of agency workers working temporarily for and under your direction; the parts of your organisation in which agency workers are working; and the type of work the agency workers carry out.

Any changes to the above information during the consultation period must be communicated to the representatives.

It is therefore important that you keep up-to-date data about your agency workers to avoid the risk of protective award claims under this requirement (which could lead to awards of 90 days' pay per affected employee).

7 Consult.

The proper statutory timetable must be followed, and there must be enough time for individual consultation.

8. Consider the alternatives.

Look for alternative employment for affected individuals, consider trial periods and don't ignore group companies or different offices/sites.

9 Proper notice of dismissal must be given.

This should include an itemised statement of redundancy pay.

10 Allow a right of appeal.

The possibility of appeal should be part of any redundancy process.

• Greg Burgess can be contacted on 01622 656500 or email gregory.burgess@asb-law.com