Negotiating better redundancy pay

 

Negotiating better redundancy pay is often the first thing on your mind, especially whereby you feel singled out unfairly for redundancy and therefore the standard redundancy package if not a fair outcome. If you are being made redundant and you’re wondering how to negotiate a better redundancy package, then the most important thing to focus on is the way that your employer selected you, especially if it was underhand or somehow just doesn’t seem right.

 

A lot of redundancies are carried out incorrectly by management, and if you can identify the errors, then that will be the key to negotiating a better redundancy package. Unfortunately, a lot of the redundancy processes we see today are in fact fake or sham redundancies, whereby your employer decides in advance who they want to select, and then builds a seemingly objective redundancy selection process which happens to select you (when the whole time it was a foregone conclusion). In this country it is supposed to be the role itself which is identified as being redundant first, and then the employee is identified after, but all too often managers will select those people who, perhaps for personal reasons, they would like to see made redundant.

 

A lot of redundancy packages will take into account the element of doubt about the process, and will offer an enhanced amount, over and above the statutory minimum. So if you employer is offering you a big redundancy package then it will obviously be harder to negotiate a better payout. Even if successful in an employment tribunal claim, you might not get more than say 6 months’pay, or even less if you find another job quickly (tribunals only award compensation in redundancy cases for the amount of time actually out of a job).

 

Once you’ve identified the weaknesses in your redundancy process, then you can go about leveraging them to negotiate a better payment. This should be done on a ‘without prejudice’ basis, which means a special, off the record way of writing or speaking to your employer. At the same time, you should be running an ‘open’ position whereby you attend all the consultations and go through the appeals process, flagging up where you think they have gone wrong.

 

Ask for disclosure of documents, especially scoring criteria. Demand to know who rated you against the criteria and why, and ask to see any evidence which the managers referred to, such as absence records or disciplinary records. You should also ask to see the scores of the other employees in your redundancy pool. By this stage your employer may start to get nervous and offer you an increased package.

 

It goes without saying that if you instruct lawyers to represent you then you will invariably have a higher chance at negotiating better redundancy pay. This is partly because lawyers will know what to say, and partly because your employer will take you more seriously just because you have instructed lawyers at all.

 

Next steps

Feel free to contact us to discuss whether we can represent you. Our fee structure and the steps involved can be found here. We would normally have an initial telephone call with you, and you can arrange an appointment online here. This is without obligation and does not cost you anything. This can also be requested by calling us on 0800 533 5134 or 020 7717 5259 or emailing us at [email protected].