In responding to its consultation on changing the collective redundancies rules, the Government has today announced various changes, including the reduction of the current 90 days minimum consultation for very large scale redundancies to 45 days. The changes will take effect from April 2013.
Background
The Government consulted, between June and September 2012, on proposals to change the rules on collective redundancies. See EEF’s response to the consultation.
Government response to consultation
The Government’s response to the collective redundancies consultation comprises the following key elements:
- Removing the 90-day minimum consultation period for redundancies of 100 or more and replacing it with a 45-day minimum period
- Exempting fixed term contracts which reach their agreed termination date from collective redundancy consultation obligations
- Introducing new non-statutory ACAS guidance to address certain key issues, including the issue of what is an “establishment”.
The Government intends that the amended legislation and accompanying ACAS guidance will be in place by April 2013.
See the Government consultation response documents.
Comment
Commenting on today’s announcement of changes, Tim Thomas, Head of Employment Policy at EEF, said:
‘Today’s announcement will send a strong signal to industry that the Government is committed to creating the flexible labour market that it needs. By reducing the consultation period from 90 to 45 days, the Government has taken a further step to creating a modern consultation system based on the quality, not the length of, the process. It now needs to complete the package by introducing simpler settlement agreements and protected conversations that provider a better base for discussing and managing change in the workplace.”