What is a Collective Redundancy?

A collective redundancy situation generally arises where an employer proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less.

Where this threshold is reached, the employer must follow specific collective consultation requirements in addition to dealing fairly with individual employees.

Collective redundancies commonly arise where an organisation is:

• Downsizing its workforce
• Closing a workplace or site
• Restructuring part of the business
• Reducing particular functions or departments
• Moving operations elsewhere
• Making significant organisational changes that reduce the need for employees

A genuine redundancy situation concerns the employer's requirement for employees to carry out particular work. It is not normally based on an individual's conduct or performance.

What Does "One Establishment" Mean?

The concept of an establishment is important because the current collective consultation threshold is generally applied by reference to the number of proposed redundancies at one establishment.

An establishment is not automatically the same thing as the employer's entire organisation, nor does it always mean one physical building.

The question is generally whether the workplace forms a sufficiently distinct employment unit within the wider organisation.

Relevant factors can include:

• Whether employees are assigned primarily to that location or unit
• Whether the workplace has its own management arrangements
• Whether the unit performs a distinct function
• How the workforce is organised
• Whether staff commonly work across several locations
• The degree of operational independence from other parts of the organisation

For example, an individual branch, shop, office or other workplace may potentially constitute a separate establishment even though functions such as HR, payroll or finance are managed centrally.

Whether a particular location amounts to an establishment will depend on the facts.

Who Must the Employer Consult?

Where collective consultation is required, the employer must consult with the appropriate representatives of the affected employees.

If there is a recognised trade union covering the affected employees, the employer should consult with the relevant trade union representatives.

Where there is no recognised trade union, consultation will generally take place with:

• Existing employee representatives who have appropriate authority
• Representatives specifically elected by the affected employees

The purpose is to ensure that employees have meaningful representation throughout the collective redundancy process.

What is the Role of Employee Representatives?

Employee representatives act on behalf of affected employees during collective consultation.

Their role can include:

• Receiving information about the redundancy proposals
• Explaining the proposals to affected employees
• Gathering employees' views and concerns
• Raising questions with the employer
• Suggesting alternatives to redundancy
• Discussing how the number of redundancies could be reduced
• Reviewing proposed selection arrangements
• Discussing ways to reduce the impact on affected employees
• Considering support for employees who may lose their jobs
• Reporting consultation developments back to the workforce

Representatives should be given a genuine opportunity to influence the process before final decisions are made.

How Are Employee Representatives Elected?

If there is no recognised trade union and no appropriate existing representative body, the employer must arrange for affected employees to elect representatives.

The election process should be fair.

The employer should ensure that:

• Candidates are affected employees at the time of the election
• Affected employees are not unreasonably prevented from standing for election
• All affected employees have an opportunity to vote
• Employees have sufficient votes to elect the representatives for their group
• Voting can take place secretly where reasonably practicable
• Votes are counted accurately
• Enough representatives are elected to represent all affected employees
• Representatives remain in office for long enough to complete the consultation

There is no fixed statutory number of representatives that must always be elected. The number should be sufficient to represent the interests of all affected employees effectively.

What Happens if Employees Do Not Elect Representatives?

If employees have been given a proper opportunity to elect representatives but nobody is willing to stand or representatives are not elected, the employer may need to consult affected employees directly.

This should generally be treated as a last resort rather than a way of avoiding representative consultation.

Affected employees should still receive the relevant information and a genuine opportunity to express their views.

What Information Must Be Given to Employee Representatives?

The employer must provide appropriate representatives with important information about the proposed redundancies in writing.

This should include information such as:

• The reasons for the proposed redundancies
• The number of employees the employer proposes to dismiss
• The types or descriptions of jobs affected
• The total number of employees in the relevant roles at the establishment
• The proposed method of selecting employees for redundancy
• How the employer proposes to carry out the dismissals
• The proposed timetable
• How any redundancy payments will be calculated
• Relevant information about agency workers being used by the organisation

Where agency workers are being used, relevant information can include:

• How many agency workers are being used
• Where within the organisation they are working
• What type of work they perform

The employer should provide enough information to allow representatives to participate meaningfully in consultation.

What Must Collective Consultation Cover?

Collective consultation must be genuine and carried out with a view to reaching agreement with the employee representatives.

The employer should consult about ways of:

• Avoiding the proposed redundancies
• Reducing the number of employees who may be dismissed
• Reducing the impact of redundancy on affected employees

Consultation can also cover issues such as:

• The reasons for the proposed changes
• The proposed redundancy pool
• Selection criteria
• Alternative employment
• Voluntary redundancy
• Retraining
• Redeployment
• Support for affected employees
• Redundancy packages
• Proposed timescales

An employer does not necessarily have to accept every proposal put forward by employees or their representatives.

However, it should genuinely consider reasonable suggestions rather than treating the outcome as already decided.

Who Counts as an Affected Employee?

Collective consultation is not necessarily limited to employees who will ultimately be selected for redundancy.

An affected employee may include someone whose employment or working arrangements could be materially affected by the proposed redundancies.

This might include employees whose:

• Roles are placed at risk
• Workload may substantially change
• Team structure may change
• Duties may be redistributed
• Working arrangements may be affected by the restructuring

The scope of consultation will depend on the nature of the proposals.

When Must Collective Consultation Begin?

Collective consultation should begin in good time and before the employer has made final redundancy decisions.

The statutory minimum periods depend upon the number of redundancies proposed.

Where the employer proposes:

• 20 to 99 redundancies – Consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first proposed dismissal takes effect
• 100 or more redundancies – Consultation must begin at least 45 days before the first proposed dismissal takes effect

Starting consultation earlier may be necessary in a large or complicated redundancy exercise.

The employer should not wait until decisions are effectively irreversible before consulting employees.

Does Consultation Have to Last for 30 or 45 Days?

Not necessarily.

The law specifies the minimum period before the first dismissal can take effect, rather than requiring every consultation exercise to contain meetings on every day of that period.

Consultation may conclude earlier if genuine consultation has taken place and the relevant issues have been properly considered.

However, the first dismissal should not take effect before the applicable 30 or 45-day minimum period has expired.

In more complicated cases, consultation may need to continue for longer.

Can an Employer Give Notice Before Collective Consultation?

An employer must notify the Government and begin collective consultation within the required timescales.

Individual notice of dismissal should not be issued before the employer has notified the Government's Redundancy Payments Service.

Employers should also avoid making final redundancy decisions before meaningful consultation has taken place.

If employees are simply informed that their dismissal has already been decided before consultation begins, the employer may have difficulty demonstrating that the consultation was genuine.

Is Collective Consultation Different From Individual Consultation?

Yes.

Collective consultation does not replace the need to deal fairly with individual employees.

Employees who are personally at risk of redundancy should usually also have an opportunity to discuss matters such as:

• Their individual selection
• Their redundancy score
• The selection criteria
• Alternative employment
• Redeployment opportunities
• Any errors in the employer's information
• Personal circumstances relevant to the process

Collective and individual consultation may sometimes overlap, but both processes serve different purposes.

A failure to consult an individual employee fairly can be relevant to an unfair dismissal claim.

How Can Collective Consultation Help Employees?

Collective consultation provides an opportunity for employees and their representatives to suggest alternatives that could avoid or reduce redundancies.

Possible proposals could include:

• Voluntary redundancy
• Reduced working hours
• Temporary reductions in overtime
• Redeployment
• Retraining employees
• Job sharing
• Recruitment freezes
• Reducing the use of agency workers
• Reducing the use of contractors
• Changing working arrangements
• Delaying recruitment
• Alternative cost-saving measures

Whether any particular proposal is realistic will depend on the organisation's circumstances.

The employer does not have to agree to every alternative but should properly consider genuine proposals.

What Rights Do Employee Representatives Have?

Trade union and employee representatives should be able to carry out their role effectively.

Depending on the circumstances, they may have rights including:

• Reasonable paid time off to perform representative duties
• Reasonable time off for relevant training
• Access to affected employees
• Appropriate workplace facilities
• Protection against dismissal or detriment because of their representative role

An employer should not penalise someone because they have acted as an employee representative during collective consultation.

What Happens if an Employer Fails to Collectively Consult?

Where an employer fails to comply with its collective consultation obligations, a claim may be brought in the Employment Tribunal.

If the claim succeeds, the Tribunal can make a protective award.

From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award is up to 180 days' pay for each affected employee.

The amount awarded will depend upon the seriousness of the employer's failure and the circumstances of the case.

The protective award is intended to address the employer's failure to comply with its consultation obligations rather than simply compensate employees for their ordinary financial loss.

Do You Need Two Years' Service to Claim a Protective Award?

No.

An employee does not need two years' continuous employment to qualify for a protective award arising from a failure to collectively consult.

This means an employee may potentially have a protective award claim even if they do not qualify for:

• Ordinary unfair dismissal protection
• Statutory redundancy pay

These are separate statutory rights with different eligibility requirements.

Who Can Bring a Protective Award Claim?

Who brings the claim can depend upon how employees were represented during consultation.

A claim may potentially be made by:

• A recognised trade union
• Elected employee representatives
• Affected employees in appropriate circumstances

The correct claimant will depend upon the particular consultation arrangements and the nature of the employer's failure.

Can an Employer Defend a Failure to Consult Because of Special Circumstances?

Potentially, but this defence is narrow.

An employer may argue that special circumstances made full compliance with the consultation requirements not reasonably practicable.

The employer would still be expected to take whatever reasonable steps towards consultation were practicable in the circumstances.

Ordinary financial difficulties will not automatically amount to special circumstances.

For example, a sudden and genuinely unexpected event affecting the employer's ability to continue trading may be relevant.

However, where financial difficulties had developed over time and the employer could reasonably have started consultation earlier, the defence may be much more difficult to establish.

Each case will depend on its particular circumstances.

What Are the Time Limits for a Protective Award Claim?

Employment Tribunal time limits are strict.

As at 8 September 2026, claims relating to a failure to collectively consult are generally subject to a time limit of three months minus one day, usually calculated by reference to the date on which the last relevant dismissal takes effect.

Before bringing most Employment Tribunal claims, the claimant must normally notify Acas and begin the Early Conciliation process.

Starting Acas Early Conciliation within the relevant period can affect the calculation of the final Tribunal deadline.

From 1 October 2026, the general time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims will increase to six months minus one day where the relevant time limit begins on or after that date.

Because time-limit calculations can be complex, advice should be obtained promptly.

Does the Employer Have to Notify the Government?

Yes.

Where an employer proposes collective redundancies, it must also notify the Government's Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).

The employer should use the prescribed HR1 form.

Notification must generally be made:

• At least 30 days before the first dismissal where 20 to 99 redundancies are proposed
• At least 45 days before the first dismissal where 100 or more redundancies are proposed

The employer must notify the RPS before issuing individual notices of dismissal.

A copy of the notification should also be provided to the appropriate employee representatives.

Separate HR1 notifications may be required for different establishments.

Failure to comply with the statutory Government notification requirements can expose the employer to criminal consequences.

Are the Collective Redundancy Rules Changing?

Yes, further changes are expected.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for an additional organisation-wide threshold for collective redundancy obligations.

The existing rule requiring collective consultation where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within 90 days remains in force as at September 2026.

However, a future additional trigger will also require collective consultation where a specified number of redundancies are proposed across an organisation's different establishments.

The precise organisation-wide threshold has not yet been brought into force and will be set through further regulations.

The Government currently expects these additional collective redundancy changes to take effect during 2027.

Until those new rules commence, the existing establishment-based threshold continues to apply.