Consultation with staff is an area of law that has moved on fast over the past few years, and as a result often catches out managers who think they know what they are doing and what the law requires. We recommend any manager entering into redundancy, TUPE, or lay-off exercises to check that their understanding of the law on consultation is compliant with the current legal requirements.
There are two types of consultation - collective and individual - and it is a common error to think that where there is a legal obligation to consult collectively, there is no need for individual consultation. That is wrong, and a failure to consult individually can result in substantial compensation (up to 13 weeks' pay) for each of the individuals concerned at tribunal.
Consulting with staff individually is a legal process and not usually an innate ability of each line manager. We would therefore recommend that in order to protect the organisation, any line manager involved in consultation should receive appropriate training and guidance in the legal process and also the practicalities of conducting consultation.
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