How long should consultation period last?

illmonkey

I have been made redundant, and in the paperwork they have given me it states that they will try to make sure that the consultation period is a quick as possible.
And at the moment that seems to be 3 weeks.

I read in some places that there is a minimum ammount of time that the consultation period needs to last. Which is a minimum of 30 days, and sometimes as much as 90 days if there are a lot of people being made redundant at the same time.

Is this true?
Should I bring it up with my employer in the consultation meetings I have?

I am also aged 23 right now, and have been working in the company for 4 years, but am told I am only entitled to 2.5 weeks of redundancy pay.
Martin Lewis on GMTV this morning, said that for anyone over 20 should get 1 week of pay for every year worked, which would mean for me that I would get 3.5 weeks instead.

Who is correct here?

kingkano

I believe consultation periods can be as short as 2wks for under 20 employees. 20-99 is 30 days. 100+ is 90 days.

Your redundancy entitlement has been calculated as per the statutory guidelines -

The calculation of 2.5 weeks of pay is based on:

• 0.5 weeks pay for each full year of service where your age was under 22
• 1 weeks pay for each full year of service where your age was 22 or above, but under 41

The important point to note is that its not your CURRENT age, but the age you were when you completed each year service. Since 3 of your years were in the bottom bracket they are only worth 0.5wks redundancy.

Perhaps Martin slightly miss-spoke?

Meadows

I think it varies on the amout of staff being made redundant, try #6 of this site:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/employment-legislation/employment-guidance/page13852.html#_ftnref6

Direct Gov is also a great site for all sorts of things:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/index.htm

Bean_Counter

In our last round of redundancies last month our consultation period was only one week.

dickydonkin

Redundancy procedures can be a legal minefield for employer/employee alike. I have found that small companies without unions tend to take liberties, however big companies can get it wrong as well.

My wife was recently made redundant from a company that employed around 65 people. Yes, there was consultation of a sort - , however, all such consultation should be 'meaningful'.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that ALL persons in the selection pool had been treated differently and only ONE person had conducted the scores on the selection matrix, we decided to go for unfair dismissal.

The tribunal date was set, however, my wife was offered a settlement a week prior to the tribunal.

What a lot of people do not know is that you do not have to employ a solicitor to take a company to an employment tribunal. This can be done on a DIY basis and can be also applied for on line. Furthermore, once the claim has been lodged, the arbitory process commences where ACAS will attempt to resolve the situation. Also. the tribunal is free.

What I would also check for is to see if you have legal cover on your household insurance policy. We fortunately did and had the use of a solicitor which did not even incur an excess fee.

Don't accept redundancy as a done thing - ask questions - take notes - this is what the consultation is for.

DP

getmore4less

Consultation can be very short, or can go longer untill resolved even where there are guidelines.

Martin Lewis on GMTV this morning, said that for anyone over 20 should get 1 week of pay for every year worked, which would mean for me that I would get 3.5 weeks instead

If he said that, he got it wrong,

Complete years over 22 qualify for 1 week(capped) per year