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Redundancy

Dealing with redundancy can be difficult and complex. On this page you can find ICAEW insights alongside eBooks, articles and online resources providing practical guidance and best practice.
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Latest on redundancy

Read our latest features and articles on redundancy.
colleagues manager employee having a serious meeting in an office meeting room
Ten ways to bounce back after being made redundant
  • Article
  • 30 Jan 2025
It’s understandable to be concerned about the threat of redundancy. Fortunately, there is plenty of support and guidance available if it happens to you, helping you find your next career opportunity.
Croner logo
Employment Rights Bill – What does it mean for unfair dismissal?
  • Article
  • 20 Jan 2025
Croner examines what the proposed Employment Rights Bill could mean for unfair dismissal rules.
New HMRC process for termination payment queries
  • Article
  • 21 Feb 2024
HMRC’s latest Employer Bulletin states that termination payment enquiries should now be made through the non-statutory clearance service.
Employer Bulletin: April 2023
  • Article
  • 26 Apr 2023
ICAEW’s Tax Faculty shares highlights from the latest edition of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin.
What do early-year retail redundancies mean for the sector in 2023?
  • Article
  • 13 Mar 2023
Thousands of UK retail workers lost their jobs in the first two months of the year – what are the prospects for the sector as a whole for the rest of this year?
The golden rules for making redundancies
  • Article
  • 03 Nov 2022
Dismissing employees is an art, not a science. Some bosses have mastered it well; others fail abysmally and – thanks to social media – very publicly. We consider six things to avoid when delivering bad news.
Exclusive Life after redundancy
  • Article
  • 13 Dec 2021
All the help you need if the worst happens
Employment law pitfalls and how to avoid them
  • Article
  • 16 Nov 2021
Employment law specialists from Edwin Coe outline common mistakes and complex issues that employers may grapple with and how these can be avoided with a better understanding of the legal issues.
Read more

Templates

Model documents covering individual and collective consultations for redundancy can be provided by email from the ICAEW Library & Information Service on request.
Template redundancy letters and agreements
  • Listing
Redundancy letter templates covering individual and collective consultations and model redundancy agreements are available from the ICAEW library.

Reports and guidance

LIBRARY Resources on accounting for redundancy
  • Listing
  • Nov 2023
An outline of some of the resources available to ICAEW members on accounting for redundancy.
Exclusive BUSINESS DEPARTMENT An overview of managing a redundancy process
  • Helpsheets and support
  • Dec 2022
This guide covers the general legal and human resource issues you would need to consider and does not replace expert advice.
Exclusive TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICES Redundancies under FRS 102
  • Helpsheets and support
  • Nov 2021
The helpsheet from ICAEW’s Technical Advisory Service explains the accounting considerations for redundancy payments under FRS 102. Termination benefits, including redundancy payments, are recognized as an expense when an entity is committed to a termination plan. Measurement and disclosure requirements are also outlined.
MEMBERS DEPARTMENT Chartered accountants facing redundancy
  • Helpsheets and support
  • Jun 2020
Information sheet offering guidance for Chartered Accountants facing redundancy.
Exclusive BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT FACULTY Special Report 44: Change management and reorganisation
  • Report
  • Mar 2014
  • PDF (1,333kb)
The rapid rise in company collapse seen in the last decade is blamed on the failure to diversify and change; this report covers some of the practical aspects of reorganisation and change management.
Exclusive BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT FACULTY Special Report 66: Managing Change
  • Report
  • Dec 2019
  • PDF (1,804kb)
Change is inevitable, it is all around us. Brexit, political upheaval, increasing regulation and a growing protectionist agenda make it incredibly difficult to run your business.BAM are here to help, with our special report on managing change, we can help successfully guide you through inevitable change with our practical tips and hands on approach.
Exclusive BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT FACULTY Special Report 52: People and skills
  • Report
  • Feb 2016
  • PDF (4,295kb)
This quarterly report deals with recruiting and retaining the right staff with good practical tips and advice from a variety of specialists.

Webinars

Redundancy webinar from Acas and Howden
  • Webinar
  • 18 Mar 2021
Practical webinar recording with Acas and Howden Employee Benefits and Wellbeing, looking at the facts and support around redundancy for employers and employees.
Exclusive Redundancies in the Hospitality Sector
  • Webinar
  • 11 Nov 2020
This webinar explored the immediate issues and potential issues relating to the furlough and job retention schemes and what this could potentially mean for businesses when redundancies become a necessity.
More webinars

Finding a job

ICAEW Jobs
  • Website
An exclusive jobs board for ICAEW members. Use your ICAEW member log-in details to sign in.
Careers advice blog — ICAEW Jobs
  • Website
Career advice, articles and top tips.
Career Breakers
  • Listing
Resources, guidance and advice from ICAEW on getting back to work following a period of unemployment.
Job hunting
  • Hub page
You’ll learn how to become an effective job hunter and find jobs that are never advertised. You can even practice psychometric tests and assessment centre activities before your big day.
caba: Finding work
  • Website
caba has a range of career development services, including when you are looking for a new role.
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ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Financial advice

Coping with redundancy
  • Website
  • caba
Even if you have seen it coming, redundancy is often a shock. caba has a range of career development services and provides lifelong support to past and present ICAEW members, ACA students, ICAEW staff, and their close family members.
Financial health
  • Website
  • caba
caba services are available to ICAEW members, ACA students and their families. You can speak to caba for free, confidential advice. Whether you want to ensure your finances are in good shape, manage debt or plan for the future, they can help you access the best options for you.
Debt and money
  • Website
  • Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provides information on money management, including debt.
Money Advice Service
  • Website
  • Money and Pensions Service
The Money Advice Service provides guides, tools, calculators and support.
10 steps for dealing with redundancy and beyond
  • Website
  • caba
Tips on things you can do, including looking at your financial situation, updating business contacts and CVs, and searching for a new job or career direction.
Money and Mental Health
  • Website
  • Money and Mental Health
The Money and Mental Health charity conducts research and looks at policy solutions in relation to financial difficulties and mental health.
StepChange
  • Website
  • StepChange
The StepChange charity provides information on debt management.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Termination benefits
  • eBook chapter
  • 2023
  • PKF International Ltd
  • Wiley
  • Wiley Interpretation and Application of IFRS Standards
Updated IFRS edition providing a detailed reference guide with practical examples, and IFRIC interpretations and directions. This section briefly discusses termination benefits and other long-term employee benefits.
Exclusive Working in employment
  • eBook chapter
  • 2023
  • Telegraph Media Group
  • Kogan Page
  • The Telegraph Tax Guide
A chapter covering the tax treatment of earnings and benefits from employment. Includes a consideration of the PAYE system, tax codes, tax-deductible expenses, employee travel, home working, benefits-in-kind, employee share ownership, and payments on termination of employment.
Exclusive Terminating employment
  • eBook chapter
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushway
  • Kogan Page
  • Employers Handbook
This chapter covers the termination of employment and includes: types of termination; avoiding unfair dismissal; wrongful dismissal; constructive dismissal; rights of redundant workers including statutory redundancy payments.
Exclusive Employment
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Ewan MacIntyre
  • Pearson
  • Business Law
This chapter on employment covers the difference between employees and contractors, terms of an employment contract, termination of employment , wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and redundancy.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More HR eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive The long-term costs of layoffs
  • Article
  • 09 Oct 2024
  • Didier Elzinga, Amy Lavoie
A study of 146 companies showed that layoffs can negatively impact employee morale, confidence, and loyalty over a long period. Companies that handle layoffs with empathy and transparency can mitigate long-term damage and rebuild trust more effectively.
Exclusive 6 mistakes leaders make when announcing layoffs
  • Article
  • 09 Apr 2024
  • Amii Barnard-Bahn
This article explores common leadership mistakes in layoff announcements and offers strategies for handling them with transparency and empathy.
Exclusive Startups that grew fast learn shrinking can be just as hard
  • Article
  • 15 Aug 2022
  • Aggi Cantrill, Olivia Solon
Lessons from dismissal methods chosen by downsizing companies - there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Some start-ups try to make redundancies exceptionally quickly, but find employees who stay lose a lot of trust.
Exclusive Citi wins age discrimination appeal with ex-banker called 'old' at age of 55
  • Article
  • 14 Jul 2022
  • Katharine Gemmell
The bank Citigroup Inc. has won part of its appeal in a discrimination case brought by a former banker who was made redundant after allegedly being called 'old' at the age of 55. Niels Kirk, a managing director at Citi, had previously won his unfair dismissal suit against the bank in 2020 and was awarded nearly £2.7m ($3.2 m). However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal appeal judges ruled that the lower tribunal had not given due consideration to the relatively small age gap between Kirk and his colleagues.
Exclusive How to help employees navigate layoffs
  • Article
  • 18 May 2020
  • Rachel Merfalen
The article makes some suggestions as to how managers may make redundancies in a compassionate way. Its recommendations include being transparent, communicating early, allowing employees some degree of choice, and pointing to sources of post-redundancy support.
Exclusive Redundancy... the do's and don'ts
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2019
  • Chloe Themistocleous
Law firm associate Chloe Themistocleous explains the rights and wrongs of redundancy, including: what is a genuine redundancy situation; how you can dismiss for redundancy fairly; going about warning and consulting employees; and the cost to the employer.
Exclusive The redundancy process
  • Article
  • 01 May 2018
  • Gareth Edwards
The article provides information on the redundancy process in the employment. Topics discussed include the importance of the handling of redundancy dismissals in line with the law, the criteria for selection of redundancy based on the length of service, disciplinary record and performance of employees and finding an alternative to find an alternative for redundancy by communication of employer and employee.
Exclusive Layoffs that don't break your company
  • Article
  • 01 May 2018
  • Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta
This article looks at how managers may handle changing workforce needs in such a way as to keep redundancies to a minimum, and ensure that if they do happen, the process feels fair and the affected parties have a soft landing.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports related to redundancy. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Tolley's employment handbook, 2024
  • Library book
  • 2024
  • E.A. Slade and others
  • LexisNexis
This annual handbook provides practitioners with expert and up-to-date guidance on employment legislation and case decisions. The 2024 edition covers important recent developments such as the changes to the Working Time Regulations made in January 2024, and new legislation including the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
Payments on termination
  • Library book
  • 2018
  • R.Bolten
  • LexisNexis
Tolley's Tax Digest providing an update on topics including: introduction to the £30,000 tax-free threshold, making statutory redundancy payments and operating a contractual redundancy pay scheme.
The Employer's Handbook 2017-2018
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • B.Cushway
  • Kogan Page
This fully updated edition covers recruitment, contracts, benefits, performance management, maternity and paternity rights, personnel records and data protection, terminating employment, and ensuring the health, safety and welfare of employees and pension obligations. It also provides access to a unique set of downloadable templates, forms and policy documents for dealing with key employment issues.
Employment law handbook
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • D.Barnett
  • The Law Society
A comprehensive overview of the main topics within employment law, in an easy-to-use format.
Drafting employment contracts
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • G.Howard
  • The Law Society
Providing practical and thorough coverage, this book is both a tool for drafting employment contracts and a guide for creating policies and executing them. The chapters contain example precedent letters, terms and conditions, policies and clauses related to employment contracts. Topics covered include absence and sick pay, maternity, paternity, adoptive and parental leave, disciplinary and performance procedures, redundancy, grievances, harassment, bullying and whistleblowing.
The law of termination of employment
  • Library book
  • 2012
  • R.Upex
  • Jordan
The book provides coverage of the statutory and common law rights, as well as procedural considerations. It also deals with problems beyond termination such as competition from ex-employees, while worked calculations of compensation in unfair dismissal cases illustrate how the law operates in practice.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - Acas guidance

Advice, guidance and practical resources on a wide variety of recruitment topics for both employers and employees, produced by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas. Acas is the employment relations service for England, Scotland and Wales offering practical, independent and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives.
Managing staff redundancies - step-by-step
  • Website
  • Acas
Acas information for employers on redundancy issues, covering key points and employee rights.
Redundancy appeal letter template
  • Website
  • Acas
Letter template for employees raising an appeal against being made redundant. Free to download and use.
Your rights during redundancy
  • Website
  • Acas
Guidance for employees on their rights during redundancy.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Guidance and advice

10 steps for dealing with redundancy and beyond
  • Website
  • caba
Tips on things you can do, including looking at your financial situation, updating business contacts and CVs, and searching for a new job or career direction.
Calculate your employee's statutory redundancy pay
  • Website
  • HM Government
Government calculator for employers to work out payments based on age, weekly pay and number of years service.
Check your rights if you're made redundant
  • Website
  • Citizens Advice
Information on redundancy, including reasons that would be considered reasonable or unfair, notice periods and pay.
Coping with redundancy
  • Website
  • caba
Even if you have seen it coming, redundancy is often a shock. caba has a range of career development services and provides lifelong support to past and present ICAEW members, ACA students, ICAEW staff, and their close family members.
Insolvency and redundancy
  • Website
  • gov.uk
Government information on workers' rights if an employer is insolvent, applying for money owed and how to contact the Redundancy Payments Service.
Making staff redundant
  • Website
  • HM Government
Government guidance covering lay-offs and short-time working, non-compulsory and compulsory redundancies, staff consultations and redundancy pay.
Redundancy payments form
  • Website
  • Insolvency Service
Form and guidance for employers who need to notify the government of potential redundancies.
Redundancy: legal advice
  • Website
  • caba
caba provides lifelong support to past and present ICAEW members, ACA students, ICAEW staff, and their close family members. If you have a legal query relating to employment law, their confidential and independent telephone advice from LawExpress can provide help.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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