Redundancy and change

Redundancy: invitation to consultation meeting letter

Invites an at-risk employee to an individual consultation meeting, with the agenda and the documents.

After the at-risk letter, for each individual meeting in the process. The first meeting explains and listens; later meetings share provisional scores, alternatives and, finally, the proposed outcome. Each gets a letter so the record shows the process was real.

Before it goes

  • You have the documents the meeting will discuss: the proposal, the criteria, vacancies, and (at the later meeting) the employee's provisional scores.
  • The person chairing can genuinely change the outcome based on what they hear.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Redundancy consultation meeting: [DATE] Further to my letter of [AT RISK LETTER DATE], I am writing to invite you to [a first / a further] individual consultation meeting on [DATE] at [TIME] at [LOCATION]. I will chair the meeting and [NAME] will take notes. You may bring a work colleague or trade union representative. The purpose of this meeting is to: [First meeting:] 1. Explain the proposal in more detail and answer your questions. 2. Hear your views on the proposal, the pool and the draft selection criteria, and any alternatives you would like us to consider. 3. Discuss the current vacancies (enclosed) and any other roles you would be interested in. [Later meeting:] 1. Share your provisional scores against the selection criteria (enclosed), explain how they were reached, and hear anything you want to say about them. 2. Discuss any alternative roles identified since we last met. 3. Consider any further suggestions you have. [4. Explain the proposed outcome and the terms that would apply if your role is selected.] Enclosed: [LIST OF DOCUMENTS]. Nothing is decided. What you say at this meeting will be considered before any decision is made. If you would like to send me anything in writing beforehand, please do so by [DATE]. If the date does not work for you or your companion, tell me and we will rearrange. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

Which meeting
Delete the agenda that does not apply. Provisional scores go to the individual before the meeting where they will be discussed, not at it.

What the law says

  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.139: redundancy means the business or workplace closing, or the requirement for employees to do work of a particular kind ceasing or diminishing.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.98(4): consultation must be genuine, at a formative stage, with adequate information and time to respond, and the response conscientiously considered.
  • There is no statutory right to be accompanied at a redundancy consultation meeting, but allowing a companion is standard good practice.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not hold one meeting and call it consultation. Two or three, with time between them for the employee to respond and for you to consider, is what meaningful looks like.
  • Do not share other people's scores. The employee sees their own, and the range or pass mark if that helps them understand.

Questions people ask

How many consultation meetings do I need?

Enough that the employee has seen the proposal, commented on the criteria, seen their scores and had the chance to respond, and alternatives have been explored. Usually two or three over two to four weeks for a small individual redundancy.

What if the employee suggests an alternative I do not think will work?

Consider it properly and tell them, in writing, why it will not. "We considered your suggestion of … and concluded … because …" is a paragraph in the next letter.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

Start free trial