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With global trade agreements being renegotiated and a high number of multinationals operating in Ireland, redundancy announcements have been making more headlines of late. While the circumstances around every reorganisation will vary, it is vital that Employers comply with the relevant laws when making redundancies, particularly when the Employee thresholds for
collective redundancy compliance apply. In this article, we examine the technical area of collective redundancy compliance including the key legal obligations and risks that Employers must navigate to avoid making a difficult situation worse.

Overarching Redundancy Compliance
Of paramount importance to any type ofredundancy process is the fact that fair procedures must apply. Key requirements in any potential redundancy situation are the establishment of objective justifications demonstrating that a genuine redundancy situation exists, fair selection procedures, and that legal obligations are met in terms of procedures and compliance.

What is a Collective Redundancy?
A collective redundancy situation arises where redundancies over any period of 30 consecutive days affect a minimum number of Employees based on a specific threshold of Employee numbers in their totality. The baseline figures are:
• five persons in an establishment normally employing more than 20 and less than 50 Employees.
• ten persons in an establishment normally employing at least 50 but less than 100 Employees.
• ten per cent of the number of Employees in an establishment normally employing at least 100 but less than 300 Employees.
• thirty persons in an establishment normally employing 300 or more Employees.

What are the Employer’s Obligations in a Collective Redundancy?
Under the Protection of Employment Acts 1977 to 2014 an Employer has certain mandatory obligations when it comes to completing a collective redundancy situation. The key Employer obligations are:
• engaging in an information and consultation process with Employees’ Representatives for at least 30 days before any individual notice of dismissal is issued, and
• notifying the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposed collective redundancy. No individual notice of redundancy may issue until at least 30 days after notification of the proposed redundancy has been received by the Minister. (notifications can be submitted electronically to minister@enterprise.gov.ie).

Information Requirements
The information and consultation process includes an obligation to provide the Employees’ Representatives with certain information including:
• the reasons for the proposed redundancies
• the number, and descriptions or categories, of Employees whom it is proposed to make redundant
• the number of Employees, and description or categories, normally employed
• the number of agency workers (if any) engaged by the Employer, including what part of the business they work in and what type of work they do
• the period during which it is proposed that the redundancies will take place
• the criteria proposed for the selection of the workers to be made redundant, and
• the method for calculating any redundancy payments over and above those methods set out in the Redundancy Payments Acts.

Copies of all information in relation to the above, supplied to the Employees’ Representatives, must also be sent to the Minister ‘as soon as possible.’

Common Employee Claims Arising from Collective Redundancies
As well as non-compliance with specific redundancy legislation, Organisations must also minimise associated risks that often arise as part of a restructure involving redundancies.

For instance, an Employee must not be given notice of redundancy while on maternity leave or additional maternity leave. Under the Maternity Protection Act, the date of an Employee’s notice in a redundancy situation under the Redundancy Payments Acts is deemed to be the date of her expected return to work as notified to her Employer under the maternity protection legislation.
In selecting a particular Employee for redundancy, an Employer should apply selection criteria that are reasonable and are applied in a fair manner. An Employee is entitled to bring a claim for unfair dismissal if they consider that they were unfairly selected for redundancy or consider that a genuine redundancy situation did not exist.

In addition, selection for redundancy based on certain specific grounds is deemed automatically unfair under the Unfair Dismissals Act. These include redundancy as the result of an Employee’s trade union activity, pregnancy or religious or political opinions.

Employment equality legislation also prohibits selection for redundancy that is based on any of the following nine grounds: gender, civil status, family status, age, disability, religious belief, race, sexual orientation, or membership of the Traveller community.

Organisations should note that if an Employee can establish facts that raise an inference of discrimination, the burden of proof shifts to the Employer to provide evidence that no discrimination occurred during the redundancy selection process.

Navigating Reorganisations with Confidence
Reorganisations – especially those involving either individual or collective redundancies – are among the most technical and challenging HR undertakings an Organisation can face. With ever- evolving employment legislation and the emotional impact on Employees to consider, it is essential to approach the process with both legal precision and compassion.

At Adare, we understand that the stakes are high. Our experienced HR consultants are here to support Organisations at every step – from planning and consultation to compliance and communication. Whether your Organisation is managing individual or collective redundancies, our expertise ensures your processes are fair, compliant, and protected against unnecessary risk.

If your business is considering a restructure, do not leave it to chance. Partner with Adare to navigate the entire process with confidence.

Find out more about Shannon Chamber HR HERE

Adare is a team of expert-led Employment Law, Industrial Relations and best practice
Human Resource Management consultants. If your Organisation needs advice, support, or
guidance about compliance requirements or any HR issues, please contact Adare by
calling (01) 561 3594 or emailing info@adarehrm.ie to learn what services are available to
support your business