Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to cut around 4,000 jobs, predominantly in the UK, over the next two years as part of a £1.7 billion cost-saving programme. The business says it hopes to achieve the reductions primarily through voluntary redundancies among salaried and management employees.

The announcement provides a timely reminder of something easily overlooked: collective redundancy consultation is not simply a process for deciding who will be dismissed. Where the statutory rules apply, consultation must cover three distinct questions:

  1. Can the dismissals be avoided?
  2. Can the number of dismissals be reduced?
  3. Can their consequences be mitigated?

So what might that mean in practice?

  1. Can dismissals be avoided altogether?

Consultation must begin while there is still an opportunity to influence the proposals. An employer can identify a business problem and the result it needs to achieve, but it should not present redundancy as an irreversible decision.

Representatives should be given enough information to understand the problem and test possible alternatives. Depending on the circumstances, these might include:

  • freezing recruitment or leaving vacancies unfilled;
  • reducing overtime or agency-worker use;
  • redeployment or retraining;
  • agreed reductions in hours;
  • temporary lay-off or short-time working, where contracts permit; or
  • identifying different operational or cost-saving measures.

This does not mean that an employer must accept every suggestion. It should, however, consider proposals with an open mind and be able to explain why an alternative would not produce the necessary saving or operational change.

  1. Can the number of dismissals be reduced?

If some job losses remain necessary, consultation should consider whether fewer employees could be dismissed.

This is where voluntary redundancy can play an important role. A sufficiently attractive package may produce enough volunteers to reduce, or even remove, the need for compulsory redundancies.

However, a voluntary exercise needs careful management. Applications should normally be subject to employer approval so that the business does not lose critical skills or accept departures from areas in which no reduction is required.

If the employer says that the enhanced voluntary package may not remain available during a later compulsory process, that distinction should be explained clearly. Creating a genuine incentive is not necessarily improper, but employees should not be misled or subjected to undue pressure.

The employer should also explain how voluntary departures will affect the remaining proposals, including redundancy pools and the number of compulsory dismissals that may still be required.

A voluntary redundancy programme does not, by itself, remove the need for collective consultation. Proposed voluntary redundancies must generally be counted when determining whether the employer is proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within 90 days. If that threshold is met, collective consultation will be required. Although, practically speaking, you are unlikely to go through the motions of collective consultation with your actual volunteers, you will still need to bear it in mind for any at-risk employees who do not volunteer and need to go through the compulsory process.

  1. Can the impact be softened?

Where dismissals cannot be avoided, consultation must also explore ways of mitigating their consequences.

That may include:

  • enhanced redundancy payments;
  • outplacement and career-transition support;
  • retraining or help with internal applications;
  • time off to look for work;
  • flexible notice arrangements; or
  • wellbeing or employee-assistance support.

Relatively modest measures can make a significant difference to affected employees and may emerge only through constructive dialogue with their representatives.

Key takeaway

Collective consultation should be approached as a genuine problem-solving exercise. HR should identify the outcome the business needs to achieve, give representatives sufficient information and time to explore alternatives, and remain open to changing the proposals. Meaningful consultation should address all three statutory aims: avoiding dismissals, reducing their number and supporting those whose employment ultimately ends.