End of furlough and the importance of the 3 month time limit for appealing redundancy
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), or furlough as it was more commonly known, came to an end on Sep 30. The scheme was a vital lifeline to many businesses across the UK as the impact of the pandemic hit hard. Inevitably, the end of the scheme is likely to see a rise in redundancies in the coming months. Indeed a recent study by the British Chamber found that around 1 in 5 businesses were considering redundancies as CJRS came to an end.
In order for a redundancy dismissal to be fair, for the purposes of unfair dismissal law, there needs to be:
- A genuine redundancy situation
- A fair procedure, which would usually consist of;
- Fair selection of employees
- Appropriate consultation before decisions are made
- Consideration related to alternative employment
Challenging your redundancy
You can challenge your redundancy if you:
- Have worked for your employer for at least 2 years and do not believe a fair process was followed
- Think an automatically unfair reason was chosen
- Think you have been discriminated against
If your employer has an appeals process, you should follow this to challenge the decision. It’s important that you start your appeal as soon as you can however, as there is a time limit on commencing legal proceedings. The first step to taking legal action is called ‘early conciliation’, and you must start this within 3 months minus a day of the date your contract ends.
If you believe you have been unfairly treated or are looking to appeal against your redundancy, our employment law team at Pollock & McLean are here to help. Get in touch today on 01387 255144 or email mail@pollockmclean.co.uk.
