Employers facing down coronavirus redundancies
by Paul Sharma DirectorThe
BBC reported on 1 July 2020 that employers had announced over 12,000
coronavirus redundancies. Redundancies driven by a coronavirus downturn in
business are fraught with legal danger.
Recently,
the Equality and Human Rights Commission published advice for employers about
coronavirus redundancies resulting from the
withdrawal of the government’s salary subsidy scheme.
Government’s
coronavirus advice
Government
employment law advice states that a redundancy happens when there is no need
for an organization to retain a particular job. This can happen because a
business: changes what it does, does things differently, or changes location or
closes down a workplace. Yet, redundancy done incorrectly turns into an unlawful unfair dismissal.
Employers have to demonstrate that the job will no longer exist. Employment
lawyers advise that employee rights include: redundancy pay, time off to
look for jobs or training, and not to be unfairly selected for redundancy.
The
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) wants redundancies that do not
breach the Equality Act and decisions based
on business need rather than prejudice. EHRC warns against prejudice based on
‘protected characteristics’, which are: age, disability, gender reassignment,
marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or
belief, sex and sexual orientation.
The
EHRC also warns employers of decisions that appear to be common sense but are
actually discriminatory. Direct discrimination happens, for example, if an
employer decides male employees can work from home but women cannot because
they could be distracted by their children. It would also be discriminatory if
an employer decides not to recruit black
people or
people over 60 because they are more vulnerable than others to coronavirus.
Coronavirus
and individual needs
EHRC
recommends that employers should take into account individual needs when making
decisions about coronavirus redundancies. This would include decisions about:
•
setting up home working stations
•
risk assessments for groups particularly affected by coronavirus such as
racial minorities, and pregnant women
•
expanding flexible working to accommodate employees with childcare
responsibilities.
Employers
need to be aware of employment law when applying a rule to address coronavirus
that also disproportionately affects people with protected characteristics.
This could be indirect discrimination under the Equality Act, for example older
or ethnic minority workers.
So,
if an employer requires all employees to work on the frontline with customers
or carry out key worker roles, this may impact on groups that need
self-isolation because they are vulnerable.
Another
problem may be deciding to make redundant those people with the lowest sales
figures over the past two years may be unfair to women who have been on
maternity leave. Employers should consider when taking over rooms to enable
social distancing whether those rooms are used for religious observance. Such
rooms should only be requisitioned if there is no other option.
EHRC also recommends preserving detailed records of decisions such as who has been made redundant, who is on furlough, and who has been asked to return to the workplace.
If you want any help regarding redundancy and settlement agreement, please contact to Sharma Solicitors
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Created on Jul 11th 2020 07:21. Viewed 240 times.