Collective Redundancy Advice Guide

A redundancy situation generally occurs where an employee loses their job due to circumstances such as the closure of the business, reorganisation within the firm, a reduction of work or in the number of staff or a change in the way work is carried out within the business. A collective redundancy arises where, during any period of 30 consecutive days, the number of employees being made redundant are:

• 5 employees where 21-49 are employed
• 10 employees where 50-99 are employed
• 10% of the employees where 100-299 are employed
• 30 employees where 300 or more are employed

In such circumstances the employer is obliged to enter into a period of consultations for at least 30 days prior to formal notice of redundancy being issued. The purpose of the consultation is to attempt to reach an agreement with representatives about any alternatives to redundancy where possible. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation must be advised of the redundancy situation at least 30 days before the first redundancy occurs.