Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle companies that make employees redundant without (a) giving notice and (b) following a consultation process.

While we recognise that tough decisions such as redundancies remain a commercial matter, it’s important that employees are treated fairly and that correct process is followed.

The Government has a robust package of measures to address non-compliance including:

• potential disciplinary action for officeholders who fail to consult following appointment on insolvency,
• a financial penalty on employers who fail to engage with employees and;
• potential prosecution for failure to notify the relevant competent authority when proposing redundancies.

Whether an employer met consultation requirements for collective redundancy would be a matter for an employment tribunal to decide, having heard detailed evidence on the facts of the case.