Redundancies need to be handled properlyAnyone planning to make redundancies could face even larger costs if they do not do it right, according to one newspaper.

The Sunday Times warned employers that compensation claims rising to tens of thousands of pounds could be on the horizon if they flout the law when streamlining jobs.

It is relayed the Tribunals Service accepted 47,115 claims for unfair dismissal April 2008 and February 2009, up from 40,941 in the same period of 2007-08.

A total of 9,220 were accepted for offering insufficient redundancy pay, an increase on 7,313 in the previous period.

Meanwhile, there were 7,382 individual claimants who won their case after the company failed to correctly inform or consult the employee about redundancy plans, up from 4,480 in the corresponding period of 2007-08.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, has previously claimed an “irresponsible few” are using the recession as “an excuse to make spurious sackings or redundancies as an easy way to cut costs”.

He said businesses which do this are risking their long-term prospects by “throwing away valuable skills and talent for the sake of short-term savings”, while they could also leave themselves wide open to claims.

 

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