Acas has issued advice to employers who are considering staff redundancies following a record increase in calls to its helpline. The coronavirus pandemic has seen redundancy related calls to the Acas helpline increase by over 160% over the past two months when compared to the same period in 2019. Acas state that redundancies should always be a last resort after all options have been exhausted. Acas’ key advice is for employers to properly consult with their staff to seek their views on ideas that can help mitigate the financial difficulties that the business may be facing due to coronavirus. Solutions could include a recruitment freeze or limits on overtime, looking at more flexible ways of working, temporarily stop working or reduce working hours and moving employees into other suitable jobs. Acas has also published advice on the new law changes that clarifies what pay staff are entitled to if they have been given notice of a redundancy. When an employer is calculating redundancy or notice pay for furloughed staff, they must use the employee’s full normal pay, not their reduced rate due to furlough.
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