The Redundancy Minefield Just Got Bigger.
How to get redundancy right in 2026 - and stay right when the rules change in 2027
The Redundancy Minefield Just Got Bigger
A complete, practical redundancy course for HR professionals and employment solicitors who need to run defensible redundancy exercises in 2026 and prepare for the 2027 reforms.
17 on-demand modules. Roughly 8 hours of video. Full transcripts. Templates, letters, scripts, scoring matrices, flowcharts and checklists included.
Enrol now - £650 + VAT
Free for HR Inner Circle members.
Redundancy used to be the easy bit of employment law.
That is no longer true.
Consultation now has to start earlier. Selection pools are under sharper scrutiny. Maternity priority rights have expanded. The protective award has doubled. And from January 2027, unfair dismissal risk becomes much more expensive.
If you are still running redundancy exercises using the process you learned before the pandemic, you are exposed.
In the last eighteen months alone, the Court of Appeal in De Bank Haycocks has effectively re-written the rules on when consultation must start.
The EAT has confirmed in Mogane and Valimulla that a ‘pool of one’ is now a near-guaranteed route to a finding of unfair dismissal - unless you can show you consulted on the pool itself.
Hendy Group v Kennedy (2025) has imposed an active duty to help redundant employees find alternative work.
Carnival v Hunter (2024) has redrawn the line between ‘existing posts’ and ‘vacancies’ for employees on maternity leave.
The maternity priority right (reg 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations) now extends for eighteen months after a child’s birth, not just until the employee returns to work. Most HR teams are still applying the old rule.
And the Employment Rights Act 2025 is going to make all this significantly harder.
From January 2027:
If you handle redundancies on a day-to-day basis - whether in-house, in private practice, or as a consultant - the rules you learned three years ago are no longer the rules you need to apply.
And you probably already know that.
You probably wake up some weeks thinking, “I really do need to sit down and properly get on top of all this.”
You might have skim-read a few summary emails.
Perhaps you've had a half-conversation with a colleague about what De Bank Haycocks actually means in practice.
Or maybe you've bookmarked an article you intend to read properly ‘when things calm down’.
But things never do calm down. Do they?
Getting Redundancy Right is created by Daniel Barnett, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers, presenter of the LBC Legal Hour, author of 35 employment law books and host of 'Employment Law Matters' podcast.
HR Inner Circle member? You get this course free.
Getting Redundancy Right is included as part of your HR Inner Circle membership. Don’t pay £650 + VAT. Just log in to your members’ area and start watching.
The cost of getting it wrong has just doubled.
The protective award for failing to consult collectively is now 180 days’ pay, uncapped.
Let me put that into a number you can take to a Finance Director.
For an employer making 100 employees redundant on average salaries of £35,000, the protective award alone - if you get collective consultation wrong - is £1.7 million.
That is before:
Yes - criminal liability. If the employer fails to file the HR1, the employer commits a criminal offence. And where the failure is attributable to the consent, connivance or neglect of a director or senior officer, they can face personal criminal liability and an unlimited fine. I’m not sure how many boards know that. I suspect not enough.
And it isn’t just the cost.
It’s the reputational damage of being the HR Director, or the partner, who got the redundancy wrong.
It’s the cross-examination at tribunal where you’re asked, line by line, why the scoring matrix had ‘attitude’ on it. (It’s because someone copied it off the internet. Tribunals know.)
It’s the De Bank Haycocks point - that scoring before consultation is now treated, by the Court of Appeal, as procedurally unfair.
It’s the AI scoring point - the Estée Lauder make-up artists who won a settlement after their scores came out of an algorithm none of the managers could explain.
It’s the Hale v Dentons point - where the scorers were cross-examined on what ‘leadership’ meant, and made it up under oath. (I was there for that one. It wasn’t pretty.)
These are the cases I see clients bring to me after the dismissal letters have gone out. By which point my advice tends to start: “We need to think about what you can offer to settle this.”
I’d much rather you didn’t get there in the first place.
INTRODUCING:
Getting Redundancy Right
Getting Redundancy Right is designed to give you a defensible redundancy process from start to finish.
Not just the law.
The timetable. The letters. The consultation scripts. The scoring matrix. The alternative employment process. The dismissal meeting. The settlement agreement. The points that get picked apart in tribunal.
It is a complete, on-demand, video-and-script training programme covering every stage of a redundancy - from the commercial decision that triggers it, to the calculation of statutory pay, to the settlement agreement that closes the file.
It is 17 modules, designed for HR professionals, HR consultants and employment lawyers who need to run, advise on or supervise redundancy exercises without missing the traps that now matter. There are roughly 8 hours of video content. Every module comes with a full transcript, so you can read along, re-read later, or search for the exact point you need.
It is built around three things:
The current law, including every significant Court of Appeal, EAT and tribunal decision from the last ten years.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 and what you need to be doing now to be ready for January 2027.
The actual templates, letters, scripts and policies you need to run a fair, compliant, defensible redundancy process from start to finish.
It is the course I wish someone had handed me when I was a junior barrister many years ago.
It is the course I hand to my own clients when they come to me at the start of a redundancy programme.
Here’s everything that’s included when you enrol:
Getting Redundancy Right is built around the things that actually go wrong in redundancy exercises: the pool nobody challenged, the criteria nobody tested, the manager who scored everyone from memory, the consultation meeting that became a notification meeting, and the alternative role that was mentioned too late.
Modules 1-3: Foundation (what counts as redundancy, avoiding redundancies, planning - CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL)
Module 1 - Introduction:
A complete one-page mental model of the redundancy process. The five stages, the magic numbers (20 / 100 / 30 / 45), the doubled protective award, and how the Employment Rights Act 2025 sits on top of all of it.
Module 2 - Definition of Redundancy:
The full Safeway Stores v Burrell / Murray v Foyle Meats three-stage test, High Table v Horst on mobility clauses, EXOL Lubricants on 'place of work', and Osborn v Mothercare (2025) on what happens when a maternity returner is dismissed for a 'redundancy' that isn’t.
Module 3 - How to Avoid Redundancies:
Voluntary redundancy (and why the wrong people usually volunteer), recruitment freezes, lay-off and short-time working with the deemed-redundancy mechanic, pay cuts, hour reductions, sabbaticals, early retirement - and the seven quickfire alternatives most HR teams forget. It is not enough to say “we looked at alternatives”. Someone will ask what alternatives, when, who looked at them, where they were recorded, and why they were rejected.
Modules 4-6: Selection (pools, criteria, scoring, consultation - CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL)
Module 4 - Choosing Your Selection Pool:
This is where a lot of redundancy exercises quietly go wrong. The employer starts with the person it wants to dismiss, then works backwards to create a pool that only contains that person.
We cover the Goldilocks problem (not too narrow, not too wide). The post-Mogane 'pool of one' rules. Halpin, Valimulla, Wrexham Golf, Hendy Banks - and why getting the pool right is the single most important decision you’ll make.
Module 5 - Selection Criteria:
If the criterion cannot be explained to the employee, scored by the manager and defended six months later in a witness statement, it probably should not be on the form.
You'll learn about: subjective vs objective criteria after Samsung v Monte-D’Cruz. The criteria that are automatically unfair under s105 ERA. The criteria that look reasonable but get you sued: 'attitude', 'focus', 'would keep the company viable'. Disability, maternity, age and part-time discrimination traps - Jandu v M&S, Eversheds v de Belin, Long v British Gas, Norman v Lidl.
Module 6 - Scoring:
Redundancy scoring often looks neat on a spreadsheet and hopeless under scrutiny. The real question is whether the manager can explain why someone got a 2 rather than a 3 without sounding as though they are reconstructing it afterwards.
We cover: how to design a matrix that survives cross-examination. The Hale v Dentons trap. The Biluan trap. The rules for sharing scores after British Aerospace v Green and Alexander v Bridgen. The GDPR overlay (DPIAs, retention periods, and SARs). And why you shouldn’t be using ChatGPT or Claude to score your redundancies.
Modules 7-11: Consultation (individual and collective consultation - CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL)
Module 7 - Individual Consultation (Principles):
This is the part managers hate: sitting across from someone whose job is at risk, answering difficult questions, not saying too much, not saying too little, and keeping the process genuinely open.
We'll cover the four principles after Williams v Compair Maxam and Mugford. The “utterly futile” exception - and why I’ve only ever won that argument once in thirty years. De Bank Haycocks in detail. The 'tell and sell' pattern that tribunals now recognise on sight.
Module 8 - Individual Consultation (Practicalities):
Worked timetables for small pools, mid-sized pools, and 18-to-9 reductions. What to cover at the first, second, and final meetings. The right to be accompanied (and how to refuse solicitors). How to handle counter-proposals, score challenges, challenges to colleagues’ scores, video consultation, and reasonable adjustments to the process itself.
Module 9 - Collective Consultation (Is the Duty Triggered?):
Collective consultation is where process failures scale fast. One missed trigger, one poor election process, and the exposure is no longer one employee. It is the whole affected group - with up to 180 days' pay (roughly six months' pay) payable to each and every 'at risk' employee.
We cover: section 188 in detail. The Woolworths 'establishment' question. The Employment Rights Act 2025 options for company-wide triggers. 'Proposing to dismiss' - MSF v Refuge Assurance, Keeping Kids Company, UK Coal Mining. Staggered redundancies after Micro Focus v Mildenhall (2025).
Module 10 - Collective Consultation (Timing and Process):
The 30-day and 45-day minimums. Appropriate representatives - TU first, elected reps second. Junk v Kühnel on when notice can be given. The HR1 - including the personal criminal liability of directors under s194(3) that most organisations are unaware of.
Module 11 - Collective Consultation (Practicalities):
Running an election under s188A. The information you must share under s188(4). The four lessons from Susie Radin on protective awards. 'Special circumstances' under s188(7) - Clarks of Hove, GMB v Rankin, Shanahan Engineering - and why that defence almost never works.
Modules 12-17: Endgame (alternative employment, dismissal, appeals, settlement and restructures - CLICK FOR MORE DETAIL)
Module 12 - Suitable Alternative Employment (Offers and Trial Periods):
Suitable alternative employment is where good intentions become dangerous. A role is mentioned informally, nobody records whether it was offered, the employee says they would have taken it, and the employer has no clean paper trail.
We cover: what 'suitable' actually means in 2026. Octavius Atkinson, Parfums Givenchy, Whittle v Parity (which I lost - and I’ll tell you why). Hendy v Kennedy (2025) and the new active duty to help. Corus Hotels v Williams - at-risk employees trump external candidates. And we'll look at the mechanics of the four-week trial period.
Module 13 - Suitable Alternative Employment (Refusals and Special Protections):
The extended 18-month priority right for maternity returners and others. Stillbirth, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care, bereaved partner’s paternity. The 'multiple protected employees' problem (what do you do when two maternity returners both have the right to one vacancy?) Carnival v Hunter and the 'existing posts aren’t vacancies' line.
Module 14 - Dismissal (Meetings, Appeals and Notice):
The dismissal meeting is not the place to improvise. By this stage, the employer needs clean letters, clear reasons, a proper appeal route, and managers who know what they can and cannot say.
We cover: what goes into a dismissal meeting. My contrarian view on whether you should offer an appeal against redundancy selection (Robinson v Ulster Carpet Mills, Gwynedd v Barratt). Time off to seek work. Notice during collective consultation.
And I give you templates for everything you need.
Module 15 - Dismissal (Payments and Settlement Agreements):
Settlement agreements often appear at the worst possible moment: after trust has gone, after consultation has become tense, and after someone has already said something unhelpful in writing.
In this module, we cover: outstanding wages and holiday. PILON. Statutory redundancy calculation. Enhanced pay via custom and practice - Peacock Stores v Peregrine. The £30,000 tax-free threshold under ITEPA 2003. Section 111A protected conversations vs without prejudice. Settlement agreement terms, fees, and adviser certificates.
Module 16 - Redundancy v Restructure:
Campbell v Tesco Personal Finance (2023) and Packman v Fauchon - what makes something a redundancy when headcount doesn’t change. The five-step contract variation process. The Employment Rights Act 2025 near-ban on fire-and-rehire. Dobson v North Cumbria (2026) - when variation clauses save you. TUPE harmonisation.
Module 17 - Redundancy Walkthrough:
See it all come together - a fully worked example. 220 employees, three depots (with one closing), 58 redundancies. The whole course put into practice in one module.
Also included - every template, letter, script and policy you need.
This is the bit I’m most proud of.
Because knowing the law is one thing. Knowing what to put on the page when you sit down at 9pm on a Tuesday to draft the at-risk letter is something else entirely.
So as well as the 17 video modules, you also get (included with your enrolment):
Total bonus value: £2,962.
Free for HR Inner Circle members
If you are a member of the HR Inner Circle, you do not need to enrol separately in this course. Getting Redundancy Right is included in your membership. Log in to your members’ area to access it.
Who is this for?
It is for two groups of people.
If you are an HR professional - whether in-house, in a consultancy, or running your own practice - this is the most comprehensive treatment of redundancy law and practice you will find anywhere in the UK. It tells you what to do, what to say, what to write, when to escalate, and when to ring a lawyer.
If you are an employment solicitor - whether contentious or non-contentious - this is the course you should be putting your trainees through, and the course you should be doing yourself if you don’t run redundancies week-in week-out. The case law is fully cited. The procedural traps are flagged. And the templates are usable.
And if you sit at the boundary - a paralegal, a senior consultant, a head of legal who is part-HR - it is for you too.
A word about me.
My name is Daniel Barnett. I’m a barrister at Outer Temple Chambers, called to the Bar in 1993. I have spent over thirty years acting in employment cases, including for clients ranging from FTSE 100 employers to senior individuals, the Royal Household, international airlines, and - on one memorable occasion - David and Victoria Beckham’s nanny.
I run the HR Inner Circle. I host the Employment Law Matters podcast and present the Legal Hour on LBC every Saturday at 9pm. I tour the UK speaking on practical HR and employment law topics. And I have written 35 books on employment law.
I am known for being a straight talker. If something is hard, I’ll tell you it’s hard. If it’s easy, I’ll tell you that too. I don’t sugar-coat. (Most of my clients tell me that’s the reason they hire me. Some people tell me it’s the reason they hire someone else.)
I have acted in many of the cases cited in this course. I have lost some of them. I’ll tell you which ones, and why.
What people are saying
Dianne Lambdin, Sussex HR Hub
"This is invaluable for avoiding tribunal claims. I've saved a client a fortune… It's a really worthwhile investment."
Patrick McNamee, Hadfield Bull and Bull Solicitors
"You will have all you need to assist clients on both sides of the redundancy process. The modest cost should be recouped in a very short period of time."
Sue Dormand, SD HR
"Packed full of priceless tips… hopefully we will avoid the tribunals - which would be a ROI in itself."
Tim Styles
"It's great to get stuck into this course to set my mind at ease… My investment in this course has already paid for itself!"
Sandhya Iyer, Director, The HR Dept
"One of the best things I've done for my CPD… these modules highlight the fact that you don't know what you don't know!"
Dylan Loughlin, Director, Copacetic Business Solutions
"A fantastic addition to our team… I am confident that any challenges can be robustly defended. It's one less worry off my list."
Melanie Bonas, Kiss HR (UK) Ltd
"A super ROI… I have no hesitation in recommending to others - it really does give you confidence and peace of mind."
“But Daniel…”
Let me deal with the three things you are probably thinking right now.
“I’ve been doing redundancies for twenty years. I don’t need a course.”
Most experienced HR professionals know the broad shape of redundancy. The problem is not the broad shape. The problem is the awkward fact pattern: the absent employee, the protected employee, the role that half-exists, the pool of one, the manager with no evidence, the employee who asks for the scoring notes.
And the law is different now. De Bank Haycocks is from 2024. Hendy v Kennedy is from 2025. Carnival v Hunter is from 2024. The 18-month maternity priority right is from April 2024. The Employment Rights Act 2025 lands in January 2027.
If you learned redundancy law before the pandemic, roughly 30% of what you know is out of date or about to be. I see this in my Chambers every week.
“It’s £650 + VAT. That’s a lot for an online course.”
£650 + VAT is less than the cost of one settlement agreement contribution, less than one hour of many senior employment lawyers' time, and less than 0.04% of the £1.7m protective-award exposure in the example above.
If this course saves you from one bad decision, it has paid for itself a hundred times over.
It is also a fully deductible business expense.
“I’ll just look it up as I go along, like I always do.”
You can look up the law. The harder part is knowing what to do at 4.30pm when the Finance Director wants the announcement tomorrow, the manager has already spoken to the team, and the employee on maternity leave has not been contacted.
The cost of being wrong, once, is more than the cost of getting this right, every time, for the rest of your career.
“I haven't got time to watch eight hours of video.”
You don't need to watch it like Netflix.
Use it as a working system. Watch the relevant module when you reach that stage of the process. Search the transcript. Pull the template. Use the checklist. This is a redundancy operating manual that you can use for the bits you actually need help with.
Enrol today
£650
+ VAT
Includes:
"This is invaluable for avoiding tribunal claims. I've saved a client a fortune... It's a really worthwhile investment."
Dianne Lambdin
Sussex HR Hub
My one-year, no-questions-asked guarantee
I am so confident that Getting Redundancy Right is the best investment you will make in your professional development this year that I am offering it on the following terms.
Enrol today. Watch every module. Use every template. Apply every script.
If at any point in the next twelve months you decide that the course has not delivered what I have promised - for any reason, or no reason at all - email my team and we will refund every penny you have paid, in full, within seven working days.
You keep your access to the course. You keep every template you have downloaded. You keep every script. You keep every flowchart.
That is not a typo. You get to keep everything and get your money back.
I am comfortable making that offer because I know what is in this course. And I know that once you’ve started it, you’ll have no intention of asking for a refund.
All of the risk is on me. None of it is on you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to complete the course?
You have lifetime access. Work through it at your own pace.
Is this free for HR Inner Circle members?
Yes; you can log into the members' area and access it there (along with the many other courses, toolkits and resources). If you're not a member, it may be better value for you to join than to purchase this course. Details here.
Is this course suitable if I already know redundancy law?
Yes. This is not a beginner’s guide to redundancy law. It is designed for people who already understand the broad structure, but want a safer, more practical system for running redundancy exercises: pools, criteria, scoring, consultation, HR1, maternity priority rights, suitable alternative employment, dismissal meetings, appeals and settlement agreements.
Most redundancy problems do not arise because someone is unfamiliar with redundancy law. They arise because a difficult factual situation was handled too quickly, too informally, or without a clean paper trail.
Can I claim it as a business expense?
Yes. It is a deductible cost of professional development in almost all circumstances.
Can my whole team watch it?
A single purchase covers use by your internal HR team within one organisation. If you are buying for multiple organisations or client use, please contact us.
Can I download the videos?
No - but you can stream them as many times as you like. The written scripts are downloadable.
How is it delivered?
On-demand, through your secure login at danielbarnett.com. Watch on a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone.
Can I pay by invoice?
Yes. Email megan.mcdonald@emplawservices.co.uk.
Who do I contact with questions?
Megan McDonald, on 0333 090 9282 or megan.mcdonald@emplawservices.co.uk.
For enquiries, contact us.
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