Employees ‘laid-off’ in recent times are increasingly taking their former employers to court to dispute the size of their redundancy settlements.
Figures released this month show that the number of redundancy cases accepted by Employment Tribunals increased by 76% to 19,000 in the year to April 1 2010, meanwhile a further 8,600 cases were accepted by October 1 2010.
Experts claim that increased tribunals could be a direct result of second or third wave redundancies throughout the UK. They claim that employees initially fired could feel aggrieved by the size of redundancy payments offered to colleagues subsequently let go.
Employers that were forced to carry out successive rounds of redundancies would have found it increasingly difficult to offer generous redundancy terms, which could be exacerbating the surge in disputes over redundancy payments, said one expert.
However, employers can avoid court dates by preventing departing staff members from talking about the terms of their settlement through a clear policy, and taking action if it becomes clear that employees are not abiding by any confidentiality agreements.
For more on confidentiality agreements, and your rights as either an employer or employee, contact our employment solicitors today.
By employment solicitor, Phil Richardson
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