Section 188 (2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which is derived from Directive 98/58/EC concerning collective redundancies, in relation to possible collective redundancies requires that consultation should include ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the numbers of employees to be dismissed, and mitigating the consequences of the dismissals.  

Possible ways of avoiding or minimising redundancies and mitigating the consequences of dismissals can include natural wastage, recruitment freezes, stopping or reducing overtime, offering early retirement to volunteers (subject to age discrimination issues), retraining or redeployment and offering existing employees sabbaticals and secondments.

Consultation must be undertaken by the employer with representatives with a view to reaching an agreement. However, there is no obligation to come to come to an agreement as a result of consultations.