Employers are required to notify the UK government if they are proposing to dismiss or make redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment. The length of notice specified in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidated) Act 1992 depends on the number of employees at risk of dismissal or redundancy.  

Section 193 (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidated) Act 1992 requires employers to notify in writing, at least 90 days before any dismissals take effect, the Secretary of State if they are proposing to dismiss or make redundant 100 or more employees.

Section 193 (2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidated) Act (1992) requires employers to notify in writing, at least 30 days before the dismissals take effect, the Secretary of State if they are proposing to dismiss or make redundant between 20 and 99 employees.

The information required in the notice is similar to that which the employer must disclose to employee representatives for consultation purposes. Namely, the information must include: the reasons for the proposals; the numbers and descriptions of employees proposed to dismiss as redundant; the total number of employees of any such description employed by the employer at the establishment in question; the proposed method of selecting the employees who may be dismissed; the proposed method of carrying out the dismissals, taking account of any agreed procedure, including the period over which the dismissals are to take effect; the proposed method of calculating any redundancy payments, other than those required by statute, that the employer proposes to make. In addition, the notice must state when and with whom such consultation started.

There is no obligation for employers to notify proposed dismissals or redundancies of fewer than 20 employees within a period of 90 days or less.

Where there are employee representatives pursuant to section 188 of the act, the employer is also required to provide each representative with a copy of the notice.

Pursuant to section 194, failure by the employer to give notice to the Secretary of State (in accordance with section 193) is an offence and is liable to a fine.