Generally, for individual dismissals, an employee’s entitlement to notice is as follows: after one month’s (four weeks’) service, employees are entitled to statutory minimum notice. If they have less than two years’ service they are entitled to one week’s notice. After that, they are entitled to one week’s notice for each year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

If there is a notice provision in the contract of employment (whether written or verbal) then that will apply, unless it is less than the statutory minimum, in which case that minimum is substituted. In case of collective dismissals, the respective notice period occurs after the consultation period.

In the absence of any contractual provision, a reasonable period of notice will be implied into the contract that, depending on length of service and job status, may be more than the statutory minimum. In a fixed-term contract, unless there is a provision for earlier dismissal by notice, the contract will continue until the fixed term expires, even if the fixed term is for several years.

Employers must notify their workforce of planned collective dismissals ‘in good time’ (that is, at least 90 days if 100 or more dismissals are likely to take place, otherwise 30 days for dismissals numbering from 20 and up to 99 dismissals). If it can be shown by individual workers that they were not consulted, compensation for unfair dismissal may be claimed.

Where an employer plans to make 20 or more employees redundant within a 90 day period or less, section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidated) Act 1992 requires the employer to consult with appropriate representatives (this may be a trade union or works council) of the employees who may be affected by the proposed collective redundancies on ways of avoiding dismissals, reducing the number of employees to be dismissed and mitigating the consequences of the dismissals.

Where an employer plans to make 100 or more employees redundant within a 90 day period or less, section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 requires the employer to advise, in writing, the UK Secretary of State at least 90 days before the first dismissal occurs. Where an employer plans to make 20 or more employees redundant within a period of 90 days or less, section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 requires the employer to advise, in writing, the UK Secretary of State at least 30 days before the first dismissal occurs.