Collective Consultation Timetable
A working timetable for collective consultation: statutory clocks, meeting cadence, information duties and the evidence trail for each stage.
A working timetable for collective consultation: statutory clocks, meeting cadence, information duties and the evidence trail for each stage.
When to use it
Once you know the proposed number of dismissals and the establishment they sit in.
Running collective consultation to a timetable that holds
Collective consultation is a process with fixed clocks and specific information duties, and it fails most often on evidence rather than intention. This working timetable maps the statutory periods, the meeting cadence and the paperwork that must exist at each stage.
Plan backwards from the earliest lawful dismissal date
Where 20 to 99 dismissals are proposed at one establishment within 90 days, consultation must begin in good time and at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect. At 100 or more, the period is 45 days. Those minimums, not the business plan, set your earliest date. Notification to the Secretary of State must be made before consultation begins.
The meeting arc
The template lays out a sensible sequence: opening meeting and section 188 information, questions and clarifications, alternatives to redundancy, the proposed pool and criteria, then feedback on representations and the closing position. Use the Section 188 Letter to Representatives to open and the Consultation Meeting Agenda and Record for each session.
Consulting about the right things
The duty is to consult on ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the numbers, and mitigating the consequences. That last limb is where employee support during redundancy belongs: redeployment effort, notice arrangements, time off to look for work and outplacement. Bringing a concrete support offer to the table shows the mitigation limb is being taken seriously.
Keeping the evidence trail
Record every representation received and the response given, including where a proposal was rejected and why. A running log is far more persuasive than a reconstructed summary. Our restructuring guides explain how the collective and individual tracks run alongside each other without duplicating work.
