Section 188 Letter to Representatives

The written information that must be supplied to representatives at the start of collective consultation, in letter form with every statutory item covered.

When to use it

At or before the first collective consultation meeting.

What a section 188 letter must actually say

Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 sets out the information an employer must give in writing to representatives before collective consultation. Miss an item and the consultation can be found defective even where the discussions themselves were constructive.

The information items

The letter covers the reasons for the proposals, the numbers and descriptions of employees proposed to be dismissed, the total number of employees of those descriptions at the establishment, the proposed method of selecting who may be dismissed, the proposed method of carrying out the dismissals including the timetable, and the proposed method of calculating any redundancy payment beyond the statutory minimum. Where agency workers are used, information about their numbers and roles is required too.

Tone matters as much as content

This is the first written communication representatives will read closely, and it sets the tone for everything after. Language that presents the outcome as settled invites the argument that consultation was a formality. The template is written in proposal terms throughout, and invites representations on avoiding dismissals, reducing numbers and mitigating consequences.

Sequencing

Issue it at or before the first collective consultation meeting, after representatives are in place — see the Employee Representative Election Notice — and after the Secretary of State notification where required. Log it in the Collective Consultation Timetable so the date the clock started is unambiguous.

What to include on support

Set out what employees will be offered if dismissals go ahead: redeployment search, time off to seek work, and outplacement or career transition support. That belongs in the mitigation conversation, and putting it in writing early is the clearest signal that the mitigation limb is being taken seriously. See our guides for how the full consultation sequence fits together.