When an employer proposes to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less it must comply with statutory collective redundancy consultation rules. This includes notifying in advance the Redundancy Payments Service (‘RPS’) of potential redundancies using the statutory HR1 form (the timing of so notification depends on the number of redundancies proposed).
Failure to do so is a criminal offence which can result in prosecution and fines for the company and/or its officers.
What’s Changing?
The Insolvency Service has quietly launched a new version of the HR1 form.
At the moment, this can be completed either online through a digitised service or by submitting a downloadable Word version of the form. However, after 30 November, the online form will be the only option available.
A link to the new form can be found here and the Insolvency service guidance is here.
Changes to the new form include:
- Links to Companies House, the Charity Commission and Mutuals Public Register, to assist with completion
- A new redundancy reason: ‘Change in supply chain/loss of supply chain contract’
- The new form will not accept consultation start dates in the future
Whilst the legal requirements are unchanged by the introduction of the digital submission process, the task has become a bit more onerous and so impacted employers should familiarise themselves with the new requirements.
Key practical points include:
- The online form has 8 parts and takes on average 40 minutes to complete.
- The website will not save the completed information until the form has been submitted at the end of the process. If you close or leave the page for longer than 90 mins, you’ll need to start again!
- If you wish to retain a copy of the form, you must save and/or print the form as a PDF before pressing submit. The email confirmation you receive once a form is submitted will only state that your form has been received. It does not include a copy of the form.
The reasons for the change include quicker submissions, fewer errors (as the form provides links and information at each step) and more up-to-date information that can be shared with your local Jobcentre Plus and other service providers in the local area. However, this new online process raises the question whether the Insolvency Service intends to take a more proactive approach in engaging with, or challenging, the information provided in the HR1 form in the future.
