Who must an employer notify before a dismissal for managerial reasons, and how early must that notice be given?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the notice the employer sent before the intended dismissal and the proof of when it reached its recipient, any records of the consultations that followed, and papers showing whether a union organised by a majority of workers existed at that business or workplace, such as the union's constitution or a roster of its members.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the conditions one by one: where an employer proposes to dismiss a worker for managerial reasons, it must notify the union organised by a majority of the workers at that business or workplace — or, where no such union exists, the person representing a majority of the workers, called the worker representative — by the period the provision sets before the intended date of dismissal, and must consult sincerely about how to avoid the dismissal and about the criteria for it.
Another reading notes the order of the conditions: the route through a worker representative opens only where the business or workplace has no union organised by a majority of the workers, and the provision states when notice must be given but says nothing about how much detail the notice must carry or what makes a consultation sincere.
Your judgment
If the consultations ended without agreement, what in the file could show that the employer's effort to avoid the dismissal was sincere rather than a formality?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the notice period or who must be notified, or if a court decision sets out what a sincere consultation must involve.