Acas has published new advice to help employers understand the role of “redundancy envoys” – employees who break news of redundancies to staff.
With approximately 150,000 workers in the UK being made redundant or taking voluntary redundancy every three months, research commissioned by Acas has found that the role of so-called “redundancy envoys” are often overlooked and misunderstood by employers.
As a consequence, Acas has now included a new section – Breaking the News – in its redundancy handling booklet. The booklet places the role of the “redundancy envoy” within the overall context of managing redundancies effectively – from trying to avoid job losses through to helping the redundant employee find other work. The advice includes the importance of selecting the right person for the role of “redundancy envoy” (or “Teller” as the Booklet refers to them) and how employers should support them in their difficult role.
Further details about the role of the “Teller” and what else is included in the redundancy handling booklet are here.