Travel Weekly webcast: Redundancy laws were a key focus of our second web


Redundancies: ‘If your job is at risk, explore all alternatives’


T


here will be more industry redundancies but there won’t be one cliff edge when they are


made, Travlaw’s employment specialist has predicted. Ami Naru pointed out some firms


made job cuts at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak while others had “sat tight”. But she warned the gradual increase in employer contributions under the furlough scheme would be a “trigger” for further redundancies. From August, employers have to


make national insurance and pension contributions, and from September must pay 10% of salaries, rising to 20% from October. Speaking on a Travel Weekly


webcast, Naru said: “Unfortunately, some employers are not going to be able to avoid a redundancy situation.” On the timing of redundancies,


she said: “It depends on each employer’s circumstances as to how long they can continue to have their staff on furlough, or indeed how


It depends on each employer’s circumstances as to how long they can continue to have staff on furlough


quickly the signs of recovery for that particular organisation kick in.” Naru said it was “important to


emphasise” that an employee whose role is put at risk should not regard redundancy as a “foregone conclusion”. She added: “The operative word


there is risk. The whole point of consultation is to avoid a redundancy situation.” Employment tribunals see


redundancy as “the last resort”, she said, adding that there should be “a two-way consultation process” to explore alternatives to redundancy. Naru said employees often make


the mistake of thinking the onus is on employers to come up with


suggestions, but advised them to put forward alternatives to save their jobs. She suggested asking about


opportunities for unpaid leave, a sabbatical, a cut in salary or a reduction in hours as alternatives. Furlough had been “a lifeline” for


many employers, Naru said, adding that more companies are now taking up the “flexi-furlough” option, with a view to eventually getting staff back to work permanently. But she said it was a


misconception that employers put employees on furlough “because it was the easiest thing to do”. She explained the scheme was


“not cost neutral”, adding: “We’ve got to remember there is an ongoing cost. “First of all, annual leave


continues to accrue during the furlough period. Secondly, continuity of employment continues to accrue during furlough. So, ultimately, if there are redundancies to be made, those redundancy calculations are going to be more expensive.”


Booking terms: ‘Now is time to check your terms and conditions’


Travel companies should take time to check their terms and conditions, and those of their suppliers, in readiness for travel restarting, according to Travlaw. Senior partner Matt Gatenby said: “As we try to get


back to something approaching where we were, we are getting a lot of questions about ‘do we need to do things like changing our terms and conditions?’ And ‘do we need to look at our suppliers’ conditions?’ “The answer to both is ‘yes’. Although if you had a


good set of documentation in the first place – if you had all your ducks in a row – you should be pretty much good to go.” Gatenby also urged the trade to keep an eye on the


Competition and Markets Authority probe into the handling of cancellations and refunds in the wake of the


12 9 JULY 2020


Covid-19 pandemic, which initially focused on holiday accommodation, weddings and events and nurseries, but was expanded in May to include holidays. He said the ongoing investigation was “focusing


particularly on the accommodation sector as opposed to package travel”, but warned that the latter was “something we think might start to become more of an issue going forward”.


ADVICE SITES Travlaw senior counsel Stephen Mason encouraged agents to


check two resources for guidance: O Abta’s Post Pandemic Recovery guide: bit.ly/AbtaPPR O The Re-open EU site: reopen.europa.eu/en


travelweekly.co.uk


Ami Naru


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