As well as obligations to inform and consult appropriate representatives, employers are under a duty to notify the Secretary of State for Business and Trade of any collective redundancy processes; that is where it proposes to make 20 or more redundancies within a 90-day period at any one establishment.  This is done by submitting a HR1 form and failure to do so may lead to fines and other legal consequences.

With effect from 1 December 2025, changes are afoot to the HR1 form and employers will only be able to submit this online.

The requirement to submit the HR1 form prior to any notice of termination being given, and at least 30 days before the first of those dismissals takes place (or 45 days where the proposal is to make 100 or more redundancies), remain. 

However, there are a couple of new practical issues to consider:

1.        The form will not save until it has been fully completed and submitted – so make sure you have all of the information ready to complete in one go.  You will need to provide information including - full company details (name, registered address, type of business), numbers of the proposed redundancies, address of the establishment from which redundancies will be made, proposed dates and reasons for the dismissals, details of the proposed selection methodology to be used, as well as details of the employee representatives you will be consulting. 

2.        You will need to ensure that you download and save a copy of the HR1 form prior to submission – whilst you will get an acknowledgement of submission, a copy of the actual form will not be saved or emailed to you.  This is important so that you are able to evidence what information was submitted (in case later challenged), and as you are required to provide copies to employee representatives at the commencement of the collective consultation process. 

As with many elements of employment law, the Government has proposed amendments to the trigger numbers and timings for notification of redundancies, as part of the Employment Rights Bill, as well as proposing changes to the current protective award where collective consultation requirements are not met.  A consultation process is due to commence in the coming months – so one to keep an eye on!  We will keep you posted on any further developments.

Planning of any organisational change is key as non-compliance with obligations to notify the Secretary of State and to consult employee representatives prior to any dismissals taking effect can lead to costly consequences.  We recommend legal input at an early stage.  For more information and assistance with specific redundancy processes, please contact Jessica Jones, at jjones@ortolan.com .

Please see link to the new HR1 online form:  How to complete this form - HR1 - Advanced Notification of Redundancies – GOV.UK