If you are facing a civil service redundancy, as so many people are at the moment, what are your options? Should you accept the first redundancy payment offered to you, or do you have other options? If you are offered a compromise agreement, should you sign it or if you do have you limited your options? We can help you with all of these questions. These are all important considerations and how you deal with them could affect your compensation package and also your future employment potential.

Civil Service Redundancy.

It seems likely that we are going to see a rise in Civil Service Redundancy. What scale this will be on is not yet known, but it is fair to assume that it is going to be on a relatively large scale.

If this is likely to happen to you, you must ensure that you receive the best possible terms to protect your future. If a large amount of redundancies are made there will be a lot of people looking for employment making it harder for you to find a new job. This is why it is vital you negotiate hard for your redundancy compensation. But how can you do this? What are your rights and what are your options?

Reasons for Redundancy? There are many reasons for a civil service redundancy, the first one below is the one that is most likely to apply at the moment in relation to sections of civil service that are likely to be outsourced:

* the business/department is closing down;

*reorganising/restructuring or moving new technology or a new working practice means your job is no longer required;

* the job you were employed to do has been absorbed or no longer exists.

The Redundancy Process. Your employer should select employees fairly for redundancy, and you should be forewarned or consulted about the possible redundancy. Your employer should also take reasonable steps to see if affected employees can be transferred to another part of the civil service, and look at whether there are any alterntatives avaliable apart from redundancy.

An employee is entitled to receive statutory redundancy pay and be given the correct amount of notice, but if an employer uses redundancy as an excuse to hide the real reason for ending an employee's contract, or if they do not carry out the redundancy selection procedure properly, their action may amount to unfair dismissal.

Compromise Agreements. A compromise agreement is generally a good idea for an employee as it means you must obtain independent legal advice to check that the terms of your redundancy are reasonable. What is more, your employer will usually cover the costs of this legal advice.

If you are facing a civil service redundancy, ensure that you investigate all of your options to protect your future employment prospects. Take expert legal advice as soon as possible. Most solicitors will offer you a free initial discussion and provide you with a range of options. You can then decide what, if any, action to take.