This is a structured, word-for-word script to help you confidently run the first formal redundancy consultation meeting — ensuring the process is fair, compliant, and genuinely consultative. This stage is absolutely critical. It’s where you move from informing the employee to actively engaging with them — listening to their views, exploring alternatives, and demonstrating that no final decision has been made. The script guides you through how to handle the conversation properly: recapping the rationale, explaining the selection approach, exploring redeployment options, and inviting meaningful input from the employee. It ensures the consultation is real — not a formality — reducing the risk of challenge and helping you run a process that stands up to scrutiny. Who is it for? Founders and CEOs leading redundancy processes Managers responsible for consultation meetings SME owners without in-house HR expertise HR professionals who want a consistent and defensible approach What does it cover? Opening the consultation meeting clearly and professionally Reconfirming this is a proposal (not a decision) Recapping the business rationale and structure changes Explaining selection logic (including pools where relevant) Exploring alternatives to redundancy Discussing redeployment opportunities Inviting employee feedback, ideas, and challenges Managing companion input appropriately Summarising key points and confirming understanding Setting next steps and ongoing consultation process When is it used? After the initial “at risk” conversation At the start of the formal consultation process When you need to engage the employee in the proposal Before any final redundancy decision is made Word document (docx) | 4 pages
