[ingliz]

Redundancy Notification Act 2009

General

1 a)The provisions apply to all employers and employees except those described below. They apply regardless of how long employees have worked for their employer or for how many hours a week they are employed.
b)The provisions do not cover:
i. anyone who is not an employee - for example, an independent contractor or freelance agent;
ii. members of the police service and armed forces;
iii. masters and crew members engaged in share fishing who are paid solely by a share in the profits or gross earnings of a fishing vessel;
iv. employees employed for a fixed term of three months or less, or engaged for a specific task which is not expected to last more than three months, unless in either case the job actually lasts for more than three months.
2) The obligation shall apply even when an employer intends to offer alternative employment on different terms and conditions to some or all of the employees.

Notification to the Ministry for Labour and Industrial Affairs

1 a) An employer who proposes to dismiss twenty or more employees as redundant at one establishment within a period of ninety days or less has a statutory duty to notify the Ministry for Labour and Industrial Affairs.
b) This is so that government departments and agencies and the Employment Services can be alerted and prepared to take any appropriate measures to assist or retrain the employees in question.
2a) A notification must be made a specified minimum time before the first dismissal takes effect.
b) In addition employers will also be required to notify the Minister before giving notice to terminate an employees contract.
c) The date of notification is the date on which it is received by the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Affairs.
3 a)The minimum times are:
i. if between twenty and ninety-nine employees may be dismissed as redundant at one establishment within a period of ninety days or less- at least thirty days and in any event, before giving notice to terminate an employees contract;
ii. if one hundred or more employees may be dismissed as redundant at one establishment within a period of ninety days or less- at least ninety days and in any event, before giving notice to terminate an employees contract.
b)An employer who has already notified one group of proposed redundancy dismissals and later finds it necessary to make a further group does not have to add the numbers of employees together to calculate the minimum period for either group.
4)There is no obligation to notify redundancies of fewer than twenty employees within a period of ninety days or less, but employers may nevertheless wish to consider doing so in borderline cases - particularly if the numbers involved are uncertain.

The notification.

1a) The Ministry for Labour and Industrial Affairs requires information in writing about the employer’s proposals. Employers may notify by letter or by form RCN1, which can be obtained from the NEC.
b)The employer must disclose:
i. the reasons for the proposals;
ii. the numbers and descriptions of employees it is proposed to dismiss as redundant;
iii. the total number of employees of any such description employed by the employer at the establishment in question;
iv. the proposed method of selecting the employees who may be dismissed;
v. the proposed method of carrying out the dismissals, taking account of any agreed procedure, including the period over which the dismissals are to take effect;
vi. the proposed method of calculating any redundancy payments, other than those required by statute, that the employer proposes to make.
c) In addition, the notification must state when and with whom consultation began.
2)The notification should be sent by post or delivered by hand to the office indicated on form RCN1.
i. If the employer’s proposals change significantly after the notification has been given - for example, if the numbers to be dismissed increase by twenty or more or if the dismissal dates are to be brought forward or delayed - the Department should be informed.
ii.Employers must give or send a copy of the notification to the representatives with whom they are required to consult about the proposed redundancies.
iii.The Minister has powers to obtain further information if necessary.
iv. When notification has been received in the form required, a formal acknowledgement will be sent to the employer.

Special circumstances

1a)There may be special circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to meet fully the requirements for minimum notification periods.
b) In such circumstances, the employer must take all reasonably practicable steps toward meeting the requirements and explain why they cannot be met in full.
c) However, it is not sufficient simply to state that it was not possible to comply because a controlling body (e.g. a head office or parent company) had not supplied the necessary information or had not supplied it in time.

Penalty for non-compliance

1) If an employer fails to give the required notification to the Department, the Minister of Labour and Industrial Affairs may institute legal proceedings that could lead, on summary conviction, to a fine of up to $10,000 (this upper limit is subject to review from time to time).