An article by insolvency practioner Begbies Traynor  in Business Weekly highlights the fact that the lack of availability of business finance in the first half of 2010 will put several hundred businesses at risk.

Fortunately there is help at hand for employees whose jobs are put at risk under such circumstances.  The R2R (Responding to Redundancies) scheme offers free careers advice and access to a training fund of £1200 to employees living or working in the region.

To access support to help ease the burden of redundancies, contact Katherine Wiid who is actively facilitating the R2R scheme on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended that 270,000 fewer posts should be included on its list of occupational shortages, determining which skilled workers employers can automatically bring in from overseas. Construction managers, quantity surveyors, and social workers who deal with adults have been taken off the list, while restrictions on other care workers and chefs have been tightened.

However rising unemployment does not eliminate all skills shortages. Medical consultants with long training periods and high integrity pipe welders will still be needed from overseas.  MAC is paying particular attention to maths teachers and engineers to see whether skills gaps are being filled by laid-off financial services staff.

Skills training services such as Train to Gain are getting ready to fill the gaps.  I personally have taken advantage of their leadership training scheme and grant of £1500 and have been impressed by the flexibility of their approach.

Another great scheme is R2R (Response to Redundancy) which is available to employees being made redundant in the East of England.  Funding up to £1000 is available to help make candidates more marketable – for more information on how to access the funding please visit www.recrion.co.uk/free

The Harvard Review has a great article on the subject.  Communication is the key to keeping your workforce working with you to achieve business goals.  A great one liner on engagement I came across today was "Engagement is when there is no them, it is all us, us, us."

A great way of sending a positive message to those left behind, it is make sure you treat those facing redundancy well.  A lot of small businesses don't have the budgets for outplacement or employee assistance programmes which is why Recrion has partnered with the European Social Fund and EEDA to promote the Reponse to Redundancy scheme.

R2R enables employers to offer their employees free careers advice and training up to £1000.  Find out more on www.recrion.co.uk/free.

Recrion creates Real Action in the Workplace – visit www.recrion.co.uk to find out how!

What about employers making the redundancies?  They are often not in a position to offer enhanced redundancy payments or outplacements to the staff that are leaving so a reduced qualifying period will put even more pressure on the smaller employer if this becomes a reality.

There are other ways that the government and regional development agencies are helping to ease the burden on employers and we think the Response to Redundancy scheme in the East of England is particularly helpful.

R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.

The funding is available for employees who live or work in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

As with all government funding not everyone will be eligible but many will be. The key to the funding is to move quickly to help those affected by redundancy as soon as it is announced.

If you would like further details please email or speak to an accredited R2R Advisor at Recrion today on (01780) 484910.  Visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see how the funding has helped people to start afresh.

For employers facing slowing order books, there was an important announcement by Mr Darling as he has increased the maximum statutory redundancy payment. An employee's statutory redundancy pay is calculated by using a formula that takes into account their age and length of service.

This formula results in a number of weeks' pay, which is then multiplied by the employee's weekly pay subject to a maximum of, currently, £350 per week. This figure will now rise to £380.  The unions are not happy with the increase as they were lobbying for £500 per week – an increase that could potentially cripple employers.

Companies need to be aware of recent changes to employment legislation or face huge fines.  For smaller companies making 20 or less redundancies, we have written a step by step Redundancy Action Plan to help you avoid the risks of getting it wrong.

Contact Katherine Wiid for confidential advice on redundancies on 01780 484910 or download our free videos taking you through the 20 most frequently asked questions about redundancy.

The article was written for managers in procurement who are used to negotiating with suppliers, but find it tough when it comes to making staff redundant.  The article explores three main areas:

• understand the emotional implications of redundancy
• explain the reasons and the criteria as soon as possible
• consider using an outplacement provider to help your staff with the news.

Read the full article here.

For more information on how how Recrion can help to you to manage redundancies and the people left behind, contact us on 01780 484910 or www.recrion.co.uk

After all, I am sure you don't want to be kidnapped by your employees!  Bossnapping is an industrial action tactic which consists of locking up management executives in their offices overnight and forcing them to return to the negotiating table in a more compliant mood. There have been at least six cases of bossnapping in France in the last fortnight, and the worrying thing is, it works.

Making redundancies in Recrion's experience starts out as a business decision; but managing redundancies requires a human touch and an understanding of the wider implications of the decision.

Recrion's team of HR professionals helps you to communicate openly and honestly with everyone affected by the changes and provides support so that you can make your business stronger, healthier, and create a reputation as a responsible and compassionate employer.

Call us on 01780 484910 for a confidential discussion or visit our website today.

Breaking news…

Recrion is facilitating a government scheme to help employers and employees affected by redundancy.   See if you or your employees are eligible for FREE career's advice and training

"Having a face to face consultation with Recrion's HR specialist on how to structure our redundancy programme took a lot of the stress out of the exercise.  Rosemary was extremely helpful and supportive throughout."

Director of Global Distributor

When the time comes to streamline your business, making redundancies can be the hardest part of the process. The regulations surrounding the redundancy procedure can feel like a minefield of potential litigation.

Making sure you follow the rules can not only protect you from costly tribunals, but make the whole process less emotional for all involved.

As a professional redundancy consultancy, Recrion can offer professional and sensitive assistance with all elements of the redundancy procedure.  Call us for a confidential discussion on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk.

By the end of the first week of April, more redundancies by Britain's big conglomerates were announced:

• British Airways said that the "tough economic climate" had forced it to cut 300 jobs as part of a targeted voluntary redundancy scheme.

The British insurance industry was left reeling after two large firms announced they were making a total of 2,250 job cuts.

• Aviva is to cut 1,100 jobs in Britain.
• Reinsurance group Swiss Re said it planned to cut 10% of its workforce – equivalent to around 1,150 jobs – as part of an efficiency drive.

Being made redundant is one of the most stressful experiences anyone can go through. In addition to possibly enduring financial hardship, redundancy can place sudden stress on an individual to find appropriate work within a short amount of time. And if no employment is secured shortly after redundancy, various problems – especially financially-related issues – can begin to snowball out of control, causing individuals and their families immense amounts of stress and hardship.

Fortunately there is help available for those "at risk" of redundancy who live or work in the East of England.

The European Social Fund and The East of England Development Agency have specially created ‘Response to Redundancy' to generate real action for workers in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.

It is also particularly designed for those who are working their notice or on gardening leave whilst technically still employed to help them find appropriate work as quickly as possible.

To apply for R2R, you can speak to an accredited R2R Advisor at Recrion today on (01780) 484910.

Response to Redundancy is a real, well-timed and practical solution to allow sensitive employers help staff resettle and retrain in new vocations and directions.  You'll find our Redundancy Management Service helps all sorts of East of England employers quickly access R2R support and funding in ways which are fast, effective and above all, satisfying for both company and employee.

Don't delay. Make R2R work for you and your contacts today.

For those of you who haven't ever visited Stamford, it is an historic market town and to all intents "well heeled".  The shocking news announced at the meeting was that Stamford's unemployment is double that of the local towns that are traditionally less affluent.  The reason?  Stamford has no manufacturing and is predominantly a leisure and retail centre – both of which have been hard hit in the downturn.

I was spurred on to see what we could do with our collective HR skills in interviewing, training and coaching.  After a lot of digging, I came across some ESF funding being delivered through an initiative called R2R … have you ever heard of it?

Well… that is the biggest problem the fund administrators at the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) are facing. You see, for businesses making more than 20 people redundant, there is an automatic notification process through the Job Centres. But if you are one of the businesses making less than 20 people redundant, there is no mechanism to let you know about the help and funding available.

Somewhat worryingly, the Job Centres are so overloaded they are not able to meaningfully help unless there are over 80 redundancies!

What would it be like to take the emotional burden off your shoulders and arrange an hour-long meeting for each employee at risk of redundancy to discuss their career and prospects? Discussion with an independent career adviser appointed by R2R who has the experience and expertise to give practical, helpful advice on how to go about finding their next job?  The R2R fund has been set up specifically to reduce the financial burden of this kind of service, and your employees could be eligible.

As with all funding, only some employees will qualify. To see if your employees qualify for arguably the best advice they can get (at no cost to you), go to www.recrion.co.uk/FREE

If you have any questions we would be happy to help – call an independent career adviser at Recrion on 01780 484910.