Redundancy … the other R word
Whether we like it or not there is no doubt a lot of shops are going to have to lay staff off; with no weddings or corporate work and a weaker economy there simply isn’t going to be the business out there to sustain every job. However If you are going to make people redundant please do it sooner than later.
Not just because you can use furlough payments to help with the cost of redundancy (notice periods can run whilst staff are on furlough) but, more importantly, because it is much fairer on any staff you are going to have to let go as it will mean they can be in the job market ahead of the crowd.
You see it is widely predicted there will be a lot more redundancies as the months go by – with probably a big rise in October when the furlough scheme ends. As such whilst jobs in floristry may be short there are other vacancies out there and you want your people to have the best chance to get new employment.
In terms of advice and guidance you MUST take the proper advice to avoid any comeback and should talk with a lawyer or HR professional. Yes we know this is an abnormal situation but that will only make things even more tense so you need to make sure you are doing everything by the letter of the law and allow plenty of time; this process requires several meetings and discussions.
The Government has a very good section with an inbuilt calculator so you can work out what you will have to pay over and above the notice period. You can access it here but again please talk to your accountant/PAYE roll manager to get final payslips sorted out as you may have to think about holiday pay etc as well.
You must also treat anyone you have to lay off with respect and kindness. They didn’t ask for this any more than you did and although we suspect they will understand - indeed may be expecting it - it is still a body blow simply because it will confirm that things are pretty awful.
As such – especially given so many florists run small family type teams - you also need to have support systems in place and make sure this is done as carefully and kindly as possible … not by text or email. Your efforts may be rejected; people being made redundant might be angry and hurt but you need to keep the good spirit going even if it is tough on you as boss and yet another thing to deal with.
Advice and Help
If you don't already have an arrangment or contract with one of the many HR companies out there have a look at Peninsular. We can't recommend them as such but we do know of a number of florists who use them and so could be a place to start. The Federation of Small Businesses has also served a number of readers well and with a really reasonable membership fee might be another source of information to follow up on.
