The government has created an Employer Help website to support businesses when:

• making redundancies
• advertising vacancies
• in need of financial support

Making redundancies

Before making redundancies, make sure that you have searched through all of the support and funding available that can help you avoid or limit them, including the Job Retention Scheme.

Search the government’s business support finder tool for more available funding.

Redundancy support

Read this 'Redundancy factsheet for employers' for more information on making redundancies.

Share this 'Redundancy factsheet for employees' with people you have made or plan to make redundant.

There is specific guidance in the case of employers placing people on furlough and then making them redundant. Read this guidance here.

Further information for those made redundant includes:

• Job Centre Plus support for employers and employees
• People's rights if they are made redundant
• Redundancy pay calculator
• Information about taking early retirement
• Help finding work and claiming benefits
• ACAS redundancy support

Jobcentre Plus can give you and your employees support and advice through its Rapid Response Service. Support could include:

• helping people facing redundancy to write CVs and find jobs
• providing general information about benefits
• helping people to find the right training and learn new skills
• helping with costs like travel to work expenses

Jobcentre Plus may also provide on-site support for large-scale redundancies.

Help your employees find a new job

If you are forced into making redundancies, there are ways for you to support people through this tough time and help them find a new job.

Visit the ‘Finding new work’ page of the Employer Help website to find more information on:

• The government’s Job Help website, where people can access support and guidance
• The ‘Find a Job’ website, where people can search through available vacancies
• Identifying people’s skills so that they can widen their search parameters and goals when looking for a new job
• Expanding sectors that may have more vacancies available than others

Help your employees access financial support

Your employees may need to claim benefits if they are made redundant and you can help by ensuring they know what they can claim. This could include:

• Universal Credit
• New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance
• New Style Employment and Support Allowance
• Other financial support available for those in financial difficulty

Benefits such as the above could help to top-up earnings or support employees whilst they look for other work.

Signpost your employees to the government’s employment and benefits support pages for an explanation of what help is available and how they can access it.

Help your employees start their own business

After redundancy, some people may wish to pursue their own business dream. Government guidance on starting a business can be found here.

Buckinghamshire Business First's Be Your Own Boss programme is a start-up business support service that helps people develop the skills and meet the contacts they need in order to give their business idea the best chance of success.

There are two Enterprise Days soon that highlight everything on offer from Be Your Own Boss and cover:

• Is running a business right for me?
• How do I start and what are the legal requirements?
• How do I evaluate my business idea?
• What help can I get with selling, marketing, branding etc.?
• What other support is available to me?

More information on these events can be found at the below links:

• Be Your Own Boss Enterprise Day – 15th July. Find out more here.
• Be Your Own Boss Enterprise Day  - 11th August. Find out more here.

Support for furloughed staff

If you have furloughed staff, visit the 'Furloughing staff' pages of the Employer Help website for information and support to help your employees:

• Develop their skills and find training opportunities
• Discover volunteering opportunities
• Find other work until they can return to their usual job

There is specific guidance in the case of employers placing people on furlough and then making them redundant. Read this guidance here.

Employee health and wellbeing

Whether you are making redundancies or not, it is vital to look after your employees’ mental and physical health.

Visit the ‘Health and wellbeing’ webpages for a range of information and support, including:

• NHS Every Mind Matters
• Access to Work, which offers practical and financial support for employees with a disability or long term physical or mental health condition
• A guide with advice about employing people with a disability or health condition
• Sickness and absences
• Mental wellbeing when working from home
• Motivating remote teams
• Embracing flexible working

If you have job vacancies to advertise

Create a free account of the government’s ‘Find a job’ website and advertise your vacancies to the 1.8 million people registered on the site.

Read this quick guide to the service, complete with tips on how to advertise your vacancies.

Visit the ‘Advertise your vacancies’ section of the Employer Help website for further information on:

• Searching for people’s transferable skills
• Other ways to advertise your vacancies
• The Disability Confident scheme that helps employers make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace
• The Access to Work scheme for candidates who have a disability or health condition

Employer Help homepage

Remember to visit the Employer Help homepage for the full range of support and information available to businesses when making redundancies or advertising vacancies.