We are intending to amend our employees’ terms and conditions of employment by amending the employees' bonus scheme. We intend to do this through consultation with employees and by seeking their agreement. I read somewhere that changing terms and conditions of employment for a large number of employees can trigger collective consultation and a requirement to inform DEL. I would be grateful for any clarity on this point.

The main issue here is whether the company envisages dismissing and re-engaging the employees if they do not consent to the changes in the bonus arrangements. Where an employer changes employees' terms through termination and re-engagement, the dismissals would count as redundancies (for the purposes of collective consultation) and, depending on the number of employees involved, would be subject to the obligation to collectively consult.

At the start of the process of varying employment contracts, the employer will not know for certain whether the employees will agree to the proposed new terms. If the employees do not agree and the employer envisages dismissing and re-engaging those