Are employees who are at risk of redundancy covered by the JSS?

The JSSC and JSSO do not apply if employees are made redundant or are given notice of redundancy during the period for which their employer is claiming the grant for them. Employers will not be able to claim reimbursement for unworked hours of an employee who has either been made redundant or is under notice of redundancy in the period claimed for.

Further guidance is required as to whether this means that an employer may start redundancy consultation when an employee is on the JSS, provided that notice of termination for redundancy is not issued to the employee during this period.

At present, the most clear-cut option seems is for employers to move employees out of the JSS and stop claiming the grant for them if there is a need to make them redundant before the JSS ends. Employers should be mindful of the time-frames for consultation in a collective redundancy scenario set out under Article 216 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

There may be employers who are beginning a redundancy process because they felt that the original JSS was too expensive. These employers will need to consider whether to continue with the redundancy process or whether the JSS could be availed of.