Redundancy

[Andyopey]

Does an employer have to give written notice, or does verbal notice count?

[Hypognosis]

Just to remove any ambiguity from the question; are you the employer or the employee?

[SirOracle]

Not sure what difference it would make to the answer to the question Hypo.

[Connemmara]

whatever answer you are seeking - get it in WRITING

[factor-fiction]

https://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/giving-staff-notice
https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/notice-periods
https://www.gov.uk/dismissal
These may help.

Redundancy is one of the categories of dismissal.
This extract seems relevant:
"Getting your dismissal in writing

You have the right to ask for a written statement from your employer giving the reasons why you’ve been dismissed if you’re an employee and have completed 2 years’ service (1 year if you started before 6 April 2012).

Your employer must supply the statement within 14 days of you asking for it."

[boxtops]

You have to have it in writing, with the terms and conditions of your redundancy payments - we had a consultation period when we were given our notices of redundancy.

[Hypognosis]

@SirOracle

If the OP was the employee, I would have encouraged them to push for written notice and details of the payout, on the assumption that the paperwork is merely concessionary and customary - ie not legally enforced.

If the OP was the employer, I would have had to back out of the thread and await one of the AB legal eagles to come up with something more concrete to convince them that the written notice was a compulsory duty.

[Andyopey]

My employer has com e in today and asked all staff to sign a contract of employment saying that our start date wAs October last year, this is when he became a ltd co, from a sole trader. Can he make us sign this document. It's obviously to try and limit his redundancy liability

[Hypognosis]

Sounds shifty to me but who knows what company law entails? All we can do is suggest you seek legal advice - don't expect to come here to get it for free.

If you have any paperwork confirming a prior start date, take it along before attending the consultation. Letter of employment; old payslips; P60 form?

[overthetop]

I have no qualification whatsoever but suggest you don't sign off any statement which isn't true, i.e. if your start date was not October last year, do not sign. It may be in your favour to do so, or it may be in the employer's favour, but whichever it is, you have to tell the truth in a written statement.

[boxtops]

I think you need to seek proper advice - try the ACAS website, they are enormously helpful and the advice is free. IMO, if the status of the company changed on 1 October then you might have been asked to sign new contracts as employees of the limited company, but you would have been TUPEd (or similar) from the previous sole trader company so that you have continuous service from the date you originally started (this has happened to me several times as organisations have changed, but my employment's always been recorded with a start date of 1997). Speak to ACAS, don't sign anything.