Changes to HR1 Form and Collective Redundancies

Where employers wish to dismiss 20 or more employees from one establishment, they are required to notify the Government via the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) as soon as possible, but at least 30 days before the first redundancy (45 days where over 100 employees are involved), by completing form “HR1”. From 30 November 2025, the HR1 can only be completed digitally, not on a paper form.

The paper version of the HR1 form required employers to provide a detailed breakdown of affected employees by occupational groups, whereas the new digital version has removed this requirement.

The categories available to employers for explaining the business rationale behind the proposed redundancies have also expanded, with a new reason being added to the digital form: “change in supply chain/loss of supply chain contract”.

Furthermore, you can no longer future-date the HR1 form. The digital system will only accept consultation dates that have already occurred or are scheduled to occur on the same day as the form submission.

The digital form requires continuous completion and does not allow you to save information until final submission. You will need to restart the form if you leave the digital page for more than 90 minutes.

Protective award

Currently, if an employer fails to properly consult staff during a collective redundancy process, an employment tribunal can award each affected employee up to 90 days’ full pay as compensation, known as the “protected award”.

In Autumn 2024, the government ran the “Make Work Pay” consultation to gather opinions on whether the maximum award should be increased as part of the Employment Rights Bill. Following that consultation, the Government decided to strengthen the collective redundancy rules by intending to double the maximum protective award from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per employee, under the Employment Rights Bill (expected to change from April 2026).

Additionally, if the employer fails to comply unreasonably with the Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (which took effect on 20 January 2025), compensation can be increased by a further 25%. This means that, potentially (in the event the Code remains applicable in April), the total possible award could reach up to 225 days’ pay per employee.

The government has announced that it will publish additional guidance to help employers of all sizes understand how to fulfil their consultation duties and avoid unintentionally breaching the rules.

Contact our employment law solicitors today

If you have any questions or concerns about the updates provided above, please contact a member of our Employment Law team. You can use our online enquiry form or call 0330 191 5713.