If say whole company redundancy or a department redundancy the normal redundancy procedures. But if a sole redundancy in a larger company the company has to be very careful to avoid any comebacks.
Don't know the circumstances in this case but a legal separation is just another option if agreeable for both parties, with the payment normally tax free. The employer also normally pays an amount for your independent legal advise.
It is not normal practice for an employer to pay anything for an employee to take independent legal advice (save in one special situation).
Secondly, an employer does not have to pay anything over and above (a) the required legal minimum redundancy pay or (b) the company's redundancy terms and comply with the required Notice Period.
A company can make a fair dismissal through redundancy if it can show the need for the job has disapoeared, its location has changed, or it can be merged into another role and then simply restructure the organisation or a part of it.
There is more protection in mass redundancies as they may involve a union negotiation.
The employer invariably wins every time when an employee takes counsel from friends thinking they have x, y, z rights and to fight. I have dismissed many staff - with never a comeback despite heavy threats to take the matter to court.
Reason? A (good, smart) company takes legal advice BEFORE it even decides to get rid of staff and how to do it without a legal challenge. I never took 100% of advice from HR and always took legal counsel before arriving at the decision snd how to do it ckeanly.
The staff being dismissed have incurred hefty legal bills thst got them nowhere. Beware of legal advice thst says "you have a case" when in reality you don't. A good solicitor is the one who says "you are not gonna benefit by contesting the decision,. The the cost to litigate is extremely expensive for marginal improvement of the offer (if any at all) and you may have to meet their legal costs as well"
Not knowing the specifics, it appears the OP is facing loss of his job. Making an agreement to part amicably in law (compromise) is under the control of the employer if it thinks there may be an unfair dismissal claim to be pursued AND IF IT THINKS ON THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITY such a claim may win or if the claim has little chance of winning but will incur costs to defend. An offer to go quietly for x monies has no chance of being accepted if the company sees no risks of contest or costs to defend. Why should it?
As for tax advice etc. that is in the distance. First establish if the dismissal is fair or contestable.
My honest advice is take the offer as per contractual terns, 99% of times, it is fair in the eyes of the law and courts.
I have been doing this in a corporate life and not one has ever made a claim (though many have made heat of the moment threats to take us to court) and in performance related issurs not one has ever won against me even with having a solicitor present in the poor-performance procedure discussions.
Not what anyone wsnts to hear possibly, but practical reality - certainly in 'executive level' dismissals. Laying off masses on a shop floor is a different (arbitration) process that usually results in the employer still achieving layoffs despite union ferocity so long as process is complied and the employer sets out the grounds for dismissal which rarely hold up to legal challenge.
There we have it. The law is an a$$.
Take the money and move on is the usual outcome in most cases
