We own a small business employing 4 staff and are looking at reducing staff due to a competitor opening up in our locality having affected our sales.. I will be looking at working the hours which are left free by the person we make redundant. We took over this business less than 2 years ago, however all of the staff were employed by the previous owner but were paid cash and had no written contract of employment.
I need to know
A) if we can make someone redundant, and I as an existing employee can take up their hours (clearly I will be working for nothing as the owner)
B) the person we have in mind works the least hours of all the staff, I can cover these hours easily, and would not need to inconvenience other staff by changing their hours around etc. (there are issues with trust also but nothing concrete enough to consider gross misconduct)
C) does the cash in hand work without contract count towards the employees continuous service in regards to redundancy?
I don't like the thought of making anyone redundant, but something needs to give or the business will fold and we will all be out of a job.
Do the above seem reasonable grounds for selection of a staff member for redundancy, ie hours worked can be easily covered by another staff member? The person is more qualified than me, but at the moment their skills are not being utilised and I am more than capable of doing the job as they do it now.