Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsJob creation and lossesLabour marketRecruitment & retentionRedundancy

Number of planned redundancies in UK falls by 21% in last quarter

by Adam McCulloch 22 Jul 2022
by Adam McCulloch 22 Jul 2022 Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

The number of planned redundancies in the UK fell by 21% in the last quarter indicating that despite rising interest rates, businesses have generally been keen to retain employees.

A bleak economic outlook, with uncertainty for many firms over supply chains and steep rises in energy costs and the cost of borrowing, would normally cause businesses to plan further redundancies, but new figures analysed by employment law firm GQ|Littler show a steep fall in the number of planned redundancies.

Labour market

Employees struggle to take holiday

Ryannair boss demands more EU labour

Between 1 April and 30 June there were 39,669 planned redundancies as opposed to 50,382 between 1 January and 30 March. Meanwhile, recruitment recently slowed to its lowest level in 16 months.

Philip Cameron, partner at GQ|Littler said: “Traditionally a squeeze on margins, such as the one being created by the spike in inflation we would see businesses reducing costs through redundancy. Given the mounting economic pressure it is very surprising that businesses have decided not to go down this route just yet.”

He added that the extreme shortage of available staff across the economy meant that many businesses were retaining underemployed staff rather than making them redundant.

These businesses, he said, were concerned that when the economic outlook started to improve they would not be able to rehire those staff. “Many employers will have learned this the hard way following the pandemic,” he added, with many businesses subsequently working hard to ensure ensure surplus staff were not let go during the so-called Great Resignation.

To get through the current economic impasse, companies in the UK knew that in order to survive the crisis relatively unscathed they were had to hang on to their valued employees, said Cameron.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

He added: “A buoyant labour market is continuing to cushion job losses in many sectors. However, as uncertainty generated by the war in Ukraine and the deteriorating wider economic outlook bites, businesses will be asking themselves how much longer they can avoid making difficult decisions around redundancy.”

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
Gartner: ‘Workplaces need to heal to become more human’
next post
Heathrow strikes called off as pay deals accepted

You may also like

Microsoft to cut 9,000 jobs globally as role...

3 Jul 2025

Top 10 HR questions June 2025: Redundancy consultation

2 Jul 2025

Bioethanol plant closure could lead to 4,000 job...

26 Jun 2025

Graduate jobs this summer ‘will be toughest since...

25 Jun 2025

Allianz to cut 650 jobs in the UK

19 Jun 2025

The employer strikes back: the rise of ‘quiet...

13 Jun 2025

Former employees of Wilko gain £2m payout

13 Jun 2025

Redundancies boost candidate availability at fastest pace since...

13 Jun 2025

20,000 employees agree to leave Volkswagen by 2030

5 Jun 2025

Volvo to cut around 3,000 roles in restructure

27 May 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+