§ Mr. WillsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employers made redundancy payments in excess of the legal minimum in 2002. [134933]
§ Mr. SutcliffeI have been asked to reply.
Officials are unaware of any reliable statistics that show how many employers made redundancy payments in excess of the legal minimum in 2002. The latest survey commissioned by the Department for Trade and Industry on employers' redundancy practice showed that in the period October 2000 to February 2001 just under half (48 per cent.) of those employers who had made redundancies in the previous 12 months claimed to have made one or more specific improvements on the statutory entitlement. Over a fifth (22 per cent.) of employers reported that they gave more weeks payable per year of service than the legal minimum, while over a quarter (28 per cent.) said they paid a multiple of the minimum statutory payment.