1. Never break the news on a Friday. This gives employees all weekend to contemplate taking the company to a tribunal.

• Do it in the afternoon, thereby preventing redundant employees from moaning about their fate with remaining staff.

• Make sure that managerial discussions about redundancies take place out of sight. Employees who see a managerial huddle will often guess its purpose, and a siege mentality can develop.

• When delivering the bad news, be succinct. Do not let the meeting exceed 10 minutes. Remain unemotional throughout.

• Do not deliver the news alone. Ensure that a member of HR is with you, both to answer questions on pensions and to prevent the exchange from becoming too tearful.

• Emphasise that the company is divesting itself of the skillset, not the person.

• Sit near the door in case the person becomes violent.

*From a Harvard Business Review newsletter by Steve Gosset.