Consultation is one of the basic tenets of good industrial relations practice. Where unions are recognised, initial consultation will generally be with the trade unions, although this does not normally eliminate the obligation to consult in addition with individual employees (Huddersfield Parcels Ltd v Sykes [1981] ICR 115, EAT). Usually the former will be over ways of avoiding redundancy and (if the union is willing to discuss the issue) over redundancy selection criteria. Consultation with individuals will generally arise once they have been at least provisionally selected, and will be for the purpose of explaining their own personal situations, or to give them an opportunity to comment on their assessments or matters of alternative employment. It must also be emphasised that although for analytical purposes the application of the assessment criteria and consultation with individual employees are treated separately, there is often a significant