Why Outplacement Services in the UK Must Evolve in a Tougher Labour Market

Quick Summary

 

• A tougher labour market: With vacancies falling and competition for roles rising in 2025, displaced employees face longer, more complex job searches than in recent years.

• Outplacement under pressure: Traditional, light-touch outplacement models no longer work in a tighter market where success depends on networking, strategy and sector insight.

• Reputation and results matter: High-quality, personalised outplacement is now essential to support people effectively, protect employer brand and demonstrate organisational values during change.

 

The UK labour market has flipped from chronic skills shortages to a period of tightening demand. 

The number of payrolled employees has fallen year-on-year heading into autumn 2025: a clear sign the market is cooling.

Vacancies are now at their lowest level in several years, with permanent hiring down across all English regions.

For organisations considering outplacement services UK-wide, this shift fundamentally changes what “good support” needs to look like. 

Not long ago we were talking about a “war for talent”. But with 2025 marking the first year since 2015 (pandemic aside) where competition for roles has sharply intensified, that narrative feels distant (ONS, 2025). 

Employers are also slowing or pausing recruitment due to economic uncertainty and rising staffing costs. This only further constrains opportunities for anyone job-seeking. 

The labour market conditions that allowed light-touch or traditional corporate outplacement services to work over the past few years simply no longer exist.

In a tighter market, delegates can’t rely on volume applications, smooth hiring pipelines or quick interview turnarounds. Success now depends far more on strategy, networking, sector insight and targeted support. This inevitably exposes the difference between effective and ineffective outplacement providers. 

In other words, outplacement is about to be stress-tested. 

 

 

The market has flipped: what the data says 

 

Permanent hiring has declined across all regions of the UK, as we previously wrote about in our blog, Why Career Progression Coaching Matters in a Cooling Market. At the same time, vacancies have fallen sharply. Retail and hospitality are among the hardest-hit sectors and vacancy levels now at their lowest point in several years. 

Taken together, the picture is unambiguous: the UK is experiencing sustained vacancy contraction and weakening demand for staff.

This isn’t a sector blip; it’s a widespread shift in hiring behaviour across the economy. Jobseekers now face slower hiring cycles, longer decision lead-times and far more competition for every available role. 

For displaced employees, this creates real pressure. Where many could previously move into a new role within weeks, transitions are now stretching into months (and in some cases close to a year) as the market absorbs fewer people at a slower pace. 

 

Why outplacement matters more in a tougher market 

 

With vacancies at a multi-year low, there are fewer opportunities available to absorb displaced talent. At the same time, overall mobility is shrinking and redundancy activity is rising in sectors such as higher education, retail and professional services — increasing the volume of candidates all competing for a much smaller pool of roles. 

We’ve already seen how extreme this can get. Earlier this year in the US, candidates shared spreadsheets showing more than a thousand applications with only a handful of replies. That pattern is now emerging in the UK, as slower hiring cycles and reduced employer responsiveness become the norm. 

In a market like this, better support isn’t a “nice to have”: it’s essential if individuals are going to stand out. Candidate success now depends far more on networking, repositioning transferable skills and accessing the hidden job market than on simply applying for advertised vacancies. 

That’s why traditional outplacement – centred on CV updates and interview prep – is no longer enough. Candidates now need deeper, more strategic career outplacement services to navigate the conditions they’re facing. 

 

 

What displaced professionals say they need now 

 

So what does that look like in practice? 

In a tougher market, candidates increasingly need support with: 

• accessing the hidden job market 

• building and activating professional networks 

• repositioning their transferable skills 

• navigating sector pivots (for example, staff moving into private or public-sector roles) 

 

Engagement data shows that while outplacement is widely used (with Chiumento’s take-up rates consistently above 95–100%) levels of employee engagement can still vary significantly. To maximise engagement, organisations need services that are timely, relevant and built around personalised coaching that reflects each individual’s situation, goals and labour-market reality.

Where traditional outplacement providers focus on CVs and interviews, at Chiumento we equip people with the practical skills needed to expand their networks, reframe their experience and pursue realistic sector transitions. Our coaching associates bring a wide range of industry backgrounds, helping delegates receive targeted, credible guidance rather than generic advice. 

We also provide transparency. Uptake rates, delegate confidence and progress data are all captured in an end-of-service Impact Report, giving leaders a clear picture of how the support has been used – and where it’s made the biggest difference. 

 

 

The employer brand moment: values under pressure 

 

We’re now operating in an era of unprecedented visibility. With more than 900 million people using AI tools globally (ElectroIQ, 2025), what’s said about your organisation on Glassdoor, LinkedIn or other platforms is instantly surfaced, summarised and amplified. Reputation isn’t just word-of-mouth anymore – it’s searchable sentiment. 

In a tight labour market, how you treat people during exits has a much bigger impact on both internal trust and external perception. 

We’ve seen this clearly in the higher-education sector, where restructures have been pushed through on tighter timelines. This has raised real concerns about whether legal and ethical obligations are being honoured, with unions publicly challenging the quality, pace and transparency of consultation processes. 

The reputational impact on universities has been significant. 

Had staff been treated fairly, consistently and supported with meaningful employee outplacement, many of these issues might never have escalated to union intervention or negative press coverage.

The link between how organisations manage consultation and how they are perceived has never been clearer. 

That’s why redeployment support and early access to coaching are essential signals of organisational values. Without them, both the people and the business feel the consequences: damaged trust, higher risk and reputational loss. 

 

What future-fit outplacement services UK employers need in 2026 

 

Employee expectations are shifting and so is outplacement. The days of a one-off session or a generic CV review are gone. Support now needs to reflect how people actually navigate a tougher labour market. 

Outplacement is increasingly moving towards: 

• earlier access to support (ideally during consultation, not after) 

• personalised, 1:1 coaching 

• navigation of the hidden job market 

• meaningful redeployment support 

• ongoing, not one-off, engagement 

 

Labour-market insights show that organisations will need to work harder to demonstrate clear ROI as budgets tighten and uptake remains patchy. We’ve written about this extensively (see Making a Business Case for Volume Outplacement) and the trend is only accelerating. 

When reviewing outplacement providers, it’s worth checking them against some baseline expectations. Ask yourself whether they offer: 

• personalised coaching tailored to the individual 

• digital and AI tools to support job search.

• sector- and role-specific guidance 

• manager briefings to encourage take-up 

• metrics that measure outcomes – placements, confidence, clarity – rather than simple activity counts 

This is the new standard. Anything less is unlikely to deliver the impact organisations now need. 

 

A call for businesses to rethink their approach 

 

As we look ahead, the direction is clear. Vacancies continue to fall, employers are showing greater caution in hiring decisions and competition for every available role is rising. The environment employees are stepping into is fundamentally different from the one we’ve been used to over the past decade. 

In this context, outplacement can’t be treated as a perk or a tick-box gesture. In a tighter, slower market, the quality of support you offer is exposed instantly. Weak or traditional models simply won’t equip people for the realities they now face – and they won’t protect your reputation or your culture either. 

The opportunity for employers is to rethink outplacement as a genuinely strategic tool: one that helps people transition with dignity, strengthens internal trust and demonstrates a commitment to values even in the most challenging moments. 

By investing in humane, evidence-based and future-fit outplacement services UK organisations can ensure that even in a tough market, people feel supported – and the business stays resilient, respected and ready for what comes next. 

 

Are you planning or considering redundancies?

 

If you’re planning or considering redundancies this year or next, now is the time to rethink the quality of support you provide and the experience people will carry with them. 

At Chiumento, we make that process easier. 

We’re easy to work with, keeping rollout clear and straightforward so your team can move through change with confidence rather than complexity. 

We deliver more value for your people, offering personal, human coaching that reflects your culture and gives employees the care they need at the moment they need it most. 

And we’re experienced, modern and human – combining decades of expertise with intuitive technology to create outplacement support that feels both deeply personal and built for today’s workforce. 

At Chiumento, our approach stands out because we are: 

• Easy to Work With: We keep rollout clear and straightforward, reducing complexity so your team can move through change with confidence. 
• More Value for Your People: Personal, human coaching built around your organisation, giving your people the care they need when it matters most. 
• Experienced, Modern, Human: A blend of deep experience and intuitive technology, creating support that’s both human and built for today’s workforce. 

 

If you are looking at making redundancies this year and need expert outplacement services UK, get in touch with us. 

We’ll help you support your people well, protect your reputation and navigate change with confidence.