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Redundancy unsuccessful application for new role

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  • Redundancy unsuccessful application for new role

    Hi I hope someone can help, I have been searching forums etc and have found some of the most erudite advice right here on Legalbeagles so here goes.

    I am in an unfamiliar position and would appreciate any advice given, I will give a (not so) brief account of my situation, I have omitted certain details like company names and changed job titles slightly for anonymity.


    I Started with my company in September 2007 as an Engineer, I swiftly progressed to be the Lead Engineer (LE) , sorting problem jobs Etc.

    My Boss at time started on a project within a different part of the business in 2010 and I was seconded into his position of Team Manager (TM) initially for 6 months but which turned out to be over 12 Months. (during this time I was still carrying out my duties as LE as well as my TM duties. quite often having to work late into the evening to make sure everything got done). In 2011 I received a letter saying I was being officially made TM for my area.


    Shortly after this the TM for the adjacent area took ill and went off long term sick so in the last 2 Years I have been running two patches consisting of between 15 and 18 engineers at any one time, He has only been back in work during this period for around 6 months.


    At the beginning of October we attended a meeting and were told that the TM position was being made "obsolete" and they were creating a new role titled "Area Manager" (AM) and that as the Engineer/AM ratio would be 15 to 1 meaning that there were more TM's than there were available AM positions. (previously the Engineer/TM ratio has been 10/1) this meant that we would have to attend an "assessment centre" in November to determine our suitability for the new role. The job description of the new AM role is almost identical to the TM role with the addition of a few extra engineers and a little more responsibility for OT budgets.


    We were then asked to elect a consultation representative, who would then attend the consultation meetings on our behalf and report back to us. We were told that unsuccessful candidates were not being made redundant because they would be offered alternative employment. Also that if the alternative employment was of a lower salary that our salary would be stepped down over 12 months to meet the lower number as a "buffer"


    The assessment centre consisted of 3 parts, some of which bore no relevance to the role. We had very little prep time and no previous knowledge of the process. In total the assessment time added up to just over an Hour. I have to add that, having never been through a restructuring process, I found this very stressful, had difficulty sleeping and was therefore not on 'top form' on the day of assessment. (not an excuse for poor performance I know but I thought it relevant)


    We were to be told on the following Friday if we were successful or not. On the Thursday I received a phone call asking me to attend a meeting the next day to tell me the results, After phoning round the other TM's I found out that it was myself and 2 others who had been asked to attend meetings, the others hadn't had invites which made it quite obvious to myself that I had been unsuccessful. There were 9 AM positions available and 3 of us were unsuccessful meaning there will be one open position.


    Sure enough during my meeting with our HR Manager they told me that I had been unsuccessful. I asked if the decision was based solely on the assessment centre which they confirmed. I find it outrageous that they didn't take into account my previous work record or patch performance figures (my patch was 2nd nationally in October) I have also only been off sick once in the 6 Years I have been working for the company. I also find it unbelievable that they can make an informed decision on my ability to carry out the new AM role based on approximately 1 hour of assessments, some of which bear no relevance to the new role in the first place. I have had no performance reviews and had no questions regarding my performance from my managers during my employment.


    I also asked what sort of alternative employment would be offered, they told me that it was still to be decided but the most obvious path would be an Engineering role. I also asked them what would happen if i thought that none of the alternative employment offered was suitable, they replied that as the TM role will no longer exist I could "draw my own conclusions" to what would happen. My 'conclusion' is that the company would view this as me resigning. I have received an emailed PDF invite to a second meeting to further discuss what options are available to me.


    To my knowledge, although they are avoiding using the word, I am being made redundant. The Engineering role offered has a completely different job description, salary, benefits, working hours, status etc etc. I think this is unacceptable to be expected to go from a managerial role, looking after a number of Engineers and all that entails as well as the day to day running of a patch (mostly 2 patches) to a job back on the tools, being managed by someone in the AM position that I have been deemed "unsuitable" to carry out.


    I have since found out that they have removed more TM's than necessary resulting in the company advertising for 4 AM positions nationally.

    I guess my main questions are thus;

    1. has the company acted fairly in their selection process for the new AM role?
    2. do I have reasonable grounds for refusing their offer of an engineering role, given the disparity in job description, salary etc?
    3. does the company have any obligation to offer me an AM position as there are clearly positions available?
    4. do I have a right to appeal their decision and does the company have any obligation to inform me of one? (they haven't so far)

    Apologies for the War and Peace post but I wanted to give as much information as possible in order to get useful advice.

    Again any help is appreciated.




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