Redundancy

[dicklett]

I was told I was being made redundant and at the last min they said no were giving the 3 people new positions but they are different roles to what I currently do now, can I argue that my current job has now gone and the new jobs are different therefore I should be able to continue with the redundancy process, what reasons can they give to say no

[ULA]

Sorry I need to ask a few more questions to get a better understanding of where you are at in the redundancy consultation process.

How many positions were at risk of being made redundant?
Was it 3 for which they have now found new roles?
Have they offered the new positions as suitable alternative employment?
If so have you been given a 4 week trial period?
How are the new job roles being offered different from the job that was being made redundant? Is it location, hours, salary, skills need to do the job etc?

[dicklett]

Hi thanks for your reply, there’s over 60 people at risk with 3 admin roles included in this figure, now we have been told the admin roles are not at risk, the current roles don’t exist and we’re not been given new roles but being moved into different positions, 1 of the roles is previously done by 2 people and will be made into one ( without and reduction of duties (if not more) and two brand new roles (that aren’t currently in the structure) all three roles have additional duties and telesales (which none of the roles currently do) the hours haven’t been confirmed and neither have bonuses of and when asked about a 4 week trial were told we don’t get one as there not new roles there’s been no one to one consultation and the 3 candidates are being asked to interview for the positions but as it currently stands only one person out of the 3 have been formally told Is this correct, as I thought if your given a job without any kind of interview and refused it you wouldn’t get redundancy but if you are made to interview for new roles and you decline then you still have a chance to continue down the redundancy route ?

[ULA]

If there is over 60 people at risk then consultation is not done on an individual basis but between the company and either representatives of a recognised trade union or elected employee representatives.

If you are offered an alternative job your employer has to:

* offer you the new job in writing or orally
* make the offer before your current job ends
* make sure the new job starts within 4 weeks of your current job ending
* give you enough detail about the job to understand what you’d be doing and how it would be different to your current job

You can spend 4 weeks trying out any alternative job you’re offered. Your redundancy might be unfair if your employer doesn’t let you try the job before deciding whether to take it.

You can decide not to accept a suitable alternative position for the following reasons

* lower pay
* different type of work
* longer journey to work or lack of public transport
* extra costs of getting to work
* disruption to your family life, e.g. problems with childcare
* health issues

Please be aware that your employer can refuse to pay your redundancy pay if they don’t think you have a good reason for turning down the job. If you do have a good reason to refuse then you would still get your redundancy payment.