Reason for redundancy changed during the consultation process. Unfair process?

[not-impressed]

It has been confirmed that my role (8 years of continuous employment) is to be made redundant but the reasons in the final consultation letter (role now simply not required) are different to those in the first letter I received stating my role was at risk of redundancy (role being replaced by various more junior roles in a newly created team). I believe the reason has changed as it is clear that the new team is not picking up my work nearly six weeks after being formed. Can reasons for redundancy legitimately change during the process?

[ULA]

It sounds like the original reason was more of a restructuring of your job into the newly created team, however if that has not worked but there is still no longer a requirement for the role that you were doing then is still potentially a redundancy situation.

Is your role unique or where you part of a redundancy pool? If so were there other people doing a similar role to you in the pool and have they also been made redundant?

[not-impressed]

Thanks for your response. It was a unique role, and I was not part of a pool. The changing of justification has meant counter proposals have been difficult to frame and the whole process appears unfair as a result.

I've been given an end date but this will be before my appeal is received, and before the settlement agreement will be signed. As the appeal is an internal process should the leave date not be extended to accommodate that?

[ULA]

If you are being asked to sign a Settlement Agreement (SA) then you will be required to take independent legal advice from an employment law specialist. Part of their job will be to find out from you the circumstances under which the SA has come about, in this case redundancy, so they should ask about the process to ensure fairness. They will also check that the "compensation" being offered is at the correct level given the circumstances and the rights that you are giving up to bring any future claims and any other terms. As far as I am aware the date of an SA can be after the termination date. If they go not feel what you are being offered or the terms are incorrect, then they would have to negotiate with your employer to increase the sum being offered.

Most employment advisers have a standard payment for providing this advice which is between £250 and £500 which is generally the rate that the employer offers to pay. This is usually enough to cover the costs if the SA is straight forward and there is not much back and forth negotiating terms on your behalf.

I presume that the final consultation letter you have been given is your dismissal letter and that your termination date is imminent?
Have you been given the right to appeal since this is not a formal legal requirement, however most employers do this as a matter of good practice?

[not-impressed]

Thanks again. A solicitor will be assisting with the SA. Yes, the letter was a dismissal letter. My final day is to be Friday 14. I was only given 7 days notice of this and presumably I'm expected to sign the SA then too. I understand ACAS recommend a minimum of 10 days for this.

I have also been given the right to appeal and will be appealing. Given this is an internal process should my leave date not be extended to accommodate this?

[ULA]

There is certainly a recommended minimum time of 10 days but unfortunately this is not a legal requirement, so you may find an employer putting pressure on staff to get these signed more quickly. I believe that they can hear your appeal after your termination date, however just double check my understanding with your solicitor.

[not-impressed]

Thank you