Redundancy pay not what was promised

[coolwater]

I was working for a UK company for just under a year. One day they pulled me into a meeting with my manager and the Senior HR manager. They told me they were letting me go that day. The HR manager told me I'd get a month's pay in lieu of notice, as per my contract, and that they'd top it up with an extra month in case I didn't find new work within a month.
Basically, they've reneged on the 'top-up' part. The Senior HR manager now denies this was promised, despite the fact I got this confirmed in writing after the meeting.
My argument is that I relied upon this extra month's pay as the promise changed how I looked for/ accepted new work.
Where do I stand? Do I have a good chance if I take this to a tribunal?
Is the fact this was said only by the Senior HR manager and not signed off by the director of the company relevant?
Hopefully, my manager will confirm this was said in the meeting- how useful would that be?

Lastly, I've read I have 3 months from the 'event' to make a tribunal claim. Would the relevant event be this meeting/when I stopped working or would be when I found out the issue ie when I was paid a month later?

[ULA]

Just need to clarify were they letting you go due to making your position redundant or that they were terminating your employment and if so did they give a reason?

The above answer aside under UK emloyment legislation you do not accrue employment rights (even for redundancy) until you have completed 2 years service and as such you can be fairly dimissed within this period, unless you can prove discrimination or some other limited criteria which would make your dismissal automatically unfair.

If your contract of employment was that one months notice had to be given by your employer to terminate your contract then that was all that they are legally required to provide plus pay for any accrued but untaken holiday pay. However, given you have the confirmation in writing from the HR Manager then I suggest you write to the 2 people involved in the meeting referring to this email asking for them to confirm that this payment, together with your notice pay and if you believe you are owed holiday pay that as well, will all be paid at the same time.

[atticus]

A claim in respect of the "top up" may have some legs, given that the OP has it confirmed in writing. However, it is probably not contractual, and it is hard to see what consideration he may have given for this. The OP may well have to show what he did in reliance on that promise, being things he would not have done had it not been made.

But I remain sceptical about the strength of the claim.

Perhaps the OP should start with a clear and polite letter to the MD.

[coolwater]

To be clear, I wasn't fired. The word redundancy wasn't used specifically, but I understood that's what it was as lots of people had been made redundant over the previous 6 months or so due to company finances.
They already paid me the one month's notice, a month after I stopped working. As it didn't contain the top-up, I sent a polite email to the HR manager, and the response I received was basically a denial of the promise and the statement that I had been paid what was in the contract.

I am planning to send another polite email, with my manager and the head of HR included, in case they are unaware.

I was just wondering if there is anything I can do after this, should they simply say 'we paid what was in the contract', and whether they'd be concerned if I threatened tribunal action. From what you are both saying I gather the answer is not really.

If I did want to make a tribunal claim, do you know if I have 3 months from the job ending or 3 months from payment?

[ULA]

Firstly thank you for the clarification regarding your dismissal.

Secondly make sure you received any accrued but untaken holiday pay together with your payment in lieu of notice.

Definitely send an email to the senior HR manager and your manager both involved in the meeting with a copy of the email from the HR manager. Explain that it has not been paid and that you are requesting that the payment is made in accordance with the email as soon as possible. You may want to add that you will be taking legal advice if the sum as confirmed is not paid. Up to you how you want to come across.

I would need to do bit more research into any case law I am not aware of, as to whether this would be considered an unlawful deduction of wages for which you could make an employment tribunal (ET,) claim. However my view is that it would not, in which case no you could not make a claim.