Redundancy Query

[dking054321]

Hello,

I'm hoping you can help. My mother is currently having issues with her employer. I have offered to support her in getting some professional guidance on the situation as my general impression is it's being handled poorly by her employer. Also, she is at the point where she is in tears every day, not sleeping and scared to go into work so I am hoping I can help her navigate her way through it whatever the outcome.


Summary:

• Part-Time role at a school for 15 years
• Her current contract suggests her role is "PA to Deputy Head Teacher"
• She has been "Deputy Office Manager" for the past 2 years but she has never received a contract confirming the change in role

Issue:

• She has been told the current role she is in "Deputy Office Manager" will no longer exist
• She has been offered to apply for 2 new roles "Receptionist/Administrator" and "School Operations Manager"
• It has been made clear the "School Operations Manager" role would need to be Full Time and the "Receptionist/Administrator" could be part-time
• She doesn't want to go full-time (Her current contract states her part-time hours) and the "Receptionist/Administrator" role would be a step down in role/responsibility which is not something she wants to consider
• She has asked HR whether they are considering redundancy and they have said no
• The school has been inconsistent with messaging throughout, an example would be they told her if she were to take the "Receptionist/Admin" role they would drop her current salary in 18 months to align with the Reception/Admin pay grade but have now backtracked on this
• There is also ongoing bullying, messaging and chasing her for responses on her days off and it all feels very intentional

I would like to understand whether she has a case for redundancy because her role will no longer exist and the roles she has been offered are very different from her current role.

Thanks

[PallasAthena]

I can't see how this can be anything but redundancy if her current role will cease to exist. Does the school have a redundancy policy? Your mother should ask HR for a copy of it if it exists.

Is she in a union? If so she should consult her union rep.

What type of school - local authority? Academy? private?

Your mother should insist the school's proposals/offers are confirmed in writing.

When her position changed from "PA to Deputy Head Teacher" to "Deputy Office Manager" the school wasn't required to issue a new contract but should have confirmed the change in writing. But even if they didn't after two years where your mother has done the "Deputy Office Manager" job without objection the lack of formal documentation is not likely to be significant.

[dking054321]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

That sounds sensible, I will draft an email to the HR team requesting the redundancy policy.

Yep, she is with a union. She has been through all of the information with the union and they suggested "The school are not offering redundancy". I have told her this isn't an acceptable response and the union should understand your "rights" and not just relay messages from the HR team. Her case with the union has been escalated to a different team but I hold little faith.

The school is part of an academy and all operational services appear to be central within head office.

Is there anything else you would recommend including in the email when requesting the redundancy policy? My intention at this point is to request the redundancy policy and request the school provide their proposals in writing.

Again, thanks so much for your response.

[PallasAthena]

For the moment I'd just ask for the policy and for written confirmation of the proposals/offer from the school. Also ask if there is a redployment policy (it may be included in the redundancy policy).

There's often confusion about "redundancy" because strictly speaking it is the job role that has become redundant - which it clearly has in this case. Whether the current postholder - your mother - also has their employment terminated by reason of their job being made redundant depends on various matters including whether suitable redeployment offers are available. Your mother needs the advice of her union specialists to understand her precise rights in her situation but in the meantime this link gives some useful general information. As you will see in it the HR bland statement that 'it isn't redundancy' is misleading. Their process simply hasn't got to that stage yet. They are still in discussion with your mother on redeployment possibilities.

Redeployment Rights & Redundancy | DavidsonMorris

Her union advisers will also need to consider what her contract says about redeployment without her consent. In the school (LA) where I was a governor the redundancy policy said, in effect, that redundant employees could be "assimilated" into another role (ie redeployed to a new role without their consent being needed) if at least 60% of the job content of the new job was assessed as being the same as in the old job. These things are rarely straightforward.

In considering anything offered your mother needs to be clear what the offer includes about salary protections, about whether the job 52 weeks a year or term time only, and working hours part-time -vs - full time. If her current contract specifies which days she works make sure the school doesn't try to slip in changes that would allow the school to vary which days of the week she works without her consent.

EDIT I don't know how close your mother is to retirement but she also needs to consider the possible impact on her pension.