Redundancy whilst on sick leave

[BigFatAl]

Following surgery, I am currently on sick leave for at least 6 weeks. The day after my surgery, my employer announced a consultation process to remove over 100 roles.

We are not unionised so they are currently speaking with informally elected employee representatives.

I have no access to email etc during this time so am only finding out about this visa colleagues messaging me.

I understand that the employer has to consult with the emoyee reps but do the reps have to consult with me?! I expect that what will happen is they will present the targeted roles and pools etc to the reps then send emails to everyone affected.

I won't receive these emails. I'm told they want to move quickly so the consultation process will probably finish just as I start returning to work.

What are my rights here? Should they send me the email in the post? What do I do if they don't engage? I can't imagine they will go all the way without speaking to me but I am concerned that I'll miss opportunities for alternative employment.

Thanks

[atticus]

Have you contacted the company and given them a means to get information to you?

[BigFatAl]

Not explicitly but my boss does have my phone number

[atticus]

Maybe you need to do something explicitly. Do this in writing (letter/email) so that you have it on record.

[Retromau5]

How long have you worked for the organisation? Is it the entire workforce? I'm assuming your employer has more than just a phone number to contact you on, they will also have your address on file (you will have probably given them this when you started working there, along with your NI number and bank details). They're looking to lay off over 100 people, so they're a large company and will have a HR department that can manage this situation and decide if, when, and who should contact you if need be.

As I see it, when you're away from the business due to sick leave that's been predetermined such as your recovery time, unless it been agreed that you'll make contact on a regular basis it's down to your employer to notify you of any changes that could affect your employment. By all means send your employer an update on the status of your recovery and include you contact details if you feel the need (if you email HR, they'll then have you email address), but at the moment you have a job until they tell you otherwise.

[ULA]

Your employee should keep you updated in respect of the redundancy process even whilst you are off sick. That could either be directly or via the employee reps.

That said, I have to add my support to the advice that it would be good for you to contact your employer with an email address, that they or the employee reps can keep you updated on.

[BigFatAl]

I've worked there for about 6 years. The roles are less than 5% of the workforce. They do indeed have my physical address. I sent my manager a quick note to say I was out of surgery and it seems to have gone OK.

[ULA]

Glad that you have made contact with your manager. Hopefully they will ensure that your are kept updated as the redundancy consultation progresses.

If you have any further questions as and when you hear anything, just come back to this thread.