Redundant job - union or independent solicitor?

[ULA]

Is the union recognised in the company? Then if so the company would need to consult with them over the redundancies depending on the number of staff members involved.

Is your daughter still employed there in respect of raising a grievance?

[Monday]

The union is Prospect, recognised in the organisation. There are about 650 employees in different departments but most other departments are totally unaware of apparent restructuring. It looks as though the department involved has been treated like a separate business. Two redundancies out of 20-25 employees in that department


She is still working there, her notice runs out 3 or 4 July.

[ULA]

With a recognised union in the organisation it is highly likely there is an agreement in place to inform of any redundancies and the business reasons why. Given the number there may not have been a formal consultation process.

I am not sure the situation you describe is indirect discrimination as the definition of this relates to when a working practice, policy or rule is the same for everyone but has a worse effect on someone because of a "protected characteristic".

I cannot see for your posts (but maybe I have overlooked it) whether your daughter has appealed her redundancy. If not and if she is within time to lodge an appeal then she may want to consider that.

[Monday]

I am not sure the situation you describe is indirect discrimination as the definition of this relates to when a working practice, policy or rule is the same for everyone but has a worse effect on someone because of a "protected characteristic".

Sorry, my mistake. The union put in her appeal "discrimination" - something to do with them only employing males with certain financial qualifications and it being difficult/impossible for females of a certain age and/or with certain commitments to have the necessary time to study for the finance qualifications that the firm says is an essential part of employment.

She put in her appeal five weeks ago. It has not been considered. Instead it was put in the hands of the head of Legal and Governance. The firm is absolutely not following ACAS rules about offering other roles in the organisation with training etc.

Coincidently the Head of HR left (or was removed from) the organisation within a week of her putting in her appeal

[Monday]

Sorry to trouble you again, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the following.

• Worked for the employer for 7.5 years.
• One of two made redundant
• Apparent grounds: reduction in admin, restructuring of department, new employees of a higher band (6) will do work previously done by those made redundant (7).
• Appealed, main basis that she is a project planner and not an admin assistant but in any case has been doing band 6 work at band 7 pay.
• Last day of employment 4July
• Employer has now offered eight weeks trial of alternative employment in another department.
• Nine weeks after appealing, has today been told her appeal is rejected.

At the end of March, she made a subject access request. Two months later, 19 May,she received the Business Case for Redundancy. As well as reduction in admin, this says that she is not capable of explaining issues to band 5's and higher - the implication being that she is too thick to work in the finance dept or even for the employer so lets get rid of her. She is broken, says she doesn't know who she is anymore, and doesn't know how she's going to be able to get another job.

Is there any point asking the employer for compensation for hurt feelings, the slur on her character and for the length of time she was doing band 6 work at band 7 pay?

Thank you for any comments you may make.

[ULA]

If your daughter has been offered a suitable alternative role then she should have been offered a trial in this position of 4 weeks. She does not have to take the role, if she does not think it is suitable, however this will depend on things like:

- any changes to terms of employment
- any changes to benefits, salary etc
- change of location
- similarity of current role to the new role being offered
- skills and ability for the role


If there is very little change to any of the above and she either refuses to take the position now, or not continue after the 4 week trial, she could lose her right to redundancy pay.

In terms of asking her employer for compensation for hurt feelings and / or the slur on her character ,are you asking the question on the basis of a potential ET claim in the future. There may be a claim for injury to feeling but this would be determined by the basis of any ET claim being made.

In terms of compensation for your daughter believing she has been going band 6 work but paid at a lower level, has she raised this before and if not why, particularly if this was happening before her role became at risk of redundancy?

[Monday]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

As a now redundant project planner, she has been offered an eight week trial in the procurement department - something she has never done before but the same band 7 as her now redundant role - to be reviewed at 4 weeks and again at 8 weeks. It is not something she is excited about but she is currently in no state to be interviewed for jobs with other employers. There is no similarity between roles other than both use computers and the bands, terms and conditions etc are the same.

Her doing band 6 work for band 7 pay is something that arose during research for her redundancy appeal and subsequently and was included in her appeal. In particular, when she was first employed, a band 6 project planner asked her to help out by analising and running a weekly time sheet report. She happily and successfully did this for 6.5 years until June 2024, when it was taken off her and given to a new band 6 employee(quickly made band 5). As well, as a project coordinator for the 6.5 years, she regularly took work overflow from the aforementioned band 6 project planners. It wouldn't have occured to her to query why she was being given the work; if she was capable of doing something, she just did it on the basis that its all experience.

when doing her appeal, her line manager asked her to provide a list of tasks she now did since her Jan 2024 move to being a band 7 project planner (the previous band 6 project planners were renamed senior project planners). When her union rep saw the list of 38 tasks, she remarked that most of the tasks were those also done by the band 6's.

[ULA]

I would suggest the important things are terms and conditions, benefits and banding level. If she is needing to learn new skills then they should provide her with the necessary training.

In terms of the banding then I appreciate what you say "if she was capable of doing something, she just did it on the basis that its all experience." and we have all done that in our time so I do understand, however if not raised until her appeal which was not upheld then unless the union advise otherwise I am not sure she can do about it further.

[Monday]

Thank you for your opinion. I'll try to raise this with her in the morning