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Hi There, I am reaching out in desperation and hoping that someone will be able to help steer me in the right direction.
I am employed full time and took a secondment to a different organisation, I signed up to the secondment on the existing policy that was in place that stated that although my job wouldnt be held open for me my terms and conditions of employment were protected. After an 18 month secondment , (April 2025) the organisation i was seconded to advised that they were wanting to offer me an extension of a further 18 months. I contacted my employer who advised that a new policy had come into affect as of February and the new policy no longer protected my terms and conditions. they shared with me a copy of the policy and i was advised that it had gone through all approval channels and was a live policy as of Feb 1st. The organisation offered me an additional 6 months secondment on protected terms and conditions as a gesture of good will and that takes me to the end of September 2025. As i was advised the policy was live and signed off and approved i had no option but to decline my secondment extension and agree reluctantly to return to my previous employer.
In June 2025 the employer contacted me again to advise that the new secondment policy, which i had been told was live in Feb, was officially live as of July 2025. The policy document was shared with me again, this time it was signed by a director and had a policy code on it. The copy that was shared was similar , but not the same as the copy that had been shared with me in April. It was clear that what had been shared with me was a draft copy, and that the policy was still only in draft format and not a live policy when it was enforced on me in April. I wrote to the employer and requested the option to reconsider my decision to return to the employer in September as i had been incorrectly advised that the policy was live, when it wasnt. The y have said No, and said that i was advised of the principles of the new policy and i am not able to extend my secondment on protected terms and conditions.
My argument is that as the new policy was still in draft and hadnt become operational when i made my decision it should not have been applied. I should have been able to make my decision based on teh policy that was still in place at that time which protected my terms and conditions, not a policy that was still in development and hadnt become operational. Legally can an employer enforce a policy that is still in development and use it to supersede an existing policy to the detriment of a staff member.
I really appreciate any pointers that anyone can provide.
Many Thnaks
Pete
I am employed full time and took a secondment to a different organisation, I signed up to the secondment on the existing policy that was in place that stated that although my job wouldnt be held open for me my terms and conditions of employment were protected. After an 18 month secondment , (April 2025) the organisation i was seconded to advised that they were wanting to offer me an extension of a further 18 months. I contacted my employer who advised that a new policy had come into affect as of February and the new policy no longer protected my terms and conditions. they shared with me a copy of the policy and i was advised that it had gone through all approval channels and was a live policy as of Feb 1st. The organisation offered me an additional 6 months secondment on protected terms and conditions as a gesture of good will and that takes me to the end of September 2025. As i was advised the policy was live and signed off and approved i had no option but to decline my secondment extension and agree reluctantly to return to my previous employer.
In June 2025 the employer contacted me again to advise that the new secondment policy, which i had been told was live in Feb, was officially live as of July 2025. The policy document was shared with me again, this time it was signed by a director and had a policy code on it. The copy that was shared was similar , but not the same as the copy that had been shared with me in April. It was clear that what had been shared with me was a draft copy, and that the policy was still only in draft format and not a live policy when it was enforced on me in April. I wrote to the employer and requested the option to reconsider my decision to return to the employer in September as i had been incorrectly advised that the policy was live, when it wasnt. The y have said No, and said that i was advised of the principles of the new policy and i am not able to extend my secondment on protected terms and conditions.
My argument is that as the new policy was still in draft and hadnt become operational when i made my decision it should not have been applied. I should have been able to make my decision based on teh policy that was still in place at that time which protected my terms and conditions, not a policy that was still in development and hadnt become operational. Legally can an employer enforce a policy that is still in development and use it to supersede an existing policy to the detriment of a staff member.
I really appreciate any pointers that anyone can provide.
Many Thnaks
Pete