If I think I'm going to be made redundant, what should I be doing in advance...?

[BlingLovin]

I think there's a good chance I'll be getting made redundant. Definitely me, possibly one or two other people in the team. Me because I have a new boss and he's been brought in to do something that doesn't fit with what I've been doing. Others in the team because a) he wants his own people and b) it's a quieter market today.

The question is, if I think it's likely - in the next 3 - 6 months - what should I be doing now to protect myself? Or preparing myself?

[colacubes]

Get redundancy cover, as long as you have had no notification, and you dont mention it on the form, its just a coincidence! As you really do not know, you are just guessing, and thats not prior knowledge, keep stum and have a look what you can get for your money.

[BlingLovin]

I will look at that, thanks. The bit that really really scares me is that rather than being made redundant, I'll be forced out. I think he might be planning to take my team away from me and make me just a member of the broader team, rather than a manager. I'm not even sure if that's allowed? I joined here to manage a team, do I have a case if he takes them away?

The weird thing is that being made redundant doesn't scare me that much, it would almost be a relief. The trauma in the meantime is the awful bit. Or being forced out, that scares me too.

[flowerybeanbag]

Blinglovin by 'forced out' do you mean changing your job and responsibilities so that you will want to leave?

Without knowing more difficult to see what kind of case you might have. A significant change to your duties and responsibilities would constitute a change to your terms and conditions, and they can't just force it through without going through various steps. See here about what you can do if your employer tries to make a change to your terms and conditions that you don't agree with.

As you can see, there are things you can do, but ultimately, if there is a business requirement to make a change, it can be difficult to stop it.

Have a read also of this about constructive dismissal.

If you end up as a result of this change effectively without a suitable job, you could claim that you are redundant.

[BlingLovin]

Yes Flowery, I worry that they'll make it so that I want to leave. Not so much purposefully - I work for the kind of organisation that would rather pay you off to make you go quickly if that's the case - but because they think that there isn't a need for my actual job, even if my new boss is okay with me staying, but effectively in a much more junior position. [of course, there is a small, cynical part of me that also thinks my new boss might try to force me to leave, because he can't get support for making me redundant, but if I leave by myself, he gets what he wants anyway...)

What exactly constitutes the contract in this case? For example, my formal contract that I signed doesn't specifically say that I'll be managing x number of people etc etc. So if they take that away from me, can I still claim that it's a change?

[flowerybeanbag]

It's your terms and conditions you should focus on not what's specifically written in your contract. A significant change to your duties and responsibilities would constitute a change to your terms and conditions.

Obviously I don't know how significant removing line management responsibilities from your job would be, but if it's significant, they must consult you first. Which means asking if you have any opinions/suggestions and getting your agreement.

if the company think there is not a need for your job, why would your boss not 'get support' for making you redundant? Surely they'd rather make someone redundant than keep employing and paying them unnecessarily?

[BlingLovin]

Thanks Flowery, that's helpful.

On the boss getting support - I hope, if it comes to that, that he does because it makes it all cleaner. The issue I think is that I'm in a support function in a bank. And there are redundancies all over the place, but nothing so far in our division. I suspect that due to timing etc, they wouldn't be so keen to go through the process unless there was good reason (beyond just issues with my very specific job role). For example, if they did genuinely have to cut back on headcount, then I'm the obvious person to go with some additional people too. They're a bit cowardly and I think overall I have a good reputation etc so it's not as easy as the new boss saying, "she's not needed anymore".

It might come to that. And I hope so.

Tbh, I think I'm struggling to look at this clinically - I get confused between the genuine issues around my job, the issues at the bank etc, and the way I am treated by my boss. And really, they're seperate.