AIBU to be a bit pissed at my husbands work....

[stealthelf]

Hi all please tell me if I'm being UR.... and maybe give me some advice..... my husband's work is not great atm. Too many workers, not enough work etc, a neighboring region was told a week and a half ago that they were 'at risk of redundancy' the about two hours after that meeting my husband was rung personally by his boss to re-assure him that his job wasn't at risk. A few days later the redundancies were announced... 3people if that's relevant....so today my husband has been called in to be told that 'someone' who has been made redundant and is in the talent pool has expressed an interest in his position so now he is 'at risk of redundancy' and has been given less than a month's potential notice (15 years service)... I realise the inevitable but just wanted to ask is this ok? Is this ok within uk employment laws? He has a hearing coming up and I want to know we have done everything we could...

[Noonesfool]

Is he in a union?

[Noonesfool]

It sounds unusual that a pool of people who have had their jobs made redundant would be able to decide that someone else's job was fair game.

People at risk of redundancy are often given priority status for vacancies within an organisation, in order to avoid redundancy, but that doesn't sound like what you are describing?

[stealthelf]

no, unfortunately...

[Toomanycats99]

I would have thought for someone to be able to apply for your husbands job then. He would already have to have been at risk of redundancy anyway. if he wasn't told he was at risk then his job is still there for him and someone else cannot take it. Because then that would not be redundancy for your husband.

[lornathewizzard]

Well, I don't think they can make him redundant if they are going to give someone else his job - as I understand it redundancy is when the position is no longer available. So if they replaced him whilst calling it redundancy then as far as I know they would be on shaky ground and your DH would probably have grounds for unfair dismissal. But it really depends what they do / how they action it.

[glenthebattleostrich]

I'd give acas a ring and discuss it with them. It doesn't sound right .

[ThatsMyStapler]

erm, i'm no expert, but i'm pretty sure thats not how it works....?

if a role is redundant then the person doing that role is out of a job. If someone who is not out of a job would like to leave instead (bumped) they can 'offer their job to the person being made redundant'

thats how it worked in my last experience of a large scale redundancy

[Noonesfool]

What is the hearing OP?

[stealthelf]

ok, wording of the letter says ' after the announcement on...... where the company identified that is re-stucturing and the subsequent consultation process, we have been consulting with the selection pools. during the consultation process an employee at risk has expressed an interest in and we have conducted a selection process based on these criteria..... etc... with regret you are now at risk of redundancy....

[Lilaclily]

That is bizarre
Definitely ring Acas

[Noonesfool]

Hmm.

Jobs are made redundant. Not people.

Is your husband's job one of many the same - eg he is one of 10 people making teapots?

[Noonesfool]

And have they received a previous communication detailing the restructure?

[stealthelf]

no he is a highly skilled and qualified worker, no other previous correspondence on 'restructure'

[mrsclooneytoyou]

It's the job that is made redundant.

I suspect they are going to try and hire someone who they can pay less and call the job something else.

Phone the union

[stealthelf]

well his job is not being made redundant... it is getting filled by someone else

[Noonesfool]

www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/overview gives some fairly basic advice.

Ask for their redundancy policy. From the HR dept.

Doesn't sound like they are following the right process, to me. If there are any unions involved, they are often very happy to give advice to non union members.

[stealthelf]

I will phone acas tomorrow, thanks for the tip :)

[RaptorInaPorkPieHat]

And that's in a letter? shot themselves in the foot there then haven't they.

Speak to ACAS, and if he can, join a union ASAP.

[sooperdooper]

No that doesn't sound right at all, people who are being made redundant can't bump existing members of staff out of their roles & if his job was being made redundant it wouldn't exist so they couldn't offer it up to someone else

[stealthelf]

on the website now raptor :)

[YoungGirlGrowingOld]

Agree it doesn't sound right.

I had a similar issue with redundancies at my firm when a lawyer in another city argued that myself and my colleague should be in the same "pool" of people potentially being made redundant as her. She was paid off, which makes me think she might have had a point. This sounds different though and I imagine the HR bods at your DH work are on thin ice here. A role is either redundant or not.

[MissBattleaxe]

Nope, sounds dodgy. Redundancy means the job no longer exists. You can't sack someone and give their job to someone else and call that redundancy.

[onlywhenyouleave]

Is the person who has expressed an interest in your DH's role more senior to DH? If so, 'bumping' in redundancy is legal

[OnionKnight]

The employers are on very thin ice here, if I'm reading it right what they are proposing in regard to your husband is illegal.