Redundancy meeting - is this legal??

[runtus]

Long story but need quick advice please. My Dh has been issued a warning of Redundancy leter and called to a meeting tomrrow.

The letter states that both his direct line manager (A) and more senior manager (B) will be present. The letter was written and signed by B and until very recently was the only manager my DH had.

We have now been told that B will not be present after all. What I want to know is can my DH refuse the meeting as it is not actually legal if B does not attend, as stated???

Any help greatly appreciated

[flowerybeanbag]

Why would it not be 'legal', in what sense? Sorry I'm not sure I understand. Employment law doesn't specify who must attend redundancy meetings.

What is your DH's concern if the more senior manager doesn't attend?

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

Are they deciding about who will be selected for redundancy, and your DH is concerned that there should be someone present who can attest to his productivity? Or is it more of a consultation process?

[BelleDeJure]

If the meeting is to discuss him being 'at risk' of redundancy then I think he is entitled to have a union rep attend with him. Is he a member of a union at all? Sometimes they will attend even if you are not a member but I would advise joining up now if he is not. Can help with legal advice.

It is good practice (but not legal requirement) for them to have HR rep there as witness and to advise on redeployment possibilities etc.

[runtus]

His concern is that the lower manager (who would be attending) has only very recently been given the role and is regarded by all (including the other manager) as a bit of a puppet who has no idea what he is doing.

We are concerned that he will not be given a fair chance to state his views and that they have already made their decision......he is already being excluded from company wide announcements and his work is already being re-distributed via email.

He is the only one being made redundant. He works in Construction and they are claiming that as there is not enough new business coming in the role no longer exists. He wasn't taken on purely for new business however and they assigned him to existing project work upon his arrival - thus leaving him no time to win new business.

[Tootlesmummy]

Runtus, sorry it must be hard but the lower manager has been promoted into a more senior position than your husband and as such he can carry out the meeting.

Can your husband take a union person with him?

[runtus]

He is taking a colleague as there is no Union applicable.

I suppose we would also like to extend the process in order to allow him to find alternative work......

[flowerybeanbag]

He can't refuse to attend just because he suspects he might not be given a chance to state his views. He needs to attend and then if he actually isn't given a chance to state his views, he will have grounds to complain and/or appeal the decision.

[runtus]

How do you think he stands on the legality of the redundancy as a whole? I know it is tricky to say but really would appreciate some advice....

It's a long story but basically he was head hunted for the role by the higher manager who offered him a huge salary and to match his already earnt bonus at the previous company. They then tried to get out of paying said bonus as it emerged the manager had not informed the board of the offer. We finally secured 20k less than offered. Since then they have demoted him and excluded him from existing clients.

He has asked on numerous occasions if there is anything wrong, if he can help improve things etc. Everytime he is told all is fine. He was offered a diff job 2 weeks ago and asked his boss if he should take it, to which he was told no!

Received letter this morning stating redundancy meeting tomorrow.

[LadyLapsang]

How long has he worked for the company?

[flowerybeanbag]

There's not enough information to be able to judge whether the redundancy is genuine or whether they are following a reasonable procedure.

Was all this being headhunted and discussing about bonus etc recent then? If so and if he's been there less than a year it makes no difference whether the redundancy is genuine or not.

[runtus]

He has been there since Oct 09.

Had 1st meeting today and was told it was only an outline meeting to explain the next steps. Has another meeting on Monday.

[Debs3693]

Hi I would ask them to confirm what is discussed at each meeting in writing. I would also suggest your dh asks at the next meeting for them to confirm that he is in the consultation period, hopefully they will say yes to this. He can then ask them to explain why he has been removed from group communications and having his work re-distributed and see what they say.

Ask who is in the pool for selection and if he thinks others should also be considered for redundancy he she ask them to explain why those positions(don't talk about individuals, too personal) aren't in the pool for redundancy.

It's difficult to say if this is a genuine redundancy but as a form of dismissal the redundancy process also has to be conducted fairly, otherwise it could be an unfair dismissal. Might not change their mind but might persude them to guve your dh an ex gratis payment.

Hope this helps a bit? Debs (lawyer) xx

[runtus]

Debs thanks so much for your advice. Just wanted to let you know that he did as you suggested and managed to get some money out of them - thank you soo much!!

He also started work at a new company yesterday so it has all worked out ok in the end. Actually really happy; he is no longer working for a complete horror of a company, got paid to leave effectively and is not stressed to the max waiting for something to happe.

Result!