How would you handle this? Any fellow HR people around?

[ResignationUpYourArse]

I've been with my current organisation for 4 years as HR Manager for the UK and US office. I report into the FD.

I've been on maternity from May-January 2023. However I did 5 KIT days to bring myself up to speed with business issues, to analyse the last few months data and to generally start showing my face again. I had numerous meetings with my boss about delivering the HR strategy for the year, what projects he'd like me to work on etc.

I'd noticed he'd been acting strangely but thought I was being paranoid. I have a good relationship with one of the directors and he said the business is being bought by another, much larger firm and all staff were transferring across. He was shocked I didn't know.

He's clearly pushing me out, he's done my job for me and they're going to announce to 140 employees that they're all being transferred, it's all done and dusted they're just planning the announcement.

How the hell do I handle this?

I should say employees are all being transferred in 6 weeks time. It's all done and finalised. Horrendous.

That sounds stressful that you were kept in the dark.

Are you specifically concerned about being transferred (I'm assuming via tupe) or about the breakdown of trust between you and the FD?

Both, really.

It's made me worry for my job security that he can just push me out like this. I've always worked hard, delivered everything on time and reduced turnover, increased engagement, put together market leading benefits packages and always received really good feedback from other managers.

It's knocked my confidence and I feel embarrased having to have management meetings with directors who know I have no idea that the business is transferring across in 6 weeks time. It was supposed to be announced on Friday but it got postponed.

To be fair they're not allowed to contact you while on Maternity leave about work issues, but on your kit days was nothing ever said? I'm surprised they could hide such a big change in the organisation

Why do you think you’re being pushed out as the implication is that you’re moving across too?

Or are you saying that as a HR manager, you should have been involved in the process? It seems like you’re not officially back at work, and this work needed to have been completed in your absence. So the details were on a “need to know” basis, and he decided that you would find out once the announcement was made vs sooner

Not sure why you're feeling pushed out? Everyone is moving to new company? The company has been bought out; that's no reflection on you or your work. Why did you expect to be told before everyone else?

It will have been a lot of HR work, far more than you could do in KIT days and he may have been worried that telling you would result in you feeling pressured into coming back early or working at home - which you'd be a fool to do to someone who knows anything about HR 😉

I know a lot of senior men who are absolutely paranoid about women on maternity leave and what they can or can't say. I wouldn't necessarily leap to the worst possible conclusion, it could have been good intentions clumsily executed.

I initiated the KIT days, it was around the middle of December we had a 90 minute long meeting about my projects for the year. He'd have known then and never mentioned it to me.

We've had numerous sit downs since and he's been behaving weirdly - asking where X information is kept, asking for all signed SA's in the last 2 years. How many offers have we made to employees etc... he'd never actually tell me what for though.

Sorry if I'm making this confusing, I'm really tired. I'm back at work full time as HR Manager and have been since January 4th.

@JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn Because I am the only HR Manager for the whole group... I am going to have a million questions to answer from very worried staff. I'm finding out the same day as everyone else. On the same call.

Maybe he was on orders not to tell you though. Presumably legal teams are involved and contracts weren’t finalised etc until the announcement on Friday so only certain people were made aware prior to that. I mean, even that announcement was pushed back! There’s probably some sort of ongoing issue in the background that led to that. These things never really go smoothly in my experience.

@trilbydoll I'm hoping it's just this! :)

I assume you will get a FAQ style document that you can refer people to that will answer their questions on the transfer process and their rights/new contract/new terms etc. you shouldn’t be expected to field this alone. Your company’s union may even be involved

That absolutely isn't true. Employers are required by law to remain in contact with employees on maternity leave about a range of issues, which includes ANY changes to terms and conditions. A change of employer is a pretty big change.

OP, Ihope you are in a union?

@itswednesdayy Maybe. I know a lot of acquisitions have restrictions in place on who can be told at the request of the purchaser. However it still seems weird as I do everything else people related... redundancies, SA's, casework etc.

Forget that i HR for a minute. I would be more concerned that they didn’t include you in the consultation process as a staff member and meet with you to go through the TUPE transfer process. Even if you’re on maternity leave they absolutely should be including you in this!

Apologies I meant about the day to day running of your role and job. There 100% should have been a letter about change in ownership but I wonder if anyone was advised? Is it just because this person is in HR they have the upper hand on info. Normal employees don't find out until the final letters are sent and that's well into the process of change.

@Fluffawuffla Exactly! They haven't consulted anyone about the change, it's total secret (obviously) but apparently they were due to announce on a bloody zoom call on Friday, but it got postponed?

Honestly I reckon if your FD could have utilised you and got you to some of the legwork, they would have. This entire process must have been a ball ache otherwise. It actually reads as if it hasn’t gone smoothly and you were probably better off not having to go through the rigmarole.

But you already know, so you're not finding out the same day as everybody else?

I agree with the other posters, you're looking for a problem here where there isn't one. You're not being pushed out, and you've just come back from mat leave when you wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway. HR and admin functions don't need to be involved with the big conversations that were happening before.

The consultation period will presumably begin on Friday and as today is only Monday, I wouldn't worry that you can't field questions yet - I'm sure you'll find out what you need to before then.

Don't let it worry you - I can understand why you'd be unsettled, but it's nothing to do with trying to muscle you out, especially since you're going to be transferred over to the new company.

I guess it saved me the ball ache of sorting ELI data 😅

Sorry to say, you are just a number nowadays. Always look after no.1! I learnt that the hard way! They really do not care!!

Are both the acquiring and the being acquired companies private companies? If either are publicly traded, they couldn’t and wouldn’t share market sensitive news with someone on maternity leave as they would be in breach of the takeover code

@ResignationUpYourArse
any updates op ?

They don’t need to consult unless they are changing ts and cs and usually notification is 28 days in advance.

I wouldn’t worry - acquisitions are usually on a strict need to know basis and you were off on mat leave.