To be a bit peeved by this? Maybe it's normal...

[CrystalCastle]

I work for a large company. 2 of us in our department with a busy workload. The Head of Dept is leaving in a week (voluntary redundancy). I am obviously taking over her workload as well as mine. There are no plans whatsoever in terms of what will happen going forward. I also volunteered for redundancy but our boss (based in America) offered me a retention bonus to stay. I took this offer but the condition was that I wasn't to mention it to my current manager. I qualify for the bonus if i stay with the company for a minimum of one year.

I have asked what they plan to do with the department but have been told that they aren't sure yet. I'm a bit hacked off that I am expected to do two peoples' jobs for the forseeable future without any indication of what might happen. My current manager is on twice as much as I am and I don't think it's particularly fair. Has anyone ever found themselves in this situation? Given the chance, I would love to be promoted into her role (more than capable if i do say so myself and quite often do a lot of my boss's work anyway, but that's another story..)

AIBU to expect to know what will happen here?

Of course YANBU to want to know they may not know right now.
It's like that here but in the next few months we will know more.
Can you talk to them about a pay rise in the interim?

In all honesty I would feel lucky to still have a job
They clearly can't afford to pay you her wage otherwise she wouldn't be going

Thanks Hellsbells. I will probably do this next week if i have still received no new information.

Thanks esiotrot - The redundancy wasn't due to lack of £ - strange as that sounds. The company has been bought into by another Comp and lots of organisational changes have taken place. Everything remains the same although the voluntary redun was opened up (a very very generous package) to free up headcount. Complex but ultimately a lot of the project managers have left to go to another company (v niche organisation). Hope that makes sense.

and also the redundancy policy was such that, if someone volunteered they would accept it unconditionally.

The company have judged her job to be redundant so it no longer exists to take over. (People aren't made redundant it's the job). *

What you have to do is assess what new responsibilities you might be able/expected to assume. Look at what contribution you will make, and what strengths you will bring to the company. The more you can make these tangible and measurable, the stronger your position to negotiate a pay rise/change of title.

*I know the reality is sometimes different!

Thanks Olly - does your first point still apply when the 2/3 of the company is offered voluntary redundancy? That is what happened here.

In my case, the work is still very much ongoing (no way i can do it all alone). Can they rename the job so it isn't (on paper) the exact same job as what she was previously doing?

Can a company legally make you do someone else's job for less than half the salary but still expect the work to be done to the same standard? Ultimately if i don't do it, it won't happen.

You can't take over her job as, for her to have been made redundant, the job no longer exists. I imagine they will have a complete restructure and new roles will open up which I'm sure you will be welcome to apply for. It's not unreasonable to ask to be kept updated and to ask for an indication as to when changes will occur.

Can you not backfill on a voluntary redundancy then?

The position is made redundant, not the person. I think that's the same whether it's voluntary or not, but someone may be along to correct me. You could very well go into a similar role with similar responsibilities, but as far as in aware it is contrary to employment law to employ someone into the role that has been made redundant (studied law at uni but that was 12 years ago and my memory isn't what is was )

If 2/3 are offered VR then that's quite a sizeable downsize. How many actually took that?

I would expect there would have to be quite a radical restructure which would mean redefinition of most roles. It's likely that some positions will just be expanded with extra responsibilities but no salary enhancement etc. Much of it comes down to how well individuals negotiate their jobs and salaries.

Can a company legally make you do someone else's job for less than half the salary but still expect the work to be done to the same standard?

The answer to this is generally yes, they can. Whether that work meets their expectations is another matter! And it's likely to lead to an unhappy, disengaged workforce which will impact on the their bottom line. It's in their interests to have the right resource, in the right place, appropriately recognised and rewarded.

This is where union membership is so useful.