Redundancy 1 week after colleague returned from maternity leave

[neverhadanymarblestolose]

Been informed today that my company want to make me redundant and they have offered me a (slightly) enhanced package if I go quietly. I've got an appointment with a solicitor on Thursday, but my mind is racing and was after some advice before then.

Worked there for nearly 11 years. There was me and 2 others who worked alongside each other, doing same type of role as each other but for different areas of the business. One of the other 2 went on maternity leave in December 2016 and they returned on 9th January, worked for 4 days then went off sick and then came back in today. So she'd not really been given any responsibility or told what she would be doing.

When she was off, the three roles were merged into two that me and my other colleague have done for the past 13 months.

I was told today in a meeting with my head of department, that the company is stream lining and that there isn't enough work for the three of us, so they are offering me redundancy. If I don't accept it, they said the three of us will have competency testing to determine who to make redundant.

My AIBU is, is this legal? My returning colleague effectively being given my job? It's not that any part of my role is changing, it's just there is now 3 people in a team and they only have work for 2.

Thanks for reading. It's been a pretty shit day and my head is spinning.

FarewellLolaBlue - the other non returning colleague also works the same number of hours as me, but does it in a more conventional way of 4 full days and one day off.

If the other two are full-time, then I can see that from the firm's point of view it would make more sense to make the part timer redundant. Competency wouldn't come into it, if there is only enough work for 2 full timers, unless the returning colleague would be willing to cut her hours and job-share with you. Is that a possibility?

My husband’s a union rep so I asked him. They should make a role redundant not a person. However, if the two other people in the role are full time and you’re part time, he thinks they can get away with making the part time role redundant.

Hi.
When you go on ml as long as you take 52w or less the company needs to give you a role , so yes this is legal. She can’t be made redundant because she’s been on ml as that would be unfair dismissal.

I’m not a lawyer and don’t know anything about hr but I’m currently pregnant so have looked into how am I protected

As other pps have said they’re not making someone redundant but it’s a role. They should offer it to the 3 of you or put you in a pool and then based on their opinion choose the person that is leaving. In my company we’ve just gone through a tough redundancy period with loads of people in pools where they were scored for roles and they’ve made redundant those scoring the less

If one of the points to score is that they prefer having someone full time over someone part time then you’d loose at that one.

But def they can’t make someone redundant cuz you’ve just been on maternity leave as long as she returned on time.

If you want to stay on, I'd probably go the competency testing route. You've presumably been chosen cos you're part-time. But it's good you're getting proper advice on Thursday.

Sorry - cross-posted.

Sorry cross post. If the non returner is also part time then they can’t simply make you redundant. They need to make the role redundant which would affect both of you- unless you take voluntary redundancy which is what they appear to be pushing you towards.

Legally a company has to have a criteria for selecting who is made redundant, and has to make that transparent. It sounds like they may have acted illegally. Get advice before deciding anything.

They've put you on garden leave to consider? Oh dear.

Listen that sounds really shitty and I do sympathise but I have just returned from Maternity leave before I went off I did a secondment and cane back to what was my old role. However if I had been chosen for redundancy on that basis I would have gone nuts and raised a grievance. I also work PT and would be mad if I was chosen on that basis too.
It really should be who is deemed the more competent employee based on previous work, any conduct issues sickness and poor performance can be considered but not having been on mat leave that is discrimination. Sorry.

My advice turn it down if you have to fight for your job then you’ll at least know the truth.

Just phone the generic number for the Union you’re in and ask for the details of your specific rep.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It's been a long difficult day that's really knocked me for six.

Personally I would go but in the meantime negotiate hard for additional compensation in your agreement. It sounds like the decision has been made so you might as well walk away with the best deal you can.

They're also giving you two weeks to consider your options - is this in addition to redundancy? If its a large company do they have a resettlement programme you can use to find another role? Use this two weeks to brush up CV and contact recruiters.

Ok I work in HR - I will be honest with you. If the role is redundant then it is what it is.

Please don't stay in a job where you are not wanted. Try to get legal advice and negotiate a better package settlement as they can sometimes come in handy. It's more risky for them to make the one who came back from mat leave redundant - not really illegal, just does not look good from a reputation perspective.

They may also give you some allowance to get career/interview/CV training and support from the likes of Penna or Right Management which will help you get you mind on track for a new job. The thing is they will have looked at your skills/quals etc before making the selection of you for redundancy so tbh competency testing is a false and useless exercise my opinion. 11 years is long enough in one job and you may get a better role/salary elsewhere. For example I was made redundant from a role around 4 years ago and now making over twice my old salary and gain a multitude of skills from working elsewhere. Take the money and don't look back. My 2 pence worth.

As a general rule of thumb, bear these factors in mind, particularly for a large company:

1. They will usually offer you an enhanced package to take voluntary redundancy, but you can try to negotiate a better package in order to go.
   Haggle with them, there are no rules saying they can't pay more.

2. They will usually make you nervous about NOT taking the deal, because if they go through the selection process, they then only have to offer you the legal minimum. This can really be really scary, as you stand to lose a lot of money if you don't go voluntarily.

3. A round of redundancies is clearly a sign of a company with issues. It's not uncommon for a second round of redundancies to occur a few months later. If you get out now (before the ship sinks) you have a head start on your colleagues.

4. If you choose to stay, and then get hit by redundancies further down the line, you may well miss out of the initial good offer, and then find yourself looking for work with a few hundred of your colleagues - which makes finding a new job a LOT harder.

5. Whatever package you're offered, if you don't find work fairly quickly, the money can soon drain away. It really doesn't take long for those funds to ebb away, especially if you're losing things like a company car etc. Also, issues with mortgages and loads can arise simply because you can no longer find a new mortgage easily because you're unemployed. It's a cruel irony that at the very time you need help, you're least likely to get it.

Honestly don't waste more energy fighting - a well constructed letter could help you get a better redundancy settlement. Concentrate on the deal you will get - I know that it's tough right now but it will definitely pass and you will be stronger for it.

They should 'pool' the three of you who do the same/similar role and carry out a selection exercise to select the two people who will fill the two roles available. The third persons role is then unfortunately redundant. If your colleague was still on maternity leave. One of these roles would automatically have to be given to her. This is her right while on mat leave. If she has returned then not the case but I imagine the company will feel it's pretty risky to make a woman recently returned from mat leave redundant. That aside you should not be chosen over the other colleague who has not been on mat leave unless a consultation and selection process has been completed. As you say you have been offered enhanced terms are they asking you to sign a settlement agreement? If so this is perfectly legal but you will need to take legal advice on its terms. You don't have to agree to it. If you don't they will carry on with the redundancy process (settlement discussions are without prejuduce) and if you are ultimately dismissed you may have a claim for unfair dismissal. If your other colleague is male you could also claim discrimination on the basis you have been selected on your gender if you feel the process has been unfair. Sorry for your news. It isn't a nice thing to go through.

In the documents they've given me, it says the termination date is 16th February if i accept by 12th February. So does that mean I'll be paid as normal up until that date, and then be paid the redundancy package that they've offered on top of that?

@TheBrilliantMistake

Got it in one - also agree with many other PP on this.

I would be going into work as usual and seeking legal advice. I think they are counting on you going quietly if you are out of the way (& you don't have access to the guidance on the intranet). Not sure if the mat leave returner has any extra protection now she is back - worth checking. Both you and her are PT - don't give them arguments to use against you by mentioning your work times. All things being equal, I would guess the full timer will end up with a role and either you or the mat leave returner will go, but if a role is redundant they must go through the proper processes, otherwise you could take them to tribunal.

I was made redundant last year and ACAS was very helpful but I would definitely contact your union if you are a member as you will have legal advice. By sending you suddenly on garden leaving to think about they aren't really consulting. I'd assume that they would have to consult the three of you even if they had already decided which post was to be made redundant. You need to talk through with someone whether they actually were at fault when your colleague left for maternity leave - were you consulted on the changes then. Even though she on maternity leave you as an employer...as far as I know...consult. Infact I'm fairly sure you can't. May be too late to do anything about that now but it shows a pattern of behaviour. Please don't think that because they have a large HR department they can't be challenged. I've seen many consultation exercise halted because of mistakes. What have they told your colleagues about why you are having two weeks off paid leave? You should get advice about constructive dismissal...have they made it hard for you to comfortable go back into the workplace? If you are in any kind of sales role or influencing role it could all be very undermining of contacts / relationships. Again though your Union Rep / lawyer will be advise. The first question my solicitor asked me was what outcome did I really wanted - constructive dismissal claims if successful are paid out in a formula way so it will depend how 'good' your redundancy package actually is. If you decide ultimately you do want to go and wouldn't want to go back to a job then you should as a minimum ensure that you agree the reference they will give you and try and get an enhanced package - more than the 45 days. Is there a training course that you could get them to fund - it doesn't have to be straight money. Is there any other jobs in the company that you could be retrained for ...and want obviously. Really feel for you and sending you good luck vibes. Hope this is helpful.

I wouldn't go quietly if it didn't suit me. If it did suit me then I'd accept the package they're offering if it's a good deal. You could always ask for a bit more if they are already offering you extra.

There is no chance whatever process they go through that the person returning from maternity leave will be made redundant, that is unless they want to spend some fun time in an employment tribunal.

So it is down to you and the other part time worker. You work odd ours, they work more normal hours, so they picked you.

Time to move on.

I would take the redundancy. I was in a similar situation two years ago. 3 team members, 2 were being made redundant and one was a terrible worker (the whole charade was basically so they could sack the shit one)

Me and a colleague both wanted to have better work home balances so agreed to job share and only one person got made redundant.

I fell pregnant the next month and enjoyed my pregnancy and maternity leave with them.

When it came to going back to work I found a job closer to home with more money and less hours and didn't look back as I remembered how they treated me when I could possibly have been made redundant.

At my "leaving do" they announced another colleague's wife was pregnant (I had literally just had a miscarriage and everyone knew about it - wasn't very tactfully done) and didn't give me a leaving gift. This point in particular made me really annoyed as we got everyone who has ever left a leaving gift. Including the shit person who got made redundant and two girls who chose not to go back after maternity leave.

OP, out of interest (& of course you don't need to answer), are you significantly older than the other two?