AIBU to ask if you were faced with redundancy what did you ask for and what did you get?

[KittyMcTitty]

I’m currently on maternity leave and facing redundancy - bits that’s a whole other post over in the correct redundancy section!

I’m interested to know what people asked and got with redundancy to give me an idea and probably be quite jealous!

Check and see if your household insurance includes legal cover.

I consulted a lawyer and in the end the company paid me a sum equivalent to a year's worth of salary, on top of redundancy pay.

That was after 15 stressful months of fighting, and a submission to an employment tribunal: they settled 2 days before the tribunal date. It got in the way of me trying to get back into the jobs market.

Due to the lack of retraining (and related work experience which I missed out on) I had to change career direction, and it took me 10 years to get back to the same level of salary as when I was made redundant. That's why I fought so hard for it!

The fact that you're on mat leave and your is the only post being made redundant make me wonder about the legality of it all in your case.

My OH (uni lecturer ) was offered voluntary redundancy package of work 3 months till end of semester got 6 months pay and because 12 months notice either way the other nine months as pay minus statuatary tax so a generous package

I’ve been made redundant along with over 1,000 of my colleagues due to the closure of a part of the business.

We were sent home immediately with 4 weeks consultation at full pay, then 4 weeks notice at full pay and I got 4 months worth of salary as a settlement, tax free because it was redundancy. They also paid my legal costs.

I’d been there under 2 years so really I wasn’t entitled to anything and I had a new job lined up within 3 weeks so it actually all worked out very well and was by far an away the easiest money I’ve ever made!

DH's role was made redundant several years ago. He got £80k which was taxed and got access to all sorts of courses as well to help him find new work.

I think some people got great packages! No doubt deservedly so.

Thank you for the advice it turns out my home insurance offers legal cover which I would never have thought to check! Feel in a good position knowing that!

I was made redundant from a charity and got the legal minimum. I'm still in the not-for-profit sector, and my current employer only pays the legal minimum too.

Having said that, I've never known them make anyone redundant. They keep winning new contracts and redeploying staff into new roles, and when they know a contract's not going to be renewed or is being cut in scale, staff at risk get guaranteed interviews for any suitable vacancies.

The project I used to work on was reduced by 16% and in the run up to the final decision on the funding, so many "at risk" staff got other jobs they ended up having to recruit some more!

I've never worked anywhere that you could ask or bargain like that. Wow! I just got the legal minimum one week's salary for each complete year of service.

I was also made redundant on mat leave. I was the only person who was made redundant and I got £15,000. But I had to hold my nerve.

I was made redundant & some of my colleagues were too
I asked for the date that I could leave. They asked me to work another month & I refused & I left on the original date.
What a cheek !
I was given a generic name, phone number & email for references. However, some of my previous bosses offered me better references
The whole process took about 6 months
The worst part, was waiting to be made redundant as part of a big restructure
Do you have any contacts that you can use to get another job ?

Your employer only has to pay you statutory redundancy pay (based on you age and length of service) plus notice pay and accrued holiday pay, unless you have a contractual entitlement to enhanced redundancy pay.

However, if it's not a genuine redundancy or if they have not properly consulted with you over the redundancy, you may have grounds to claim unfair dismissal and/or pregnancy/maternity discrimination, which means you may have some leverage to negotiate an enhanced package.

Don't forget that while on maternity leave you are entitled to be offered alternative employment, if there are any jobs available at your place of work. This is where lots of employers go wrong.

The next day I applied for contributions based job seekers via universal credit benefit
I was fortunate to get a new job in a few weeks
I thought I would receive my redundancy money on the day that I left. However, it was paid about 6 weeks later
So ask when you will receive your money & how much

www.gov.uk states what the statutory minimum rates for redundancy are. Your company may offer a better package

My previous institution (university) offers 6 months plus your notice period for voluntary redundancy: they had a period where they had compulsory redundancies around 12 years ago, and despite the unions, anyone who was compulsory just got statutory redundancy plus paid notice.

OP, they may be more willing to negotiate as you're on mat leave, to avoid hassle of potential dispute (even if legally they are OK in terms of how they've gone about it) : according to an employment lawyer I know, going to Tribunal costs a company at least 10k, so he advises employers to settle for cases likely to be lower than that, unless they are happy to pay just on principle.

OP if you want to challenge it would seem better focus on the Maternity discrimination angle as that would potentially be unlimited damages at a tribunal. Constructive dismissal is difficult because the onus is on you to pursue your employer after you have left and damages are capped.
Take legal advice and point out that the role clearly still exists. Have they offered you redeployment within the firm?

When I was made redundant there was no negotiation, everyone got the same as agreed with the union.

Having said that, I work in the public sector and I know private sector sometimes give redundancy payments even when an employee isnt legally entitled to it.
The BBC has handed out stacks of golden goodbyes to senior people and they are public sector

It’s a tiny company - but they recruited a new administrator about a month ago - but if they were looking to save money?
I know I’m only entitled to statutory and my notice period would be whilst I am on smp so wouldn’t even get that paid at salary but I’m confident there could be a case for maternity discrimination if push came to shove - hoping it doesn’t!

Some of these packages are incredibly generous and way off the norm (I'm an HR Director) unless they include rolled up pay in lieu of notice (which is not allowed now- has to be deducted as normal).

The norm is statutory - 0.5 of a week for service accrued before the age of 22, a week for every year between 22-41 and 1.5 weeks if you're over 41. The weekly cap is just over £500 so if you earn over £27k it's less than a weeks' pay.

To illustrate, if I were to be made redundant now I'd be entitled to £3,054. My monthly take home after childcare vouchers and pension contributions is circa £3,200. I hold a senior position and have 6 years service.

I know expert but it may be that you could look at a Compromise agreement?

It seems legally they are in a sticky wicket potentially and they know it.

Do you have a advice helpline through your employer who you could phone for legal advice?

Or even a family member who has access to the resource?

I’m no that should read (not know 🙈)

I would definitely seek legal advice in your situation.

A similar thing happened to me and I fought them and I got the following:

3 months full pay
1 month's pay it took to sort it all out
Legal fees
Back to work bonus
Holiday and outstanding expenses paid

It all added up to half a year's salary in the end. We went on a nice holiday with the money and had our kitchen done! And I'm now in a much better job! Win win!