AIBU to think that companies use covid as an excuse to lay off staff?

[hotpotlover]

Just that really.

My company announced that they plan to make 27 people redundant. The consultation is going on at the moment, people will be notified around August 21st if their job is at risk.

I started maternity leave on July 29th and I know for sure that I will be one of those 27.

I know it's quite convenient for my company to get rid of me under the guise of covid 19, but I know deep inside that the real reason is my pregnancy.

The company said people could come forward and take voluntary redundancy by July 30th. However, they offer no financial incentive for voluntary redundancy, they won't pay extra.

My company has been hit by Covid 19, but we've had worse figures during the last financial crash where people were just put on short work and not made redundant.

I think a lot of companies use Covid as an excuse to make people redundant. Some companies really struggle and have to take these steps, but certainly not all of them.

I also feel like some companies that didn't really need it took advantage of the furlough scheme and will make people redundant very soon as they learned how they can run their operations much leaner.

But companies don't make people redundant that they actually need - likely the company has become bloated and people are becoming left efficient

I wouldn't agree with this, I have worked in several organisations since 2008 all of which have undergone restructures and redundancies and not a single one of them was resourced sufficiently. In the public sector domain I was in too much work load was/is spread across too few people resulting in a lot of inefficiencies (and work place stress and sickness) from what I witnessed, and in the commercial environment I was in they desperately needed more boots on the ground to generate more income but didn't have enough investment and in my opinion recruited into the wrong areas. They were about to start a round of redundancies and I would bet a lot of money the areas they'd have trimmed and they wouldn't have been what I would have picked (all very hypothetical but they were very predictable!)

Agree it is simplistic and there may a myriad of reasons for making people redundant but no-one has the right to a job just as no-one has an obligation to employ anyone. Companies might be slightly shifting the blame to COVID - but there is no doubt COVID is a very real factor.

If you want to keep jobs then change your spending decisions to facilitate that - as far as is possible of course.

Why would companies keep paying staff they don't need to operate, though? They are a business, not a public service - and in the same way employees are only working because they are being paid.
It is all about the money, for businesses and individuals, let's not pretend we are all going to work just for the glory.

We will see COVID being used as a reason for redundancies for a long time to come. I know a few companies that used the economic downturn in 2008 as a way to lay off a lot of staff without hurting their reputation too much.

Before this, digitalisation was driving significant business transformation, which in turn changed the skills mix organisations required. Redundancies are not just utilised in failing businesses, but as a proactive tool to secure the future of the company.

COVID has likely expedited many organisations plans, either due to financial insecurity or due to genuine shifts in the way the organisation operates.

I think there will always be people exploiting a situation as a means of reputation management, but that for the large majority, redundancies are very much needed either financially or operationally. It's going to be an awful year or so ahead for jobs unfortunately.

@PleasePassTheCoffeeThanks because while that's a cute theory in practice, in reality, the workload is often the same they just spread it across fewer people trying to rinse them for every last second which isn't ethical but if we are talking business it is also not good business because it leads to stress, poor work outputs, sickness and high turnover.

And I doubt the public sector will be immune to it either, it's not all "business". I'm a civil servant and we are expecting drastic budget changes as a result of Covid which will make working conditions very undesirable, Covid will be used as the excuse for every decision, and whilst understanding yes of course Covid will have a huge detrimental effect on budgets you only have to look at the austerity era to see how governments utilise catastrophes to their own political benefit.

Not the same situation at all, and I really feel for everyone that has been made redundant /going through a redundancy situation, but I've been refused a promotion due to Covid 19. Company has admitted they've changed the goal posts (I'd met the previously stated requirements) and now stating I'm not being promoted due to covid 19. Obviously not same situation, and I appreciate I still have a job so not trying to be inflammatory /insensitive, I'm just stating this as I feel its been used as an excuse in this situation too.

A lot of businesses have been skirting trouble for a long time (e.g. Pizza Express and their debt mountain - which wasn't the fault of the business itself) or are in sectors that are genuinely unlikely to recover to pre-Covid levels of business for a very long time for reasons that may extend beyond just Covid (e.g. BA and the air industry in general).

You have some protections because you're on maternity leave, but you're not immune to redundancy. It's highly unlikely they're making 27 people redundant just because you are on maternity leave.

Time to look at any income protection policies you have in place to cover your mortgage, and to look at where you might get some legal advice. You may be on maternity leave but you are still entitled to participate in the consultation, what have you done about that?

I agree that some unscrupulous employers may use Covid as justification for getting rid of employees. In many cases it will be the genuine reason why a business is struggling, but in others the employer might find it a useful cover story to get rid of problem employees, because it would be hard to argue against in a tribunal setting.

So, YANBU to be cynical, but in reality if they want to make you redundant during a global pandemic and associated economic downturn, I doubt you would get far in claiming for wrongful dismissal in a trihunal. Enjoy your mat leave and try not to waste energy pondering on your employment situation.

I absolutely believe this.

It's just happened at my old place. Everyone it has happened to believes the same thing. All involved have other factors such as long term illness, performance issues etc.

It's hilarious though tbh as all employees see right through the covid bullshit and are openly discussing how theyve used it as an excuse

It took Mn less than two weeks to openly publicise that they were in dire straits. Immediats cash flow can kill an otherwise successfully business.

A lot of companies were in trouble, struggling to service their debts before Covid.

Also a lot of companies paying above-market rates for senior staff, and giving out bumper divadends with nothing left to spare for a rainy day.

It seems to be that, by a certain size, you just let the shareholders take the benefit of a string of sunny days.. then when it (predictably) rains for a bit, the staff and the taxpayer is the one to cover the shortfall that should have been at least partially weathered by normal business risk planning / financial management.