They cannot just change everything like this surely ?

[Noangelbuthavingfun]

Never thought I'd be in this situation. Been with company 23 months...April 10th will be 2 years. No issues till November just gone. Have a global role. Got promoted in October. Jan a new dotted line boss was introduced... they are a contractor only and due to status we cannot report into them on the system hence dotted line. They sit in a different country.
Fast forward this week ànd have just been shown a new org chart with my role effectively still there but now given to a person I manage. No discussion with me by either boss. Other roles on org chart some with names but none with my name on. Been told don't worry we will tell u where you fit in.... Real boss not present, HR not present, no forewarning and no follow up. No job spec...nothing.
Effectively my role still exists but in a different country (peer role still exists with name on chart in same country) so they cannot claim a business reason.
Previous soft discussion mentioned flippantly with dotted line boss /contractor that they want me to do more business development type work.. That's not my role today nor something I want to do. Nothing since until this org chart. My actual manager has not even spoken to me about this chart or changes....

My question is this : they cannot change my Role without consultation can they ? Its effectively a demotion in my view as no other role on org chart is the same as mine ... no HR or job description...etc.
Where do I stand? What are my next steps to protect myself ?

AIBU to want a fair and equitable option with a clear job description and reasoning for the changes plus an option of redundancy if its not what I want to do?Surely this is what the process should be?
Or do I have to suck it up and let them do what they want without any process followed? (I've been through redundancy before and it was handled entirely differently)

Looking for some guidance from employment law experts AND / OR experiences any of you may have been through..

So at the moment you literally don’t have a job? Nothing to do? But still getting paid?

If nothing else, I’d be mortified that a structure had been circulated and my name wasn’t on it

if it's a global country it will depend on which legal jurisdiction your employment comes under. do you have a contract? does it specify which country's law the contract is to be interpreted under?

under uk law, up to and including 9th April they can just say at any time that they don't need you any more and they don't need to give a reason.

after 10th april it's not much better - they have to justify the change, consult you etc, give you redundancy if the new situation isn't acceptable, but the employers still ultimately have the right to structure their staff and business as they see fit

You need to talk to a specialist employment lawyer. You should probably also put this on the Legal Matters topic.

My instinct would be to not make a fuss until you’ve been there two years, so you’re harder to get rid of.

Unfortunately even if the role has been made redundant there is little the OP can do until the 2 years date has passed.

And then it would just be to go through a consultation process and get two months [probably] redundancy pay.

redundancy applies to a role, not a person, so if your role is still on the org chart then they can’t argue that role is redundant. You are contracted to that role (assuming that your contract and JD etc are all in order) so they can’t just force you out of it and give it to someone else. They can propose a new structure, which could involve a promotion or sideways move for you, and may ask you to agree to it. But if you don’t agree then they can’t just give your job to someone else while you’re still in. Being under two years service does make things a little tricky as you wouldn’t be able to rely on unfair dismissal. If I were you, I would be careful not to agree or disagree to anything until you have passed the two years. Just keep saying you are unable to agree to anything until you have seen the full org chart with associated contract and JD

Company directors are legally entitled to structure the business to deliver their duties as set out in the companies act in the UK. It's likely similar elsewhere. Their duties are all about keeping the company solvent and growing. This means as employees you can be disgruntled but theres no need for consultation. Consultation is only a legal requirement in redundancy situs. Of course its best practice to communicate with employees but not all companies do this and sometimes for good reason - I worked in a company that waited for senior managers to come in then gave them 30mins to pack up and leave when making them redundant. The reasoning is that being made redundant is hard emotionally and psychologists say doing it fast is better for the person. It was the best company I ever worked for btw.

Your situ OP is one to sit out for the minute. If they're offering you a diff job then consider it. The person who reports to you has obvs done a good job showing the consultant how great they are, it seems in comparison, you may not have. Appreciate that sounds harsh, but sometimes reality is and it's often promotion via brown nosing versus showing real talent too. So hang in there x

Contact ACAS

For mental health I'd advise reaching out to a recruiter or two - I know you don't want to go anywhere but being aware of what's out there will probably cheer you up. The recent promotion is especially good for you, you could well be eligible to apply for next level positions now.
The short time in post shouldn't be a problem; re-orgs happen and there's no shame in being the one left without a chair, especially in a global org!

What should happen vs what does happen in global companies where your line manager is not in the same country can be two different things.

I’ve seen large scale redundancies overseen by an American head of department handled like they are in the USA (you, you and you, thanx bye), with local British HR being as much use as the proverbial chocolate kettle. In that case they didn’t do their jobs and protect the company by following the law as most of the Brits getting made redundant took legal steps that cost the company more. Other battles on maternity leave and flexible working policies where the manager assumed their home countries culture and policies.

I’m sorry it is shit but I would take back a bit of control, get your cv up to date and your LinkedIn profile brushed up and open to recruiters. Be ready for whatever comes.

Thanks and will do....

Thanks- this is at the moment my strategy ... as no one has reached out to me formally j am not pushing for meetings to clarify either in order to buy time. I don't think they Want to get rid of me - I'm a very valued member but where they are insinuating I should go is not of interest to me nor has a process been followed. Should I not at this point state that doesn't work for me then and just wait it out ?

Seek proper advice. I will share my experience - currently under consultation and on paper I’m in a great position but what that doesn’t show is the bullying and appalling behaviours I’m having to deal with that’s making me sick and the whole process is pointless as the manager doesn’t listen/shuts me down. For context, I have perfect appraisals and have worked in the organisation for 9 years with only positive feedback and plans for development to director level… new boss comes in and he thinks I’m useless (based on what a couple of the team have said who want my job so clearly aren’t going to praise me). Anyway, consultation is bullshit in my experience. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to it depending on which country’s rules.

Exactly what @N27 has said - wait it out til the 2 year mark, even if that includes some strategic last minute annual leave to delay things a bit for you.
Hopefully it is ‘just’ thoughtless communication around what is happening in the company, as opposed to you/your role drastically changing or disappearing

Well this is my thinking...I'm on a British contract so uk law applies. I think they have no clue and I Want to make sure they do this properly. I haven't even had a discussion with hr present and I'm sure that's needed as the job change is without even having seen a spec more than a 50 % change. I'm pretty sure from my previous short stint in hr that needs consultation. I cannot even tell at this moment if its an equal role ....
In any case do i just wait out and then point out the failings or address them now ? I guess it's more in my interest to wait ...nothing is in writing either

That's OK...at least that's something ... if I decide the new role doesn't work. Now I don't have that option...

I agree with others here, watch and wait. I’ve found the Employment board on here to be very helpful. Quieter but populated by people who know what they’re talking about so you’ll get good advice.

Thanks... the role is definitely in org chart but just with different name different country. They haven't told me the way it should be done and surely a new job spec is the bare min if no consultation followed... that's not even there. So I think running interference is the best option but how do I prevent just "falling" into the new role snd them then saying later well you've been doing it ?
Basically my role now is 30 % consulting. They now want it to be 100%. I don't want that period

Sometimes global organisations have to have a minimum headcount in a specific country for tax purposes, could it be that?

It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what was said in the meeting, eg was it a meeting specifically to discuss that or was it raised in passing? And were any timescales discussed?

No we have plenty in the UK...its basically an ego centric person that is empire building for various reasons is my cynical view as there's no business justification.

Raised in passing on a global team call...half the team wasn't even there. No timescales mentioned whatsoever. Just said this will take a while to implement and if u don't see your name on here don't worry I will get round to telling u where u fit

I am so sorry you are going through this.... :-( companies can be bloody awful. I can tell I'm going to be bullied too ... this person has no time for strong women and I've already heard them bullying behaviour with someone else. I will never be able to prove discrimination so I'm not going down that route but I'll damn well make sure they follow due process. Thinking of you

this will take a while to implement and if u don't see your name on here don't worry I will get round to telling u where u fit

This really is an appalling way to treat a fellow human being.

If there really reasons that their plans for you cannot be shared yet, the least you should expect would be for you to be given a heads up, in private before that meeting. And you be asked for your initial feedback.

I agree with the others, in that situation I'd keep my head down, definitely not agree to anything and not do anything to indicate you were acting in the new role. And await developments.

Meanwhile, do spend a bit of time on linked in and maybe the odd lunch or coffee with people you know either well or would like to get to know professionally. Don't say anything negative but you might ask them how their work is going and show interest, ideally ask a question of two which confirms that interest and possibly lead to some follow up.

All the best.