Asked to sign new contract. Redundancy rights.

[Hullabaloo9]

I've worked in a small hotel since 2011. I was employed under a verbal contract with variable hours but averaging 20 a week easily. Times have been bleak with the covid restrictions and we have all been under the furlough scheme since March.

Yesterday, our boss has presented us all with a contract to sign, claiming that he cannot put us on the new job support scheme if we dont have a paper contract. My issue is that the contract is dated 1st November 2020. Now, if I sign will I lose my right to 9 yrs redundancy pay. It's looking very likely that redundancy is on the horizon unless things change dramatically and I would really need the money to bridge the gap.

I've clearly been on the payroll since 2011 and have pay slips etc. Will signing this new contract reset my entitlement to the date I signed?

What is the 1st November in relation to? I'm assuming that's just commencement of stipulations in the contract and not in relation to evidence of your employment start date.

You really need to read the contents of the contract to see what it is saying. Could you ask your employer to include something which states the date uou first began employment?

The contract is just dated 1st november so I guess you are right that its commencement of stipulations. The content of the contract itself seems to be hashed together sections, cut and paste from the internet. There is nothing particularly untoward about the content itself.

So, if I get an extra page stating the date I started, signed by my employer, that should be proof that I'm entitled to 9 yrs redundancy?

Just make sure it states (in writing) somewhere in the contract when you first started and that you have been in continuous employment since then. It can be handwritten but both you and your boss should initial and date the amendment so there is no misunderstanding about when it was written; must be before or at the same time the contract is signed.

It won’t affect your accrued rights, no. The contract itself starts from that date, but ask for a sentence to be added confirming your continuous service date.

It must reflect your original starting date and continuous service. Contact Acas. Your boss is pulling a fast one.

We had to sign new contracts at work when they officially changed our job titles...although nothing else changed. The wording was this - I would suggest you need something similar.

"Your appointment to this position will be effective from 01 January 2020 and your period of continuous employment with us will continue to be recorded as commencing on 01 June 2007"