Any employment lawyers around?

[Finmory]

I have been working for a lovely company for 2 years under an umbrella company. We have just had a new manager start who has ended my contract.

No gross misconduct, there was an issue with another permanent worker which led to a loss and they told me they had to cut costs so I had to go.

Is there any recourse even if it's under an umbrella?

Thanks so much for anyone who can advise. They told me yesterday morning and I've been really struggling ever since as another role like this will be hard to get and I have no real buffer saved up.

They said I didn't do anything wrong so it seems wrong to punish me for someone else's mistake.

Speak to ACAS

when you say 2 years do you mean slightly over or slightly under? If you've been there 2 years you have protection against unfair dismissal. Redundancy is a potentially fair reason, but they have to have followed a fair process

@rubyslippers thank you, I had been in such panic mode I hadn't even thought of that! Will contact them tomorrow

@Rhythmisadancer it's been over 2 years but it's under an umbrella company so not a permanent member of staff - do those rights still apply? I thought that redundancy was for directly contracted staff

OP I understand you are disappointed and likely worried about money but ask yourself if it is really fair to seek ‘recourse’ in this situation? Working under an umbrella company I am assuming was a choice you made For financial reasons (I have friends who freelance under umbrella’s as it’s significantly more lucrative than being directly employed). Surely the trade off is that the arrangement can be ended on either side without obligation.
My husband had an employee who chose to work in this way (sales). Refused to switch to being an employee as being a contractor he could retain control of what he did and when. When his services were no longer required he sued the company saying he was entitled to redundancy!!

@Dreamsofcruise thank you for your message. I didn't choose to work under an umbrella it was a stipulation of the company. And I didn't make more money as take home was ultimately less than a permanent employee after various umbrella related fees.

I know in some cases it's a choice but that is not the case here.

I'm not looking to cause issues I just want to make sure I'm leaving no stone unturned as this is very sudden and they only honoured the minimum notice period when I pushed back on their suggestion of 24 hours notice.