Can anyone help re unfair dismissal / whistleblowing

[FrayedKnot]

DH is a manager responsible for a team of about 20 people.

Last year a new policy was introduced from the upper echelons (large US Corp) which required all managers to rank their staff within the team based on their competence, with a view to "recycling" the bottom 10% and replacing them with more effective staff.

DH was horrified especially when it then transpired that they would look for ways to terminate the contracts of employment of the bottom 10%. he was involved in making one such person "redundant".

A year on and he is being asked to do the same thing again.

He thinks that what they are intending is basically illegal under UK employment law (none of his team are incompetent at their jobs and have all had reasonable performance reviews etc) so he thinks all could potentially claim unfair dismissal.

He wants to refuse to take part in the ranking exercise, but at the same time he knows that he is also on a list, as is his boss, and so on.

We can;t afford for him to lose his job, I asked him if he felt comfortable working for an organization who would treat their workforce so despicably but there is so much tied up in his job, if he lost it, we would have to move ou of the area, having only relocated 2 years ago and started putting down roots, his potential future employability etc.

I think if he refused then he could also join forces with several otehr team leaders, but wonder if he could have any protection under the whistleblowing thingie - could he be protected from dismissal because waht they are prposing is unlawful?

omg, that's awful.

I think you;re right about the law, but since they are ignoring employment law that's no reason for him to feel reassured is it?

is he in a union?

You need to look up the legislation. I'm not sure whether what his company is doing is illegal - depends how they are forcing people out, I guess. Check out the Dept Trade and Industry or whatever they are called now website, used to be Tiger.co.uk or something similar, has all the employment law stuff on there.

There's an organisation called Public Concern at Work who campaigned for the law protecting whistleblowers - google them and you will hopefully get some info. I do remember that there are pretty strict guidelines you have to follow to be covered by the Act so don't do anything without careful research.

If your dh isn't a member of a union, he could join and then seek legal advice - people often join when jobs are under threat. There are managerial unions.

There is a union where he works but he is not a member.

When this all blew up last year he got immensely stressed and upset about the whole thing even though the guy who left was given a settlement, and DH didn;t particularly like him, he went through hell over it all and also it was DH who had to hand the guy his P45.

I will ask him if he can look to joining the union or another if more suitable.

A person cannot be made redundant and then replaced within a set time-frame for the same job, I know this much. But I know several loop-holes that one company I worked for used in order to get rid of people.

Ihave been involved in an unfairdismissal case and seriously considered whistleblowing it all, but it is a very tough thing to go through.

I would recommend that your husband keeps dated records of everything to do with this policy, keep emails, even record phonecalls if necessary, but keep it all on record.

Do not make any rushed moves, it is not an easy thing to do and you need to have enough evidence or you will just end up jobless and with nothing to show for it.

It is easier to whistleblow if you have secured employment elsewhere. Any chance of your dh leaving?

I hope you find some solution. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

Also most unions have a clause where they will not deal with anything unless you have been a member for a set time, normally 3 or 6 months. Please get him to join immediately if he is not going to leave the company

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have looked at your link Edam, tey offer advice so I will see if DH wnats to call them.

RD I was thinking of advising him to keep a record of the discussions etc

He did speak to the HR manager last year about this but he was fobbed off I think.

I don;t think this job is doing DH' health much good in many ways (knowing he is also on a list means he is being psychologically flogged to work harder & harder anyway imo) but he was made redundant 3 years ago and the thought of going throught hat all oevr again is very frightening.

He works in an industry where jobs are very spread out over the UK and we would have to move away. Our mortgage is huge, we have spent a lot of money on doing up our house, my job is only PT and pays peanuts

You get the picture. The safe option si for him to toe the line, but it goes against everything he believes in

Frayed

Sorry to tell you this - but this is a very common policy in big organisations. What is unusual is that they have told yr DH what they are doing. This is all kept very quiet usually and is not overt.

They usually describe it as a performance management tool. I recently had to hear an unfair dismissal case for my company (as a senior manager). The person had been ousted using a performance management policy. It turns out that we have the same policy re 10% as yr DH's company but it not known about other than at the top levels.

I don't think he can do anything. In the case I dealt with I said we had been harsh on this ex employee and was worried they could win a tribunal. I was told (by the very top in HR) that we'd be fine cos it was a common practice of companies to get rid of bottom 10% every year.

I doubt yr DH can fight them. MAybe he should look for a new job where he is far happier. Good luck

That's interesting, sc.

When DH questioned it last year with HR, he was told not to worry about it as it was not his problem.

And they haven;t explicitly told him that the people he puts in the bottom 10% will be fired, but based on his experience last year, people will lose jobs. They are expecting a quota "turnover" if you like, and so if for e.g. someone happens to hand their notice in then a team leader can argue they are leaving so they don;t need to get rid of anyone else.

Also, the irony is DH' team are actively recruiting all the time and he finds it really hard to find people with the right qualifications & experience - most applicants are not from the UK

It seems to me the most ridiculous policy, waste of money, effort and so on. Not to mention the lives of the people who are booted out.

I'd agree with Silkcushion - the ranking is very common, and the bottom 10% are often then given performance plans. If they don't hit the targets given in the performance plans then I believe that they can have their contract terminated because of 'lack of competence'. (In reality once people realise that they are on a 'performance plan' they start looking for another job.) Nothing illegal in that.

Was the person he had to make redundant last year replaced by someone else doing exactly the same job? That would be illegal.

I've just re-read my post and think it sounds like I agree with this 'performance management' stuff. I don't!