Redundancy - is this unfair do you think?

[Serennos]

I have been employed for just over three years (including a year's maternity leave, ending 31/01/11) and my employer has informed the staff in my office (five of us) that the company is considering closing our branch and relocating our positions to another branch to save £30,000pa (a tiny blip for a company the size of this one) and bring the staff physically closer together.

We will only be paid the statutory redundancy payment, and will have to work our notice as well as take any holiday accrued.

My consultation meeting is tomorrow and I already intend to bring up the situation whereby in the past some employees have been given an ex-gratia payment of one month's salary in addition to the statutory redundancy payment.

What I don't know is whether there is any point in also pursuing the fact that since my return (to a new position) from maternity leave, I haven't been given a full job - some of the functions that I was due to undertake have already been given to staff at the other office.

I know for a fact (as is often the case) that the outcome of this redundancy consultation is a foregone conclusion, but I don't think that the company are being fair about it. Since right now it feels like The Whole World is Out to Get Me, I wonder whether I am being a tad irrational about it.

S

I think you're right it's a foregone conclusion

don't piss them off because you'll need a reference from them

The person who will give me a reference will (happily) be more entertained the more I piss them off :)

Thank you for your sympathy though - it'll be okay in the end (one way or another), it's just highly stressful at the moment!

Hi Serrenos do contact ACAS to see if a constructive obligation exists regarding ex-gratia payments.

Ex gratia payments are just that, they are discretionary payments which the company may make as they see fit. They are not obliged to pay them to everyone their only obligation to you is statutory redundancy. Nor do you have to ake all your accrued holiday before you leave you can ask for payment instead.

They may start the process stating statutory however if redundancy is confirmed then they could offer an ex gratia payment. You could be asked to sign a compromise agreement to get the ex gratia payment.

If the whole branch is relocating then it's likely it's is not being targetted to you.