How do I deal with carrying out something that is against my principles?

[dontagreewithit]

I am a name changer, as some of this is sensitive information that isn't out in the public domain yet.

I am a senior manager in a relatively small organisation (around 100 employees across 3 sites). The MD and one of the other 2 board members are the kind of people who just want things "done now" and done "my way" and have little regard for the legalities and humanity of dealing with the people they employ.

It has been decided that we need to make around 10 support staff redundant across 2 of the sites. In itself, I don't have an issue with this, commercially it makes sense.

However, they are proposing to carry out the whole redundancy process across 4 days next week, start to finish. I understand that this is just within the confines of the law (as there are less than 20 people being made redundant), but I have a big issue with carrying out the process so quickly and brutally. We have people on holiday next week, people who only work certain days of the week, and the process has no give in it to accommodate these people. There is no time available for the people involved to "draw breath", prepare their CVs etc etc. Monday = normal day, Thursday = goodbye.

I have expressed my feelings about this very strongly to the board, however, they are determined to go ahead, despite the possible consequences, which I think will be massive demotivation of the people who are left, lack of any trust in senior management (which is already severely lacking), and an exodus of those people who we want to keep as soon as they can find alternative employment,

I am actively looking for another job, have applied for a couple, but I can't afford to resign without a job to go to. If I could, I would.

So my question is, how do I keep my credibility with the staff I manage while having to implement this process and not agreeing with it at all? How do I maintain my sanity?

Thanks, I have determined that I will do whatever I can to make this as painless as it possibly can be for people.

It's going to be a tough week, though. I will have 10 meetings to attend & take notes on on Tue / Wed / Thur and Fri. (that's 10 meetings each day)

And then the following week I have to do what I can to pull the teams back together - one team where the MD is off skiing, & then a 400 mile round trip & a night away from home to meet with the other team, who were already a bit wary of me following the way their original manager was made "voluntarily" redundant in August. Just brilliant.

It will be a horrible week, but as long as you remember it's worse for them I don't think you can go wrong.

Some people will choose to blame you, but that's natural you are tge one sitting in front of them.

Sone people will surprise you in a nice way.

The toughest thing for me was supporting my staff through making their choice of VR and not disclosing what I was planning on doing because I didn't want to influence them. With us there were a certain number they were getting rid of at each level so going for VR didn't mean you would get it. Can you imagine going for VR and then being told you'd got to stay.

You do not know peoples personal circumstances, for me I choose it not because of my job but because I had just found out my dad was dying. This meant I could spend time with him. I've seen people on here who hare their job but can't make the decision to leave and wish they would be made redundant!

A week like that is going to be he'll that's a lot of meetings and it will be draining, try and have something nice planned for tge end of the week. Good luck.

Do you have insurance against people suing you for wrongful dismissal after redundancy?

We did when we were having a sad round of redundancies and it saved a fortune when someone decided our very very very fair, long winded and scrupulous redundancy procedure didn't apply to him. The legal costs for us to defend our perfectly correct procedure were covered by the insurance.

I actually prefer it when they just swing the axe rather than arsing about with "consultation" for weeks on end and then doing it anyway. I also think it's better for the remaining staff. Otherwise there's just uncertainty for weeks and it's really detrimental to everyone.

Certainly the two company MDs are very happy it is being done quickly - but I feel that it's because they have no ability to see it from any other point of view than theirs and the business implications. Their empathy levels are low to non-existent.

No, I don't think we have insurance against people suing us, as I said somewhere up thread, the board have decided that they will take the gamble that no-one will challenge this. And in all honesty, I don't think they will - but I don't think that's a good enough reason not to treat people fairly.

I know it is worse for the people that are affected than it is for me, and I keep reminding myself of this, but it is affecting me pretty badly as well - I have known about this since the beginning of Jan, and have had to behave as though everything is normal with my teams, which makes me feel very hypocritical. There aren't many days since then that I haven't come home and been close to tears (because of the sheer refusal to listen to reason I have encountered from the board, because I feel impotent, uncomfortable with operating like this, absolutely terrified at the thought of how I am going to motivate my teams after this is all over etc).

What I haven't told anyone at work is that my dad has just (told me on 2 Jan) been diagnosed with prostate cancer AND an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Prognosis seems fairly positive for both, but it's an added pressure. I haven't shared this information for fear that I would just start crying and not be able to stop.

I guess I just have to grit my teeth and get on with this week.

:( don't. Best of luck to your dad,y dads prostate cncer treatment has just finished and prognosis good. I do rememrr the horror of the day they told me though, my dad and cancer in the same sentence :(

What a terrible situation to be in. Unfortunately it sounds like you have to do it that way but I would write to the board expressing your displeasure and state that you're doing it under protest. I would also apologise to each person made redundant....... then get a new job before the company gets sued and collapses.

This is what makes me so uncomfortable. If I write to the board and tell them what I think, they will find a way to get rid of me (sounds dramatic, but that is how they work). I can't afford to not have a job.

So I have to suck it up, until I can get another job. Which makes me feel like a coward and not true to myself or my principles. In the meantime, I have to carry on doing my job to the best of my abilities, or I will feel I am being unprofessional.

:(

And just realised that I will have to miss my dd2's parent's evening on Thursday because of the meetings etc. Just won't be able to get there in time.

I'm so sorry about your dad.

It's tough when you have to wear your work face for such stressful reasons. You will get through it.

Time to take a deep breath.

1. STOP beating yourself up about it being immoral and unprofessional. It is LEGAL. It is NOT immoral. It may not be your preferred way of doing things but that does not make it immoral. Especially if cutting 10 people now saves 90 people for a few months.
2. A company is NOT ALLOWED to continue trading if it cannot cover its outgoings. If your company is on the brink of such a position they have to act quickly. That is your key message to all staff (especially the ones staying).
3. There is no need to consult, only a need to ensure that the decisions of who goes are being made fairly and that there is no hint of discrimination
4. The longer a process continues, the more moral can fall for all staff. A quick cut can sometimes be kinder.
5. Yes, it would be nice for directors to be more involved in the process, but I think you are getting stressed because you are not recognising the boundaries between the role you do and the role your bosses do. Directors direct and Managers manage. As you know, you do not have the authority to decide how these things are done, so so you need to ensure that you distance yourself from taking on the responsibility for this. Hope that makes sense, otherwise you will not be able to let go of all the guilt and stress. That guilt and stress belongs to them, not to you, so stop carrying it yourself (if they don't acknowledge any guilt/stress themselves, that's up to them).
6. If you do the maths, you are wanting them to keep these 10 jobs going for a little while so people can prepare themselves. If those 10 jobs were kept on for one month more then '10 months' salary would have been spent by the company (one month for each person). That is pretty much equivalent to a years' salary - ie 1 headcount. If they waited for a month before letting go then instead of 10 people going, 11 people would have needed to be let go to save the same amount of money. Cutting quickly is saving a headcount.

You need to express to all staff that the action is being done to try to ensure the ongoing viability of trading, so as to try to keep as many jobs going as possible. You also need to explain that this is not death by 1000 cuts, but that the board are trying to keep as many jobs going as possible, which is why they tried so hard not to cut too deeply last time. The level of trading activity since then has unfortunately continued to work against them, leaving them no option but to do whatever is needed to do to keep the jobs going.

It's not about being hard-nosed at all, and everyone hates doing stuff like this. What's important is that you try to look at the commercial aspects of the decision - companies are not allowed to trade when insolvent so the whole business could have gone under, and you've saved a headcount to boot. If you try to look at it from all points of view it is not quite such a bitter pill. It will of course be horrible for the staff, but TBH it won't be much nicer for them to have a few weeks' advance notice. The difference is probably marginal. And try hard to keep reminding yourself that responsibility rests with the ones making the decision, not you.

StillSquiffy thank you, everything you say makes complete sense & has helped me look at the situation again a bit more objectively.

I think you are right, the important thing is to stress why this is being done, and the bigger picture side of things.

Perhaps the fact that I have other things going on outside work has made me more than usually emotional at the moment, but I do know I have to get on with it and lead by example.