redundancy advice needed

[ruty]

i'm not sure if i should post here on the legal thread but if there is anyone who has any ideas here i would be grateful. DH is going to be made redundant next month [we heard yesterday] because company is dissolving. He has been in a managerial position for over 18 months, but not 2 years, because for the year before that the company employed him on a self employed basis. does this mean he is not entitled to any redundancy pay at all? I tried calling CAB today but couldn't get through, will try again tomorrow. We are a bit in shock as he is sole earner at the moment. Any advice gratefully received.

it depends whether he was genuinely self-employed before - you have to have been employed for 2 yrs before you're entitled to redundancy pay, but not all people who are described as 'self-employed' genuinely are. Your best bet for getting more advice on redundancy is the DTI website, by all means call CAB but they can be a bit hit and miss.

thanks Piccalilli - but how do i decipher if he was genuinely self employed or not? He had to pay his own tax, i know that, and had no contract with the company. But he worked full time for them for a year on that basis before he got the managerial position.

thanks Piccalilli - but how do i decipher if he was genuinely self employed or not? He had to pay his own tax, i know that, and had no contract with the company. But he worked full time for them for a year on that basis before he got the managerial position.

It is two years, and you are only entitled to a maximum of £290 per year of service for statutory redundancy. However the employment contract may offer additional terms (such as one month per year of service). But if the company is going out of business, there may not be enough money to pay this anyway.

The best advice I can offer is to concentrate on a good CV and looking for a job - internet and visiting recruitment firms - asap, rather than worrying about the redundancy money - I fear it will not be enough to make much difference. It took me a year to find a job after the last redundancy (third time for me), and dw had to start work again to pay the bills. btw I work in HR.