Advice - Voluntary Redundancy refused, now flexible hours refused

[Shellhs]

Hello all,
I am really hoping someone can give me some advice or guidance.
Last May I gave birth to my wonderful twin boys and I am still currently on maternity leave (due to return to work on 9th May).
My job is a full time job as a Administrator in a office of about 30 people. Last June the company made some redundancies including 2 from the accounts department which I am part of. As I had not long had my boys I knew it was not going to be viable to return to work full time as we simply could not afford the child care costs. I therefore decided to put myself forward for voluntary redundancy and explained that I was doing so as it was not going to be viable for me to return to work on a full time basis due to the child care costs. They confirmed they would take my offer in to consideration. Subsquently this was refused as I was told I scored highly within the categories. A part time employee and a full time employee were made redundant.
In January I put my request in for the change to my hours and went through all the procedure, however this was refused. I therefore followed the necessary procedures and appealed this but again this was refused.
I am know left unsure what to do. We simply cannot afford for me to return to work full time (nursery charges are £5000 over my wages before tax so you can imagine what it is like after tax) so I feel I have to hand in my resignation. We cannot afford for me to not work long term so I am currently hunting for part time positions like a mad woman.
My issue is I feel that they have used this situation against me and that if they knew a part time position would not be viable within the department (which I disagree with) they should have accepted my voluntary redundancy rather than make another full time member of staff redundant.
I have spoke to Acas and Citizen advice but they have not been able to help much. The gentleman I spoke to at Acas believes my next step would be to look into tribunal but I wanted to ask if anyone else has been in the this situation and can advice of what is best to do?

Sorry, but that you felt you couldn't aid childcare isn't a business reason to make you redundant. Especially if keeping you on will reduce their overall redundancy pay bill whilst still losing staff. They will have built into their plan that done people who are refused redundancy will leave anyway.

Have you resigned yet? Could your dh go pay time instead, or at over 5k/month you could surely employ a nanny instead, surely they don't earn over £60/annum?

My employer is doing a round of voluntary redundancy, but it's the post which becomes redundant, not the person doing it. however much you wanted to be made redundant, if they decided that they needed your post to remain, they are entitled to turn down your request to go. They are also equally entitled to turn down your request for flexible working, they only have to consider it, if they feel it would adversely affect them, or if they felt you hadn't made a sufficiently strong case.

I'm not sure that you've been well advised about a tribunal - it's not your employers' fault that you can't afford the childcare to work full time. I guess you could claim constructive dismissal, but from the outside the two decisions, not to accept your application for redundancy and to decline your request for a reduction in hours, seem reasonable, and I say that as someone whose request for reduced hours was turned down, and who has had colleagues turned down for volutnary redundancy because our employer still wanted their job to exist, even if the person no longer wanted to do it.

Sorry, but if you're still on maternity leave, I think the only thing you can do is to hand in your notice and not to return to work.

"if they knew a part time position would not be viable within the department (which I disagree with) they should have accepted my voluntary redundancy rather than make another full time member of staff redundant"

Why? You think that because it would be better for you. But there's no obligation on them to accept any offers of redundancy. Presumably they wanted to keep you, which is an excellent reason to refuse voluntary redundancy.

Your childcare problems are not their concern and the only potential claim here is if they didn't follow procedure for a flexible working request, but you don't say that.

Yes it's irritating that you will resign without the benefit of redundancy pay, but if its your choice to resign you're not entitled to any.

Also, what makes you believe that last June they already knew they'd refuse a part time request for nearly a year later? No reason to think that at all.

Ignore the redundancy, its a total red hearing. As others have said you have no entitlement to be made redundant and no complaint that someone else was made redundant and not you. BUT you may have a claim regarding your flexible working request. What was the reason given for rejecting it and why did you think it was viable (from their perspective not yours in terms of your finances)?

If you might resign make sure you check the small print in your firm's mat leave policy. Some make you repay a proportion of maternity pay if you don't return to work eg for three months.

i was in a similar position to you many years ago and also feel aggrieved at not being made redundant when I needed to be. With the passing of time I can see that I was a valuable employee and my employer's did not want to lose my skills, nor could they accommodate my flexible working request. If they have followed the correct procedure then you really do need to see that you are annoyed at not getting a redundancy payput on your terms and, crucially, resign and move on. Do not get bogged down in the seeming unfairness of it all.

What was your proposal for flexible working and what was their business reason for saying no? Could your DH also work flexibly?