I have just had some shocking news - redundancy

[lisalisa]

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lol at taking a solicitor.

I would - someone who knows about employment law.

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It's too late to avoid the Sept payment to you,surely? Sorry to hear this lisalisa. I agree, redundancy won't put future employers off, absolutely not. I thought there had to be a consultancy period, I didn't think they could 'just' make you redundant?
But anyway, highly unlikely that you would have to go immediately. They have to give notice, this isn't the same as dismissal.

you know if it's just you they're going to have to come up with some bloody good reasons why it's you, when you've just come back from maternity leave.

you should definitely ascertain the things you mention.
also do a bit of research on the internet so you're aware of the law and what they need to do. there's some stuff on here but also look at (and contact if necc):
ACAS
Tiger

it's horrible I know - this happened to me all over my pregnancy and into maternity leave. but you are in a strong position, they have to be VERY careful how they do it

and if you have 2/3 months notice then they'll have to pay any promised bonuses/payments

It doesn't look like you're useless, I really wouldn't consider that of anyone with redundancy on their cv and there are a lot of them. I don't see what the harm would be in taking someone who knows their employment law.

hmm I see your problem.

So take a career break then go back and say that you were about to be made a partner but not in an area you wanted so thought you would take opportunity to take a career break before starting afresh

Reality is prob that you are just too expensive if you are at almost partner level and they want to replace you with someone with a lot less pqe...

However I would be surprised if they have genuine redundancy case. If you want an employment lawyer my dh's firm do it and are in the city

the thing is you've not been there while their business took a dive so it can hardly be perceived to be 'your fault' - if it got mentioned in an interview for another job, you could always say that you went back and discovered that they had cut back on the work in your area (which seems to be what has happened).

Hmm, I think you need some serious advice. If they are just making you redundant and no one else, they'd better have a pretty good reason why, otherwise you could quite likely haul them over the coals under sex discrimination law. Having said that, from the experiences of various friends of mine, it seems that many city law firms behave like the biggest kind of shits, simply because they know they can rely on people not rocking the boat.

Yes, I think you need to ascertain all of the things you have suggested - but I also think that you should try and find out what these are BEFORE the meeting - otherwise they have all the power. If you can't do that, then just take them on board at the meeting and don't agree to anything. But also have a very good read of your contract - I would be surprised if you were on less than a few months notice, so they would still be obliged to pay you the September payment if you were working out your notice.

But do you know anyone in employment law? Or someone who does?

And, btw, I think you probably can spin the redundancy whatever happens. You wanted to work more in your area of specialism, that just wasn't happening in your current firm and that work wasn't around. So now you are looking.

it doesn't sound like you are technically redundant in the sense that redundancy means there's no job for you to do and if they follow this line then they can't recruit or promote anyone to replace you. It sounds much more like they have decided you don't "fit" for whatever reason and want you to leave. This should give you a reasonably strong negotiating position as far as money and references are concerned.

If you are worried about what future employers might think then consider asking them for a longer notice period during which you are still technically employed but not needing to go into the office. During that period you are able to apply for jobs/go to interviews without needing to even mention let alone explain the redundancy. As you will have agreed, as part of the negotiation, the wording of any future reference letter then the issue won't arise there either.

As others have said, redundancy is a fact of life for many people now - it's nothing to be ashamed of or worry about and if you're right for a job, no employer will care about the past.

Good luck

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right. you need to get legal advice. can't believe i am telling a lawyer that! i can recommend someone if you don't know anyone in the field. first off, they can't just march you out of the building. there is a "consultation" period first which starts when you are officially informed that your position may be made redundant (remember it's the position that's redundant, not you) - that could be what monday's meeting will make clear to you. during the consultation period you will have the opportunity to look for another position inside the firm. if you don't have another position lined up at the end of the consultation period, your notice period will start. at the end of your notice period you will be paid your redundancy settlement. given your situation, i.e. just returned from mat leave, the position is very sensitive and i would expect them to be quite generous.

i speak as someone who has recently gone through redundancy and come out the other side, not as a lawyer. i can't emphasise enough how important it is to get good legal advice. oh, and try and get them to give you outplacement consultancy services as part of the deal - they're really helpful with stuff like how to present the redundancy on your cv or to your next potential employer. "exit statement" they call it - really, really important to get this right.

btw - i've now got a better job with more money and have kept a degree of flexible working to boot, and all this with a pretty generous pay off - so you know it's not necessarily the end of the world! i'm delighted with the result

am happy to answer any other questions if i can.

lisalisa redunency can be a good thing, you get months of tax free salary, all bonus's paid and time to find a new jo b. I bought a car last time

Good luck. IT IS NOT SACKING I PORMISE

sorry to hear this, ll.

Oh no Lisa! No no no! Is this the same firm you worked for before going on mat leave? As i recall, there is along history of them treating you poorly. (i.e. channeling your work to other people)

I thought you were going to work from home after you had your DS?

I sooo feel for you. I wish I could help, but I don't know what I can do. Have you still got a nanny?

As for redundancy periods, I think that they can ask you to clear your desk on the day and go, but they will have to pay you out for whatever your notice period is.

My (novice) advice for Monday's meeting is do a lot of nodding, take a lot of notes. In fact take a recorder and ask to record the meeting. But, say very little. don't agree to anything. Tell them you need some time to digest this rather unexpected information.

And get your CV out there as fast as you can.

Bossykate, you appear to know more than i do. I thought the consultancy period was if they were laying off a fair number of people. Is that not true? Do they have to do this for one person?

Dh was made redundant last year - he had to make all the staff under him redundant and was then made redundant himself - the consultancy period was because more than a certain number of people were affected - not sure how long or if there is a consultancy period if only one person made redundant.
In dh's firm the staff were given a letter saying that they were 'at risk' of redundancy - at this point they were all escorted from the building and had to remain at home on full pay until the end of the 'consultancy period' when they had to return work laptops/phones etc, and were then on paid leave in lieu of notice, also got paid in lieu of any un-taken holiday. As a result of this dh was on full pay, but at home and available to job hunt for almost 3 months.
His redundancy package was tax-free (which makes a big difference when you are on higher rate tax)
Good luck Lisalisa.

consultancy is for when it's more than 20 people over a 90 period I'm afraid

90 DAY period I mean

Lisa, get yourself an employment lawyer PDQ before Monday. You have the right to be accompanied in that meeting, IIRC, so get the lawyer or someone else to come in with you, even if it is only to take notes. Don't agree to anything straight off, just say you'll think about it and come back to them. You need to negotiate your reference/exit statement carefully so it makes you look good in your line of work. What would impress you if you were taking someone else on at your own level? Get them to say that!

HTH (have been redundant and made other people redundant it stinks but is not the end of the world, honest).

Oh, and big law firms can be amonst the most crap, breaking the law themselves employers, so even more reason to get yourself a good lawyer.

Has anyone else had a letter? This "proposal" to make you redundant may be the consulting process, it is good practice to do this no matter how many people you are making redundant.

You are not necessarily entitled to your notice period tax tree (depends on whether you have a Pilon clause in your contract but too long to get into here) but your redunancy payment will definitely be tax free up to £30,000.

You will either be selected for redundancy (ie any numbre of people could go but they have chosen you) or your particular job could be made redundant. Either way you are entitled to ask for the selection criteria they used to decide, valid criteria are - transferable skills, length of service, sick record but as someone said NOT maternity leave or sickness due to pregnancy.

As you are dealing with solicitors you definitely need to take legal advice - I can recommend a firm if you need one.

My commiserations, it has happened to me (and others I'm sure) and it does make you feel sick. If its any consolation I've been made redundant twice - once voluntary once complusory and it hasn't affected my career (except to the extent that I'm nothing like as much of a workahoic now )

As someone who has very recently been made redundant while on maternity leave, I completely sympathise with you. Dealing with redundancy is a shock at any time but it's particularly difficult when you're still adjusting to life as a working mum.

On a practical front I can only support what bossykate and suejonez have said. If there are fewer than 20 people being made redundant your company has no duty to consult with you but it is good practice to do so and encouraged by all HR professionals I've come across. The consultation should explain what the reasons for redundancy are (cost savings, restructuring etc), why your role is at risk and what alternatives are on offer. You should be asked to contribute your thoughts and recommendations during this process.

First off though, make sure you have someone with you at your meeting - it doesn't have to be a solicitor but should be a reliable person who can take notes and make sure all the facts are recorded. In my experience, someone to offer moral support is just as good to begin with than someone who knows the law.

If you have any concern about being unfairly selected because of your maternity leave then do give the Equal Opps Commission a call - I found them to be very useful.

Now make sure you have a large glass of wine this evening!

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