Got into work this morning to be called to the boardroom where I was told I was being made redundant. To give you some back story .....
Myself and my colleague were asked to set up a department back in 2010 to deal with issues arising from clients refusing to complete on their properties. We were extremely busy, so much so that in 2012, we found it necessary to employ an extra person full-time to help with the administration (I was working part-time).
In May last year, I underwent major surgery. During my recovery time, my colleague came to see me and said there was a new opportunity for me to work in the new Marketing department. She said it was perfect for me as I originally came from a marketing background and had even instrumental in setting up our original marketing database, and that my knowledge and experience were just what they needed. It was sold to me as my dream job. During my sick leave, I had reason to visit the office and found that my colleague and our assistant had been moved to a new part of the office where there were only two desks, so whether I wished to move to Marketing or not had already been assumed. But I was keen to get into the marketing side and knew that the department we originally set up did not have a long "shelf life" anyway so was glad of the opportunity.
So when I returned to work in July, I started in the Marketing department but found it was not the job I'd been promised. I was more of a data input clerk, with no chance to have more involvement. Unhappy with this situation, I informed my former work colleague who said I wasn't to leave and something would be sorted.
As of the beginning of this year, I moved to a different department (thanks to my work colleague's intervention) and had a varied administration role which I enjoyed. Only a few weeks ago, my work colleague took me to one side and explained that, as she was aware that there would soon be no need for the department set up back in 2010, she was looking to be involved with overseas sales and wanted me to come on board in terms of the marketing aspect. I was delighted. She said I would still be able to do the admin work I was doing as well as this new role if it took off.
Two weeks ago, I had to work from home two out of my three working days as my DD was ill. I had an email from my line manager on the second day, asking me to work on the Thursday as well as there was a lot of work on. This I did.
Then, out of the blue today, I was made redundant. The reasoning was that my former work colleague was taking on the work that I had been doing, therefore leaving me with no work. I wish to God I'd asked at the time what was happening about the overseas marketing situation but was honestly so gobsmacked that I couldn't think straight. I have been given what I believe to be a good pay-off but am slightly stunned as to what to do next?
I have been in touch with Tax Credits to inform them I'm now unemployed but beyond that, I'm clueless. Someone has said I should go for unfair dismissal but I'm not entirely sure and don't want to make any knee-jerk decisions as I'm still in a state of shock. I'd been there over fifteen years and never once imagined this would happen.