First time poster my daughter is a regular and told me that you are kind people and can advise me.
I will try to keep this short, I am 59 and have worked for my employer for 30 years, my job is that of account exec for a packaging company, I have 1 client but it is over a third of the companies business, my role is different to the other AEs as I manage my clients stock levels and it is (within reason) my decision what to print, when to print and how much to print, I have my own dedicated press and have more technical input than other AEs
5 years ago my company took over another company and moved all the office staff onto another site, I stayed behind as I need to be onsite, now due to costs and that fact that there have been redundancies it has been decided all office staff will come back to the main site and that will happen from tomorrow.
I was aware that there is a customer services manager but I have never had any dealings with her, my line manager has always been the production manager and he takes over the account when I am on holiday ( I have never been off sick but would report any sickness to him if I ever was)
A week before Christmas the CSM sent me an email basically saying that another AE would be taking over my account and that I would be assigned a few smaller accounts and this will happen from Monday when I would start training xxxxx and not to tell the client as the CSM and xxxxx would be visiting the client to introduce themselves sometime in Jan. The new accounts are very small and can be absorbed into other peoples work with no difficulty.
I printed out the email and am glad I did, there was an email trail which included a conversation between the CSM and HR too long to post but basically the CSM was asking HR if there was a way of getting rid of me as and I quote 'I don't want to have to work with some old bag who has been here for donkeys years and will be set in her ways' HR told her to be careful as there are implications in making someone my age and with my years of service redundant and they wouldn't be able to replace me BUT she would back her up in any decisions she made.
I instigated a meeting with the MD who at first told me he didn't get involved in account management, when I showed him the email he went a bit white, I also told him that I cant train xxxxxxx until the client has been informed as I have to get onto the clients data base and had to sign a confidentiality clause with them, the only other person who can use their systems ie the production manager has also had to sign a CC therefore we risk losing the client if their conditions are not met. I was polite and firm but said I believed that I am a victim of age discrimination and I was being set up for possibly redundancy and that I am quite prepared to take the matter further if need be.
Just before I left work on 23/12 I had a phone call from the production manager who was furious, he has told the MD we WILL lose the client, there will be a meeting on Monday with him, the CSM and the MD and he will be pushing for me to be a part of his production team rather than the customer service team so I wont have to work for the CSM
I love my job I don't want to lose it, but if things cant be resolved I may have to quit before I am forced out, if I do will I have a case for age discrimination and constructive dismissal.
Sorry this is so long but wanted to get the facts down