Is this legal? PLEASE HELP IF YOU KNOW EMPLOYMENT LAW!!!

[trickynicky]

Please bear with me -it's complex but we are desperate....DH came back from work last night in a state. He's been at the same place for 2.5 years in a senior finance role, reporting to a Director, who reports to the MD. He had an informal (there is no formal) appraisal a couple of weeks ago with his immediate boss (L) who was very happy and said she was recommending him for a payrise and a bonus payable at the end of March. He heard nothing since about it but we've been hoping for good news in the next pay cheque. HOWEVER, yesterday he was visited by one of the other senior directors (J) (a good guy who he is friendly with) who told him he'd been called into a meeting with the MD out of the blue and asked to "chat" with a man who had come for an interview for an interview. When asked what the job entailed, he described my husband's job!! So, J says it looks to him like the MD is interviewing to replace my husband! L is actually leaving anyway as she resigned a while ago and is leaving end of March. My husband thinks they've decided to replace both of them with one person. The MD is renowned for this kind of underhand activity. He's entirely capable of doing this.

Surely this is illegal!?? If they had cause to fire my DH they would have done and he wouldn't have had a good appraisal. My understanding is that if they want to make him redundant, they have to go through consultation? Surely they can't try and find a replacement BEFORE doing that??

PLEASE HELP. We are very upset and concerned. We are totally reliant on DH's money. He is on a 3 month notice period - would he have to work it?? Could he ask for pay in lieu to give him time to try and find another job??

Any help really appreciated...thank you!!

ACAS would be a good place to go for advice. They have a helpline on 0300 123 1100.

Might it be that they're planning to promote DH into L's role when L leaves, so need to find a replacement for DH?

I'm no employement lawyer and I can totally understand why this is worrying for you but at this stage all he has heard from a 3rd party unofficially is that someone came for an interview for a job that sounds similar to his.
IF They DO decide to replace your DH for any reason he has been there longer than 2 years and so a process has to be followed and notice given.
Is he in a union? If not it might be worth joining today since if anything does happen it will be too late to get help by then

I think it's unlikely that they are firing him instead of giving him a promised bonus and payrise. I think BrokenBiscuit 's scenario is more likely.

He has two years continuous service so they can't just boot him out. Was there any written follow up to the positive appraisal? If not, your husband needs to summarise exactly what was said in it in a written note to HR, enquiringly about the raise. For gods sake don't go in all guns blazing when the most logical explanation is actually that they're going to promote him.

If they did want to replace him, there would need to be a compromise agreement which will deal with payments and handover / working notice / reference. Employer would contribute to legal fees for negotiations.

I thought the sae as Brokenbiscuits.

You need to get the facts as there are lots of assumptions but nothing is definite from the information your DH has.

I can understand your concern but he does need to gain clarity on the situation as there are any number of possible permutations at this stage to be able to guide on the legalities of it all.

Unless he is on a fixed term contract, they can't just let him go. They either have to fire him for something serious that would warrant gross misconduct or they would have to make him redundant.

I think you are both jumping the gun here. Wait until you have more facts before you do anything. All you have heard, as a PP said, is a third hand report of an interview. It could be he will be promoted, you never know. Wait and see.

He has two years service so has full employee rights and they would have to take him through a legal process to dismiss. They couldn't make him redundant and then fill his role immediately.

Agree with the above.

And yes, get him to join a union tomorrow. As long as he joins he can get help if he needs it.

You don't need to be in a poorly paid or public sector role to benefit from union membership.

OP also says he's in a senior finance role. Is he a member of CIMA or ACCA or similar. They can also assist their members similar to a union I think?

While employment law is there to protect employees, ultimately an employer can do what they want and risk the consequences (ie a tribunal).

I honesty would hold back for the moment as its unconfirmed, you must try not to worry. They would need to consult if it were a redundancy and the notice period would either be worked by your husband if he was made redundant or they would pay him in lieu. That would be the employers choice.

I thought the same as BrokenBiscuits.

"at this stage all he has heard from a 3rd party unofficially is that someone came for an interview for a job that sounds similar to his."

Exactly. Presumably he asked about it when he went to work yesterday? What was he told?

Youd have thought that if the DH was going to be promoted he was already a key employee and therefore would have been involved in the future plans, including finding his replacement, a lot sooner than this. They wouldnt want to risk upsetting him.

But very little surprises me about some of the crazy management logic you find in organisations!

For good practice I would be wanting to make sure my good appraisal was in writing and signed off before my manager left. I would also ask HR about the pay rise and then wait to see what came next.