Demotion with no consultation

[bluestar]

My dh has just been told that his 'role' is being demoted from a management position to an assistant position. He was just told that is what is happening. Pay and conditions to stay the same but his previous assistant has been given a pay rise to reflect having same status as dh now. Obviously he now feels completely demotivated after working really hard for this new company. Aside from this, can his employer actually do this? Thanks for advice.

I would get some advice. He might have a case for constructive dismissal, ie they didn't sack him but made his position untenable. Depends on the circumstances, eg what has happened to his previous role, have they just sliced out that layer of management?

mrsflowerpot (we meet on another thread!) yes they have taken out his role. Previously they have taken out the same role within another department but they made this person redundant. Also, not long ago, they asked him to start work earlier (due to a change in their opening hours) however he said that he could only start earlier 2 out of 5 days due to childcare of our ds. Do you have any websites etc. that could help with this one? Thanks

yes indeed we do!

You could have a look at dti website where they have good info on employment rights. There's also this one which is one of ACAS' sites. Otherwise, give the CAB a call or a solicitor if you have a friendly one, that's the only way you'll get advice for your individual situation, although it's handy to know what your basic rights are.

There has been a lot of legislation recently about rights of parents to flexible working, so if they are using that against him then they could be on dodgy ground.

Thanks

this is the bit on the dti website about constructive dismissal:

Constructive dismissal

A tribunal may rule that an employee who resigns because of conduct by his or her employer has been 'constructively dismissed'.

For a tribunal to rule in this way the employer's action has to be such that it can be regarded as a significant breach of the employment contract indicating that he or she intends no longer to be bound by one or more terms of the contract: an example of this might be where the employer arbitrarily demotes an employee to a lower rank or poorer paid position. The contract is what has been agreed between the parties, whether orally or in writing, or a combination of both, together with what must necessarily be implied to make the contract workable.

Bluestar, I'm really sorry that your husband is having to cope with this - it must be really demotivating. If he is thinking about leaving and claiming constructive unfair dismissal, it is important that he acts quickly otherwise he could be deemed to have 'accepted' the change in status. Has he been with the company for any length of time? as redundancy entitlement is based on length of service and age, if he has less than two years with the company, he will not be entitled to any statutory redundancy pay.

Please try and see someone for more advice as soon as possible - the employment law specialists at local law centres and citizens advice bureau are a good start. Also, if there are any employment law specialist solicitors nearby, you should be able to get half an hours free advice from them too.

Oh Bluestar, sorry to hear about that. It looks like the same is about to happen to my DH but he works for the UN and they are a law unto themselves so there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. However, in the real world I'm not sure if you can do anything in your situation either. Afterall if his pay and conditions stay the same other than a title change what has actually happened - although I do of course realise that it is totaly demoralising and demotivating for him. Sorry, that sounds a bit harsh, I really don't mean to be. It's a horrible situation to be in

Thanks, have read some more about it and he is unlikely to resign over it anyway as he quite likes the job, however, his employers know little about employment law and it is more to frighten them a little into accepting what they did was wrong. The main thing is that they changed his role without consulting him and have reduced his title to a lower rank which apparently is a breach of contract! Also they told his assistant about the change before even telling dh which is out of order anyway IMO. There have been no reasons provided and other people still exist in the same role within the company so he can angle for a 'personal' reason for the change i.e. discrimination for refusal to change his hours due to childcare.

Albert, not harsh at all, and like you am realistic about what does actually happen in these situations! More about not being pushed around and not consulted. Also they are a family-orientated business so not good press!

He is going to request a meeting today to discuss his feelings and mention a few key words, but not those of going for constructive dismissal.

Thanks all.

Oh and one more thing, humiliation is a reason for claiming constructive dismissal.

Hope he gets the meeting, he should definately go well armed with information, it could shock his employers into doing something if he knows more about employment law than they do.