Request to reduce hours due to health during a redundancy consultation

[1984isnow]

I am asking on behalf of my dp who has chronic pain (undiagnosed reason), any advice would be appreciated.

Dp has been ill for 6 years. 3ish years ago his department was tuped from in house to another company to be outsourced.
When he was in house, he had gone through occupational health when he became ill, there weren't any 'official' changes at the time other than lighter duties.

The company he works for now (still the same site) has a rota basis to ensure sites are covered during operational hours. His work duties can be covered at anytime during the shift, so no particular deadlines. The employer has more of a 'bums on seats' priority.

With his current employer, he has never officially gone through OH. I assume his records will have been transferred over during tupe, but he hasn't had any follow ups. He hasn't really needed to. His management are aware of health issues though.

Recently his condition is getting worse, and we've talked about him requesting a reduction in hours, he is thinking going from 40 to 35 over 5 days. His current shifts include an hour lunch, he would also request to reduce this to 30 min (so his early shift would go from 7-4 to 7-2.30)
He wouldn't lose too much in pay, but the early finish makes a massive difference.
He has left early quite a few times recently, and though it's not a magic cure it does take the pressure off managing his condition slightly.

Last week he was told his dept is due to go through redundancy consultation, so they will be looking at offering him an alternative position/site at some point.

With all this in mind, is a reduction in hours classed as a reasonable adjustment and is it a good idea to discuss during consultation? Would he be eligible(?) to request RA straight away, as he hasn't gone through the offical channels since TUPE.

Based on his current site and rota, working 7 hours a day wouldn't result in a loss of cover/ completed duties, his bosses have been fine with him leaving early on occasion, but obviously we don't know what alternative position might offer him.

Sorry it's long, hopefully I have included all the relevant information. Thanks in advance

I don't know the answer here, but I do know that we have a department where nearly everyone works a 4-day week, which goes back some years, and meant no one was actually made redundant at the time they were at risk. Is there any chance going part-time could save a redundancy? I assume it will depend how much they want to reduce number. If he were offered redundancy, would he take it? If they asked him to reduce hours further how low could he go before it wouldn't be feasible for you?

I don't know the answers about requesting RA and so on, but I think you need to consider the possible different options - redundancy, reused hours, change of site - if a different site meant a much longer commute, that could negate any reduction in hours. At which points would your DH have to say no? You don't need to tell them at this point, but know for yourself.

I hope someone else will come along who has a better idea of the legal position.

Thanks EBearHug didn't think about the commute and if they wanted to reduce further.

With the redundancy, he thinks it's unlikely he will actually be made redundant, rather relocated but somewhere in the vicinity (so he has been informally told).

His employer has various clients who have lots of sites, and they provide facilities, security, health and safety etc for them. The consultation has come about because this client (dps ex employer) isn't renewing the contract with them.

They do have other clients in the area providing similar services though, not sure about working hours. He'd be unlikely to take redundancy if a suitable position can be offered, as he'd rather stay in continuous employment.

He hasn't had anything formal just yet, they think the consultations will start next month. Based on his current rota, working less days wouldn't work, due to the way days off are arranged, unless they rejigged the whole rota. He thinks by offering to still work over 5 days, it might be better for the employer as they won't have to make many changes to cover. Though he would be flexible to their suggestions of course (a whole other thread but he is just desperate for some relief, and reducing hours is a last resort as medically we're not getting anywhere)

He would probably go as low as 30 hours so we're still ok financially.
We're unsure whether he should put in a request now or wait until consultation, and whether it needs to go through OH first.

Sorry it's so wordy, it's never straightforward is it

Is he registered disabled?

Someone has to be made redundant, this is the point of the program, and annòncing he is unable to do the role, at this point could be detrimental, even if they never admit that was their reason, but why would they keep him over someone who could do the job as requested. Does he have unique skills or experience?

Leaving early means they are down a person during that time. Is he ok with being made redundant? I know it's not his preference, but if it came to it, would he be ok with it?

He would get a bigger redundancy pay out if he stays on his normal hours

Does he want to volunteer for voluntary redundancy ?

If in UK look www.gov.uk to look up statutory redundancy payout. Although his employer may offer more

He could then claim contributions based universal credit, however this would probably not be much money

Do you have income protection insurance ?

Do you rent or own property ?

If it's a choice of redundancy or stay full time, he would rather stay in employment and muddle through. He doesn't want to be unemployed.

The details are still vague, but if they considered his total employment before tupe, he would still 'only' get around 2 months pay. Which of course is better than nothing, but not worth losing employment rights and benefits over.

Due to the company set up, it's unlikely he would actually be made redundant, they would most likely just move him to a new site. I've spotted today they're recruiting for similar positions, for a different site.

In terms of his skill/exp, he has 15 years in the industry, and in this employment in particular he has done very well, saved a lot of money, has had good results, his site has performed well during various audits, which come under his remit. I would hope they value him enough and consider this during consultation.

No income protection insurance, and the house is in my name from before we got together.

He isn't registered disabled, as in he doesn't claim pip.

If he happens to be made redundant, I don't think it would take him long to find a job with another company, but his illness is very unpredictable, and with no diagnosis, is difficult to manage. His current employers are understanding and flexible with time off, as he is flexible with their requirements too, so he wouldn't like to lose that in a new job.

It sounds like its better to wait out the consultation and if he gets another position then consider the request once the dust settles.

To be fair that would be the safest option op. Seldom does a company move to redundancy if they don't plan to actually make anyone redundant. They would simply offer redeployment.