Redundancy/No Consultation..Something isn't right.

[MrsVogon]

I'm wondering if someone can answer this for me: I've been working for the same charity for 11 years and although there were murmurings of possible redundancy, I have not been consulted officially at all. Yesterday I was taken into a meeting and told I am being made redundant and given my notice period.

To put it into context, there are 2 of us running the charity with Trustees overseeing governance. My boss has been employed for 19 years and over the past year, she has said she is looking to retire in 2021. She organised a meeting with our Chair of Trustees earlier in the year to advise of her intention to retire in 2021, they asked her for a specific date, to which she then back tracked and said she was not confirming retirement...yet.

With regards to our charity's future, I think there are options going forward which I haven't had the chance to voice as part of a consultation. I cannot prove it, but I think my boss has maneuvered to push for the charity to fold, making us both redundant, rather than she retire...as she will get a payout for her 20 years of employment. Their redundancy payment to me is above the statutory amount, however putting that aside I believe I've been the sacrificial lamb and she benefits totally from the redundancy.

My questions are:
Should I have had the right to a consultation?

Is it not a conflict of interest that my boss has been vocal about retiring, yet as soon as there was a hint there could be a redundancy process, she has engineered it for it to happen?

Is it right that as an employee, she has in effect, influenced the Trustee's decision to fold the charity rather than look at alternative solutions?

Should I be getting someone to look at this in legal terms? Or is it just a suck it up situation as I have no concrete proof she has engineered all of this to her gain.

I'm sure someone will come along with much better expertise than I do, but having been made redundant twice in the last 4 years, I think I remember that a company only has to consult when it is over 30 people (or possibly a percentage of employees). But the gov.uk website will have the actual advice so do have a look.

Sorry you're having to go through this :(

Ah, I was wrong - the gov.uk website says "If your employer is making up to 19 redundancies, there are no rules about how they should carry out the consultation. If they’re making 20 or more redundancies at the same time, the collective redundancy rules apply."

www.gov.uk/redundancy-your-rights/consultation

@Sparticle thank you and I'm sorry you have also been through the same. Yes I have wondered whether that be the case re: the collective amount of people and consultation.

I just thought that after 11 years of employment and in such a small concern, they would have been more considerate.

I'm guessing that in such a small charity, you won't have a union or full HR department, but if I were in your place, I'd check my insurance for legal cover or perhaps see whether the Charity Commission has something? Are the a member of a professional body? These organisations probably won't be able to give you advice but they might point you in the right area. ACAS might also have something on their website.

Sorry again :(

@Sparticle

I'm guessing that in such a small charity, you won't have a union or full HR department, but if I were in your place, I'd check my insurance for legal cover or perhaps see whether the Charity Commission has something? Are the a member of a professional body? These organisations probably won't be able to give you advice but they might point you in the right area. ACAS might also have something on their website.

Sorry again :(

You are right...no HR dept and not a member of a professional body either. I will have a look on the Charity Commission website along with ACAS too..thanks for that! I'm also about to talk to a friend who owns a small company himself and out of courtesy, consulted with his 5 members of staff for solutions. Thankfully they haven't been made redundant as they all took pay cuts - which is something I would have suggested.

I really wish people didn’t try to give advice who don’t understand the law.

COLLECTIVE consultation obligations don’t apply unless there are mass redundancies, but individual consultation rules absolutely do. If you are an employee, with continuous service over two years and no consultation has taken place, then you have been (procedurally) unfairly dismissed. If the redundancy situation is genuine then you might not get a great deal of compensation, but if it isn’t then it’s potentially worth bringing a claim.

If the charity is genuinely about to go under then the difficulty will come in trying to pursue a claim against them. However I would wait until you have it in writing and then take legal advice - or you can bring a claim yourself. The first step is to to through ACAS early conciliation.

Assuming they pay your notice and redundancy pay then you’d probably just be looking to claim future loss of earnings.

That's why I posted the OP to the gov.uk guidance @MrsPinkCock - and also clearly stated that I wasn't talking from a place of expertise...

Whilst it may not change the outcome I would write to the Trustees etc. setting out your ideas.

Make it clear you really want to continue as you value the work the charity does. Also explain how the charity can remain financially viable both during and post Covid 19.

Following up on this. I have spoken to ACAS today and they have confirmed the redundancy process has not been followed properly at all. I will have to put in an Appeal which the Trustees will then have to respond to and take it from there.

I know their reasoning for not following the due process is that the funds remaining may not cover the redundancy total they wanted to give as it is a bit higher than the statutory. So I could take the money they have offered and not appeal, but the principle of the matter is they have not followed the process properly.