Redundancy

[Limewine]

A friend's ds is being made redundant from a national charity - they have given him 4 months notice but they will not pay any redundancy payments because they have offered him a similar job in another part of the country and he doesn't want to relocate.

Just checking this is correct and he isn't entitled to any payments.

It depends on what his contract of employment says op, if it speaks to them being able to move his work to other locations then it’s ok. If it doesn’t then it is down to how long would his commute be if he stayed living in his current location.

In addition how long has he been there.

Thanks Bluntness. He's been a manager who travels to fill in for others when they are ill or on holiday etc- but it's always been on the basis of living in his home town and claiming travel expenses - relocating permanently feels very different. He's been there about 5 years. Not sure about his contract though.

Hey, sorry I can’t help further unless you can say distance of the new job and also contract. The answer at this stage is yes it could be totally legal. It might not be. You aren’t providing enough info. Sorry.

Depends on his contract as PP said. But if he disagrees that this is a suitable alternative vacancy he could appeal the move on that basis and claim he is redundant. If his appeal fails only an employment tribunal can decide what's right.

It also needs to start within 4 weeks of his old job ending, and he should have a trial period too.

Get him to speak to ACAS - he will need his contract in front of him

Thanks everyone for your help - I'll pass on your advice.

A lot of employment law comes down to ‘reasonableness’, so even if there is a location clause in his contract he may be able to argue that it isn’t reasonable to offer him a job a long distance away, and that it isn’t therefore a suitable alternative vacancy and he should be made redundant instead.
Is he actually contractually entitled to 4 months notice though? If they’re just giving 4 months as a goodwill gesture then he may actually be better off with 4 months notice than a redundancy payment which is likely to be small unless he’s been there for a long time.
As others have said, ACAS is a good place for advice, or a union.

Don't forget that statutory redundancy is not an enormous amount. It's capped at £544 per week and you get 1 week per full year of service if 22-41, and 1.5 if over 41. So assuming your friend has completed 5yrs there and is over 41 they'd get £3,264. Not a small amount, and not to be sniffed at, but it wouldn't last long. The 4m now is best spent looking for his next role.

@nutellamagnet that's useful - I think he'd probably be better just getting another job rather than hanging on for a payment anyway - much easier to get a job when you're in a job.

@Limewine

Thanks Bluntness. He's been a manager who travels to fill in for others when they are ill or on holiday etc- but it's always been on the basis of living in his home town and claiming travel expenses - relocating permanently feels very different. He's been there about 5 years. Not sure about his contract though.

I would be very surprised if he has a contract that means he needs to relocate to another part of the country at the employer’s convenience. Mobility clauses in contracts are usually fairly restricted in geographical terms.

So I think there is a good chance that this is unlawful. Is the four months his contractual notice period anyway?

Is the four months his contractual notice period anyway? I doubt it, he's low level management.

I would be very surprised if he has a contract that means he needs to relocate to another part of the country at the employer’s convenience

But the ops not confirmed how far away it is. It could be an hours commute for all we know.

Is the four months his contractual notice period anyway? I doubt it, he's low level management.

So if he pushes for redundancy, he’ll need to keep in mind that he may forfeit the extended notice period, which may or may not be more important to him than the redundancy pay. Just something to consider.

@Bluntness100

I would be very surprised if he has a contract that means he needs to relocate to another part of the country at the employer’s convenience

But the ops not confirmed how far away it is. It could be an hours commute for all we know.

I don’t know sorry, was just told it was too far. I don’t want to go prying - I’m sure it’s still all a bit raw and we can’t have the conversation face to face - which would be easier. I have suggested they contact Acad for advice.

That’s the thing though op. Too far could be many things, from an hour and a half away to 800 miles.