Employer wants me to voluntarily leave but I would like to be made redundant- can I legally ask for this?

[Daffodilsonthewindowsill]

I have worked the same job for the last 4.5 years.
Its only very part time, 9 hours per week in total, spread over 2 days but as I am a carer for my mother and have some chronic health issues myself (never affects my work), these hours and the nature of the job suit me well. I also rely on the money as it pays for things for my dc etc, so the money is needed.

The job is as a Personal Assistant for a disabled person. There is no personal care involved and to date the job involves driving this person to their sports club twice a week. I drop them off, come back home and wait for 4 hours then drive back and collect them. The sports club is over an hours drive away and an hours drive back.

My contract, which was written up when I started this job in 2019, states 9 hours per week with occasionally flexibility required. I have been more than flexible over the years as they have changed my working hours and days a few times now with minimal notice but I have always obliged.

So I went to work yesterday to be told that they no longer wish to go to the sports club and have found a social club they wish to now go to twice a week in our local town. They have said this means my hours will halve. They have given me the option of accepting the new hours (and subsequent half pay) or I can leave if this is not suitable for me. They start this new club next week.

I am not happy with either of these options tbh.

As far as I am concerned, I am contracted to work 9 hours and am and always have been available to work those hours. I appreciate they can chose to do whatever they wish with their lives but as an employer I feel that they have broken their terms of contract (I have just spoken with ACAS and they confirmed this to be true). I have done nothing wrong here and have worked to the contacted agreement.

The last thing I want to do is fall out with them or leave on bad terms as we’ve always gotten on well but I really want to ask them to make me redundant or similar.

Is this something I can ask them to do? Is that within my entitlement as an employee now faced with half contracted hours and pay? I forgot to ask ACAS this.

Things change in all kinds of jobs, but if you are made redundant after 2 years of employment you do qualify for redundancy.

I think you’re being really unethical personally.

Has she been made redundant though? It's a change of hours and the role is still available. I don't understand why it's redundancy? Genuinely interested in an answer here as I am studying my CIPD. Is it due to the scale of the change?

For the people saying op is being unreasonable, would you happily accept the choice of halving your working hours or resigning from your job?

If that happened in mine, I would expect a redundancy offer. Just because it's a personal care role, doesn't mean op doesn't have the same rights as anyone else with a contract that includes fixed working hours.

@Krustykrabpizza

But the role isn't still available, a role is still available, but its a different role to the one in op's contract.

@Krustykrabpizza yes, it's the scale of the change that renders the role redundant.

Unethical to want to be treated fairly and legally by your employer?

Or do carers not deserve the same minimum rights as everyone else?

You are correct, you are entitled to redundancy. Your employer should seek guidance from the organisation that manages their direct payments. It varies from area to area. It might be independent lives, peopleplus or the district council. If you go back to your employment contract, who drafted that? That organisation can advise your employer of the legalities of the situation. You are employed and they will need to either make you redundant or give you notice in accordance with your contract of employment. Regardless of where the funds come from, you are an employee, they are an employer and employment law stands.

Thank you - I knew there was something from the original post that wasn't in here, and I think you have hit it on the head. There was something about flexibility written into the contract - I can't recall exactly what - but that made a possible big difference and the OP has left that out of this thread.

There are some misunderstandings on this thread:

1. the OP is a PA and not a carer - they are very differnt things
2. the OP appears to be an employee so whether they should be treated as one is not up for opinion - they have employment rights (assuming that is an employment contract)
3. there is currently no clear evidence that this is definitely a redundancy situation - it may be, or it may not be. We don't decide that anyway, and neither does the OP - an employment tribunal does.

What the OP needs to do is engage - they cannot criticise the employer for not, perhaps, fully understanding their responsibilities as an employer, when the OP is not taking on board their own responsibilities as an employee either. Whether they are aware of it or not, the employer has consulted (by the OP's own admission) by saying that they were thinking about x, y and z. It seems the OP didn't respond to that so they went ahead and made a decision, which has resulted in an offer of a variation of contract. This may, or may not, be deemed a suitable alternative if this went to a tribunal - not one person here is capable of saying either way because it in't us who makes that judgement, which would be based on the full facts and on both sides of the story. If that is where this goes though, then it is going to be a long wait until there is a tribunal because cases are generally taking many months to reach hearings. They may, alternatively, get offered a settlement before then. But they also may not. Either way, at that stage the relationship and the reference is history. Which may or may not matter to the OP. But none of this is about emotions, it is about law. And law is not based on a few facts presented by one person. It is also not based on that person not taking their own responsibilities on board. The OP must talk to the employer first, and it would seem that the only person they haven't spoken to is the employer. You start there, not on public forums or ACAS. Escalate if you must. But if you want, as the OP stated originally, to resolve this simply and without fall out, then you talk to your employer.

Found it. It was three weeks ago at least that the employer discussed this change with you, your contract says that the role is flexible hours and you have already had changes to your hours in the past, so it is a known term of the contract. There may be a question around mutual agreement of changing hours - but that term will be very pertinent, especially given the role as a PA, because if you are saying that you aren't agreeing to changes that could, depending on the overall contract, be a frustration of contract rather than redundancy because it is you not agreeing to your role of being a (flexible) personal assistant to someone elses life.

I said at the time it wasn't straightforward, and it still isn't.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/work/4808693-can-my-employer-keep-changing-my-working-dayshours-or-cut-them-back

I wouldn't pursue a disabled person, who had been a good employer to me for years, for the sake of a few hundred pounds.

Their needs changed, they gave you notice and an opportunity to change with them. I don't think you've been mistreated.

If the job has suited you I would put my effort into parting on the best of terms and keeping the door open. They may rehire you some day when their needs change again, or recommend you to a friend or provide you with a reference.

All of which will have a higher financial value to you than a few hundred pounds and a burnt bridge.

I don't think an employee should have to take on the emotional burden of considering their employer's circumstances when asserting their legally protected employment rights. "A few hundred pounds" could make all the difference to OP and their family.

Assuming they are actually owed anything. YOu are correct that an employee should not be emotionally blackmailed into giving up their rights - but equally they shouldn't assert rights they think they have unless they are cetain they have them. We can't be certain.

Surely the employee asserts the rights they believe they have, and the employer checks their legal obligations if they disagree?

I am feeling increasingly impatient with posts that suggest because the OP's employer is disabled, the latter shouldn't have to follow the law. This view is patronising and offensive. Disabled people should be held to the same legal obligations as non-disabled people.

And I say that as someone with autism.

We should have equal responsibilities in return for equal rights.

After 4.5 years you have more rights.

Call ACAS and get proper advice on how to proceed. Your employer cannot just change your contracted hours by half and tell you to quit if you don't like it.

Phone ACAS right away because you may have to take them to a tribunal.

Obviously op didn't get the answers she liked on that thread so is trying again by leaving out pertinent information.