They don't want me - but won't make me redundant

[Northernlass99]

I work for the NHS. The work my team of 4 does is no longer wanted by my trust. We have been left to rust away for a few months now. I have been told a management of change is coming. Really they should make us redundant if they don't want us, but that is highly unlikely as it will cost a fortune. So they will fudge it somehow.

I would love redundancy but suspect I will be offered an inappropriate post elsewhere. How can I argue for redundancy, or protect myself. Can they move me to a job I don't want or put me in a fixed term job (that will then expire)?

I'm not sure @Northernlass99 - in order to protect yourself as much as possible, you should read the Trusts change management policy and look up the relevant info on the ACAS website. Are you a member of a union? They could be really helpful if so.

You definitely need union help on this.

is there any suitable roles in the trust?

Agree with @LuckOfTheDrawer. If they do put you in a fixed term role, you will still be eligible for a redundancy payment due to your continuous service from your current role.

You cannot force them to make you redundant.

An employer can only change your role without your consent if the contract specifically allows them to do so and the change is reasonable. So, to use a non-NHS example, someone employed as a software developer can be moved to a different software development team, but they can't be moved into a sales role.

If you are a permanent employee, they can't get rid of you by putting you on a fixed term contract.

Thanks for the intel about moving to a fixed term role. I had heard this is how trusts are getting around redundancy but it seems that might be illegal or untrue.

I am in the union but they seem to be a bit powerless. I will definitely be contacting them for advice. I guess the most likely option is they will move us into different jobs - I am just not sure there is anything appropriate or that I want to do. I'd much rather make the case for redundancy but I would be expensive to get rid of.

Recently a few senior staff have had bad experiences where they have been 'offered the opportunity to leave with dignity' rather than go through a complicated process, which again is illegal but the trust don't really seem to care about that!

Whether giving someone the opportunity to "leave with dignity" is illegal depends on what happens. It is completely legal for the trust to offer an employee a settlement agreement whereby the employee receives a sum of money in return for leaving the trust and giving up their right to take the trust to Employment Tribunal. I can't speak for the NHS, but that is quite common elsewhere.

There should be explicit guidelines around what type of roles are considered acceptable redeployment where redundancy doesn't have to be offered.

I know this as our company has recently changed the terms to be "unsuitable but with offer of training" and we're trying to challenge it at the moment.

Areas we're challenging on include change to type of contract, work flexibility and location, role seniority and role scope. We're not certain to be successful on the flexibility and location, and role scope is very difficult to pin down unless it is somewhere with different required qualifications e.g. an accountant suddenly required to know programming languages.

If they offer you suitable alternative employment within the organisation this is a role that they seem appropriate for you ie same level, skills, location. If you decline this often you are therefore resigning.
however if they offer you ‘alternative’ employment this is a role that’s not suitable in terms of same terms ie different skills, location or pay. If you refuse this role you should still receive redundancy.
calling ACAS is a good shout!

Very helpful thank you, especially the definition of suitable alternatives.

@Northernlass99 make sure you have an up to date job description. This is a key document to establish if another role is a suitable match.