No HR and we are all in a panic! Any advice welcomed

[Pomollo]

I work for a small office of 6 people and have done for many many years, the company is set up to facilitate the career of one person (our boss)

We all work really well as a a team no real hierarchy and feed back to our boss regularly as they travel a lot.

For many many years that’s worked really well and we’ve supported them through so many amazing projects and although it’s stressful we all love our varied jobs and see the team as an extended family.

only in the last year things have gone from bad to worse. Their personal life is in flux and it feels like they are taking it out on the working team, they now threaten to fire us whenever things are getting stressful, they forget important conversations when we review projects and accuse us of not being thorough even though we have the evidence to show otherwise.

I used to love my job 😔

but we don’t have HR available so I’m really at a loss as to know what my rights are if they decide on a whim to fire us all and close the business. It might just be a threat but even that is bad enough.

I’m so stressed out I can’t sleep with the thought of what Monday morning will bring

advice gratefully received

I went back to work aged 43, took professional quals and started a new career. You have 23 years ahead of you.

Can you take the entire team and set up a consultancy business doing the same thing for other people??

Dealing with a difficult boss is all about learning how to manage them. They've obviously changed, so use the things they moan to you about as ways to change your working. They forget conversations you've had? Follow up any important decision with an email. "Further to our meeting today, I confirm the team will do A, B and C".

Any employment contract you have is important, but don't forget the law always trumps it.

There are strict requirements as to how to dismiss staff or make them redundant and if they don't follow them, you can take them to the cleaners for wrongful dismissal. If anyone has been there less than 2 years, that doesn't make a difference - wrongful dismissal has no minimum term of employment.

At 45, having worked there for 20 years at least you're entitled to 22 weeks pay under the redundancy rules, capped at £700 per week.

If you want specifics based on your details - https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay

Of course I’ve been doing this. It just feels so grey as it’s quite an informal situation

I think ACAS is the best route for advice

Employment rights can be very black and white - in your case it sounds like the business could be failing if the Director has lost interest. You could sit it out as you have long service so would get a redundancy payment or start to find something else as soon as possible.

Still probably plenty of transferrable skills (like being able to work really well in a team)
Obviously it depends what the industry is, but your experience will count for a lot.

Old? At 45? You do realise you have at least 23 working years left?

I know people who've started degrees for a new career at 45.

I think that job has aged you before your time.

HR here. I don’t think you understand what that means.

HR protects the company by making sure employment law is followed. This means making sure company bosses don’t break employment law and end up at tribunal. This usually means protecting the employees’ rights.

Very condescending reponse.

I do understand that protecting the company means making sure they comply with employment law. This is the bare minimum of what an employee should expect. Just because something is legal doesn't make it fair or right.

Nothing I have said is untrue. And your answer only serves to fuel the same misinformation that I was trying to dispell.

LOL, HR are there only to protect the company.
Month two in probation period told I am doing fine and so on. Just cross over in your permanent contract. Probation review - completely the opposite, with accusations about my work I never heard of, etc etc

I have learnt to honestly not trust anyone out of my family circle and I trust the family circle because they have proven themselves.