Lost my job today, completely out of the blue

[789pm]

I can't wrap my head around it. Today was a normal work day... I was in the middle of working on various projects I have lined up for this week and I had a call out of the blue from HR. They said they are getting rid of me with immediate effect due to company restructuring. My role is going to be shared out with several colleagues - the colleagues I was asked to run a training session for last week...

I have been put on gardening leave. I was then locked out of my IT accounts. No chance to say bye to anyone. Teams messages and emails left unanswered.

There were no issues with my performance, my manager was in the call and said that it has nothing to do with my performance and the decision was above him. It makes no sense. Work recently paid for me to go on an expensive course, they had work lined up for me.

I cannot make sense of it at all.

Unless you can prove (key word.....prove) that you were "let go" because you have a protected characteristic or because (say) you refused to break the law or something similar, then no, there is no comeback.

As I said above, I know because this exact scenario happened to me and ACAS, whilst being very sympathetic and agreeing that it was morally horseshit, said there was nothing I could do.

Unfair dismissal can be used if the process of the dismissal was deemed unfair at the time , there has to be consultation prior to any form of dismissal it's a process that to many employers don't do .

Every case can be different.

At the risk of repeating myself......

This is not redundancy, or indeed dismissal. It is a termination of contract. The wording is very important.

With no protection and no proof of discrimiation due to pregnancy, gender, disability, race etc, then there really is no comeback. I am sure that the OP would have said if she was pregnant or the only African woman (say) in her company.

Call ACAS yourself and ask them if you dont believe me, because I did and thats how I know!

To answer from an employers point of view, no intention to be harsh. Why today - it has to be some day, our HR lady told us never on a Friday, always early in the week and first thing in the morning, never let anyone settle into their work day, do their morning chatter in the kitchen, etc.
Why garden leave - do you work with sensitive data/subject matter? We have to put employees straight on garden leave as they have access to data that, if replicated, puts our IP at risk.
Being lied to in the run up - I’m sorry about this, this is unavoidable. The decision could have been a month ago, could have been a week ago. I’d think a little longer given that they’ve scheduled and made you run a training session to the people who’ll be picking up aspects of your role.
We’ve even had other employees come to us afterwards and say it was a shock to them and ask if they are safe. Our answer is always that it’s a shock to them as we’ll never discuss other employees performance with them; however, it wouldn’t be a shock to the person leaving (but we’ve only ever let people go based on performance - with 1 even admitting pre firing that he wasn’t performing and was losing interest).

I’m really sorry this is happening to you, it’s hard to watch and be a part of. Sometimes companies do have to make money saving decisions and it sounds like it wasn’t a performance issue, it was something else. And often it is last in, first out. If they are saying all good with performance then ask for a stunning reference and LinkedIn reviews (someone else cleverly mentioned above) - if they say they’ll only confirm dates of work and salary then it’s likely performance related.

Best of luck for what’s next 🤞🏻🤞🏻

I’m a sahm so have no clue. Which certain industries ? Thanks

I left a company that had form for this kind of behaviour earlier in the year. During my time there they had gradually laid off or not rehired to cover folk leaving amounting to around two thirds of the team I was working on, and the entire operation in another country.

Each time it was as you describe, email out of the blue and then those affected locked out. They had done nothing wrong but it was down to cost-cutting. I think I only lasted as long as I did because I could cover multiple roles.

Despite being reassured by my manager my role was safe it never really felt that way so I jumped somewhere else. Not long after I left my manager was laid off!

Yes, lost a job Monday 30th September 2013.
Expected to get on with it no help except a week’s wage at the time of the today’s equivalent of £16k.
Took a long time to get over but it happened.

Employers today want young people who they can pay a stellar mega high wage to.
good luck to both.

The same thing happened to me many years ago. I used to work for one of the top investment banks in the city. I complained to HR about inappropriate behaviour towards me from a male colleague who was longer than me at the bank and more valuable to them. They promptly got rid of me within a week after my complaint.

Only after 2 years of service....

That's not really how it works in real life in a lot of industries. We had a major round of layoffs last year and a few people started agitating about the lack of consultation period. The company said "well, you can either take this very generous redundancy package and go on gardening leave immediately, or we can go through the statutory process and at the end you'll get statutory redundancy and not a penny more." Guess which option people took...

Sounds like they decided you were costing them a little too much- you had only been there 9 months so you are probably a casualty of an experiment.
I was a relatively expensive employee in a high pressure environment- the company was taken over in a hostile bid, during a stock market crash-so the management were desperate to cut costs. They asked me to train some graduates to do the job I did- I refused point blank-their game play was obvious.
Never train people unless it is a specific part of your job, mentioned in the contract.

Hello. This has just happened to me. It was such a shock that I was taken ill and am under the GP. They are dressing mine up as redundancy and offered me a paltry sum which I rejected. I have three years service and I’m good at my job. I had a new boss in June and she’s awful. I’ve struggled with her and it was easier to get rid of me. I’ve negotiated a much bigger pay off but the emotional impact has really taken its toll. I’m sorry this has happened to you but as you have under 2 years service there’s not much you can do legally. If you have any protected characteristics you could speak to a lawyer to see if you have case. There is no such thing as job security these days.

Give the company a bad review on Glassdoor

Hi OP, this horrible “process” is pretty standard these days. It has happened to me and many people I know.
I dealt by starting to update and send my CV out right away, but it took time to process the inhumanity of it all.

On a positive note, I found a new job, even had a bit of a break in between securing it and starting it. But it is a stressful time to go through.

That sounds like unfair dismissal. Have a chat with an employment lawyer.If you have house insurance sometimes legal costs are included. Companies can't just dismiss employees for no good reason. Good luck

You are entitled to a reason for your dismissal regardless of how long you have been there. It may not be the case here but an injustice may be going on and you could be a victim of unfair dismissal. The very least the company should be doing is sending you an official letter of explanation. If you do find out that something untoward has happened contact a solicitor specializing in employment law.
Apart from the "gardening leave" you should get wages in lieu of notice and a valedictory letter of recommendation for future employment if it truly was just an unfortunate change in circumstances.

The company does NOT have to give her a written explanation of the reason for her dismissal because she has fewer than two years' continuous service:
"Your employer should tell you why they’re dismissing you. If you’re pregnant or have worked there for at least 2 years, you’ve got the right to get a written explanation - this should be a letter or email."
and
"The law says it’s always unfair if you’re dismissed because of an ‘automatically unfair’ reason.
You can also challenge your employer if they dismiss you for a discriminatory reason.
If you were sacked for a different reason and you’ve worked for your employer for less than 2 years, you don’t have the right to challenge it. This might feel unfair, but the best thing you can do is plan for what happens after you've been dismissed."

(OP has not given any indication that she has been discriminated against, directly or indirectly, or that she has been dismissed for a reason which is "automatically unfair".)

See section 3 of the link below for the above quotes and additional reliable information:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/dismissal/check-your-rights-if-youre-dismissed/check-if-your-dismissal-is-fair/

I was given a reason for dismissal - my role is no longer needed as the work will be done by the colleagues that I had recently trained. I know I had no rights and could get dismissed for any reason whatsoever, and I know people are trying to clarify it for others but hearing it over and over isn't helping. I'm in such a low and bitter headspace that it feels like people are relishing in telling other posters this - I know you're not and are just trying to correct others.

It's been a really difficult week, I feel so low. I have had quite a few colleagues reach out to me privately to say how angry, sad, disappointed they are with the decision.

That's a horrible thing to happen, it can be a usual course of business for some firms to act like this but it is generally completely inappropriate to be so very harsh about it and not allow you to say goodbye. I hope each of the people you trained refuses to absorb your workload and the businesses project fails!

Sorry to hear you are struggling, OP. It can be very brutal. At least your colleagues have shown their support - it may be worth asking if they know of other opportunities in the same area, or can recommend recruiters.
In any case, you have two months salary, take a break, update your CV with your extra experience (you obviously know what you're doing if you're training colleagues), and get back out there.

I contracted for years as an Executive Assistant in lots of companies. I saw this happen repeatedly over the years. Good hardworking staff who were suddenly axed with no real reason other than purely for business reasons. Companies are ruthless and very often short sighted.

The gap left by you leaving will be felt I can guarantee. The staff you trained won't have the same level of knowledge which will cause problems. It also leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth of existing staff and lowers morale. No one is safe in an environment like this.

You only need to read threads on here asking for advice on how to manage staff. About 75% of people on the thread will jump on and immediately say get rid. No thought is ever given to the poor bloody member of staff who might need direction or training.

I pay close attention to how bosses and companies treat staff. I won't work for companies that hire and fire staff because it doesn't fit with my values.

Please don't feel down. It's not you it's them. There is something better out there for you. You just need to start looking for it.

I'm so sorry you feel this way. It must have been a huge shock and quite embarrassing to leave in such a way where you can't even say goodbye. I think it is disgraceful for a company to behave this way as it almost feels as if the employee has done something very bad. It is very hard not to take it personally and feel as if it is a slight on your work and knock your confidence. Companies do this a lot - unfortunately. My experience is similar to @PoshMonkey.

It really really isn't you. Please try and remember this and say this constantly to yourself. Throughout your career you will find more people who have been made redundant - especially if they have not reached the 2 year mark as it harder to dismiss employees after.

FWIW - I have found that anyone made redundant has moved onto much better opportunities with better salaries too. Your experience will not be wasted and will be recognised by another company. If you have a severance package, use the time to attend any careers counselling and training courses. Even just to take a bit of time out for you if your package allows you to.

I really really wish you the very best of luck in your search for a new role. When you land a much better job - think about how great you will feel!

Some of you may know that the new govt is intending to remove the 2 years service requirement to make fair dismissal a day 1 right. Whilst this is good for the future, I do fear many companies may have a 'final hurrah ' of getting rid of people before any new legislation comes in. I fear it may get worse before it gets better

I’m sorry. I’m not surprised you’re feeling low. I hope you know that this isn’t anything you’ve done. You’ve been unlucky.

I think the reason so many posters are pointing out the error in all the ignorant although well meaning posts saying ‘fight this! What they’ve done is not allowed!’ is that it’s not helpful for you to be told to fight a fight you won’t win and that misinformation could cause further harm to others too.