Job Share. Voluntary Redundancy by other person. How does this affect me?

[mykiddies]

I do a job share with another girl. Well it's supposed to be a job share but really we are both in one day - I am then off 2 days then she is off 2 days I am in. There have been redundancies in the firm but in another department, our department has not been affected. She has decided to take voluntary redundancy and I just need to know where I stand?

Well, you won't know that unfortunately unless you ask.

She has decided to take it, but will they GIVE her it, given your dept has not been affected? Could they give her share to someone whose dept is affected?

Can your job be done on a part time basis?

We work in a typing pool. I believe someone affected by redundancy had asked for part time hours so this would be an option but I just wondered if she was allowed to take it could I then be made redundant even though no other redundancies are being made at the moment. Of course the pool could be rejigged to allow another person to cover for those days??

If your department isn't affected by the redundancies it's strange that you are being given the option to take voluntary redundancy. It might be to make room to redeploy people in other departments I suppose.

Part of the terms and conditions of the voluntary redundancy scheme ought to deal with situations where there are job share partners, but in the event that it doesn't, you will just have to ask as MaryB says.

If the reason voluntary redundancy is being offered is to help make room for redeployments, then you have a good chance I would say.

One other person has been redeployed so I suppose that is what they were thinking but do they have the right to make me redundant just because she has asked for voluntary because if they let me go then they still need someone for my job.

Whether your job share partner has taken voluntary redundancy doesn't in itself affect that directly. Either your post is redundant or it isn't. Either they need someone on your hours doing your job or they don't. If her leaving means there is extra capacity they should fill that either by recruiting another job share or by redeploying someone.

Does your job share agreement/contract specify what happens in the event of one of the job share partners leaving?

The job share agreement did not specify anything about if the other person left. This arrangement came up after we both came back after maternity leave as I wanted to go to a 3 day week instead of 4 and she needed the part time hours. Nothing was ever signed. We were just given a description of job share responsibilities. I suppose I should have asked about this at the time!