Basic rights at work & Redundancy

soontoberedundant_2 · 27 September 2012 at 10:51PM

Hi I am being made redundant as well as another girl. I have been told i will get contractual redundancy pay but not statutory even though i have worked for them for over 2 years. My colleague is also being offered contractual pay and she has been there just over a year. Should I be getting statutory redundancy pay as well as contractual pay?

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 28 September 2012 at 11:26AM

soontoberedundant wrote: »

Hi I am being made redundant as well as another girl. I have been told i will get contractual redundancy pay but not statutory even though i have worked for them for over 2 years. My colleague is also being offered contractual pay and she has been there just over a year. Should I be getting statutory redundancy pay as well as contractual pay?

Hi

Contractual rights cannot give you fewer rights than you would have under law (statutory rights). If you go to our online information www.adviceguide.org.uk and follow the links Work>Work comes to an end>Redundancy>Redundancy pay you will find further information.

A person cannot get both contractual and statutory redundancy pay. Contractual redundancy pay must be as good as or better than what the law says. Whilst payment under that statutory scheme depends on an employee having worked for at least two years contractual redundancy pay can be offered on whatever terms the employer and employee have agreed as part of the contract of employment.

soontoberedundant_2 · 28 September 2012 at 12:03PM

There were no terms stipulated in the contract of employment, i just feel it unfair that my colleague is entitled to the same redundancy payment as me even though i have worked for the company for over a year longer.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 28 September 2012 at 2:40PM

Tasha1987x wrote: »

Hi All,

I am in need of some advice. My mum's work are accusing her of changing a sicknote in July from 1 week to 2 weeks. she has been off since the 8th June and is still off. She can not prove she didnt change this and she has a disciplinary tomorrow. If she is fired is there anything she can do as we cant prove she didnt change it. The doctor who issued the sicknote is saying it should have only been for a week.There is no way of proving she didnt change it and it was his mistake. We feel they have been trying to get rid of her for some time as she has had a lot of time off due to an accident where she broke her leg.
Any advice would be great. :-)

Hi

Depending on the outcome of your mother's hearing she might need to appeal the decision made at the meeting if she is sanctioned in some way or worse case scenario loses her job.

In any event event she should look at getting advice on this issue in person from her local CAB so that they can look in detail at the situation and tell her what her rights are whether there is any case for unfair dismissal which would depend on a number of factors including how long she has been employed in her current job. They could also help her with an appeal depending on what happens at her meeting.

see www.adviceguide.org.uk and follow the link below to the section on dismissal :

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/dismissal.htm

eyeinthesky · 1 October 2012 at 10:56PM

Hi, have posted part of this in the redundancy board, but have had little response.

I work for a retailer, and have done for just over 9 years. My job is a bit unusual and all my contemporaries, at other branches, have been lost due to natural wastage. It has been announced that my branch is in a redundancy situation, as are some other branches, and I have been told that I am affected. I have been told that there are 2 pools, one with just me in, and another with everyone else in. I have also been asked if I want to join the other pool, which I felt would just push someone else out, so I declined. Is this a proper procedure? It seems to me that I have been pre-selected for redundancy, but wouldn't this be unfair?

Everyone potentially affected has been given a score, based on absences and disciplinaries. Lower is better, and my score is 1, but being in a pool on my own means I am top of the list to be made redundant. My work is still necessary, but it will be absorbed into someone else's duties, whose wages are paid by head office rather than the branch. I feel that I am being manoevered out, because I am the last of my kind in the region, maybe even the whole company. Am I being treated fairly?

I have been told officially that my notice period will be 9 weeks, being 1 week for each complete year of employment, but the company's policies and procedures manual seems to offer more. The wording is as follows:-

"At the end of the warning period we will give a minimum period of notice (or payment in lieu) of six weeks. One week will be added for each completed year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks".

My understanding of this is that I would get 12 weeks notice (or pay in lieu) for my 9 years service ( 6 + 9 = 15 but limited to 12).
I have pointed this out to my manager, and he has spoken to HR, but they are saying that the 6 weeks only applies when employed for less than 6 years. After 6 years service, it is just 1 week for each complete year. Is that how you would read it?

ChezSmith · 2 October 2012 at 6:41PM

Hi there,

The company that I work for went into administration yesterday, and we were made redundant with immediate effect. I am currently on maternity leave, and have been for 5 and a half months, but my employers will no longer be able to pay my SMP. I've been advised by the administrators that I can make a claim to the government to cover the rest of my maternity leave, but no one seems to know who I need to contact to make my claim and I'm being passed from pillar to post between Jobcentre Plus and the administrators and no one seems to know what I have to do to make my claim.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 3 October 2012 at 10:47AM

ChezSmith wrote: »

Hi there,

The company that I work for went into administration yesterday, and we were made redundant with immediate effect. I am currently on maternity leave, and have been for 5 and a half months, but my employers will no longer be able to pay my SMP. I've been advised by the administrators that I can make a claim to the government to cover the rest of my maternity leave, but no one seems to know who I need to contact to make my claim and I'm being passed from pillar to post between Jobcentre Plus and the administrators and no one seems to know what I have to do to make my claim.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi
HMRC is liable to pay a woman any SMP that she is owed from the date of insolvency until the end of her maternity pay period.

You should contact HMRC Statutory Payments Disputes Team on 0191 225 5221.

Gina_Knott · 3 October 2012 at 1:20PM

I am 60 this November and I have worked in Kent for the NHS for nine years. Five years in the current job, I have nine years of pension saved with them.

I will not qualify for the government pension until I reach 62 years and 5 months.

The NHS Trust that I work for have publicly announced that they are looking at saving x amount of millions and will be job losses of over 250 staff within the next two years.

The Trust recently emailed all staff asking for voluntary resignation with severance pay. This was not very tempting as I would only stand to get 2 1/2 months salary.

My question to you is:- Do you think it is highly likely that I will be in the next rounds of redundancy's, due to my age and that they are contributing to my pension which will cost them more if it carries on until my retirement, and will save the Trust a lot of money to take me out now.

Secondly:- If this was to happen, how much pension money am I likely to lose out on.

I look forward to your reply

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 4 October 2012 at 12:55PM

Gina_Knott wrote: »

I am 60 this November and I have worked in Kent for the NHS for nine years. Five years in the current job, I have nine years of pension saved with them.

I will not qualify for the government pension until I reach 62 years and 5 months.

The NHS Trust that I work for have publicly announced that they are looking at saving x amount of millions and will be job losses of over 250 staff within the next two years.

The Trust recently emailed all staff asking for voluntary resignation with severance pay. This was not very tempting as I would only stand to get 2 1/2 months salary.

My question to you is:- Do you think it is highly likely that I will be in the next rounds of redundancy's, due to my age and that they are contributing to my pension which will cost them more if it carries on until my retirement, and will save the Trust a lot of money to take me out now.

Secondly:- If this was to happen, how much pension money am I likely to lose out on.

I look forward to your reply

Hi

Your employer should use objective criteria to decide who is in the pool of potential redunancies. Please follow the link below to the CAb website adviceguide for more information on how this should be done :

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/work_redundancy_e/redundancy___procedures_your_employer_must_follow.htm

Generally Age dscrimination in employment is outlawed since age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.

In terms of your Pension this is something you would need to discuss with your Pension provider. ie what would happen to it if no further contributions were made until your retirement date.

Also follow the link below to the item on Workplace pensions which outlines (at the end)how you can get further help with Pension issues

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_pensions_e/debt_types_of_pension_e/workplace_pensions.htm#further_help_and_information

If you are in a union they may be able to help you with your redundancy issues. It might be possible to negotiate an improved voluntary redundancy package

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 4 October 2012 at 1:32PM

eyeinthesky wrote: »

Hi, have posted part of this in the redundancy board, but have had little response.

I work for a retailer, and have done for just over 9 years. My job is a bit unusual and all my contemporaries, at other branches, have been lost due to natural wastage. It has been announced that my branch is in a redundancy situation, as are some other branches, and I have been told that I am affected. I have been told that there are 2 pools, one with just me in, and another with everyone else in. I have also been asked if I want to join the other pool, which I felt would just push someone else out, so I declined. Is this a proper procedure? It seems to me that I have been pre-selected for redundancy, but wouldn't this be unfair?

Everyone potentially affected has been given a score, based on absences and disciplinaries. Lower is better, and my score is 1, but being in a pool on my own means I am top of the list to be made redundant. My work is still necessary, but it will be absorbed into someone else's duties, whose wages are paid by head office rather than the branch. I feel that I am being manoevered out, because I am the last of my kind in the region, maybe even the whole company. Am I being treated fairly?

I have been told officially that my notice period will be 9 weeks, being 1 week for each complete year of employment, but the company's policies and procedures manual seems to offer more. The wording is as follows:-

"At the end of the warning period we will give a minimum period of notice (or payment in lieu) of six weeks. One week will be added for each completed year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks".

My understanding of this is that I would get 12 weeks notice (or pay in lieu) for my 9 years service ( 6 + 9 = 15 but limited to 12).
I have pointed this out to my manager, and he has spoken to HR, but they are saying that the 6 weeks only applies when employed for less than 6 years. After 6 years service, it is just 1 week for each complete year. Is that how you would read it?

Hi

For information the procedures that employers must follow when selecting individuals for redundancy please follow the link to the section on adviceguide below :

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/work_redundancy_e/redundancy___procedures_your_employer_must_follow.htm

Since redundancy is form of dismissal the correct procedures must be followed and objective criteria used when selecting individuals for it otherwise potentially a case of unfair dismissal can arise assuming that the basic qualifying criteria are met for this.

However these are complex issues and you should really discuss them in person with an experienced employment adviser at your local CAB taking your contract of employment and any other documentation you have.

In terms of the issue with notice , the stututory notice is indeed 1 week for each complete year of employment up to a maximum of 12. Employers can indeed offer additional contractual notice eg to give all employees a minumum notice period of 6 weeks and it is likely that they mean that employees employed up to 6 years can have this and that each additional year of continuous service over 6 years gives an extra week ( therefore 9 for you )

However for strict interpretation of this term in your contract and whether you can reasonably argue otherwise suggest discussing it with an advisor as above.

Basic rights at work & Redundancy

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