Advice on Consultation Please

bfgun

Hi, I wonder if someone could offer some advice on the consultation process, the procedures that should be adopted and any information on how an employer should go about selecting the people to be made redundant.

Does a part-time employee have less advantage over a full-time employee?
Can a part-time employee be made to change to full-time but without a salary increase?

Any advice / help will be gratefully received.

crapwithcash82

Hi bfgun, as far as I'm aware, employee representatives should be elected for the groups of people at risk, although this process may vary from firm to firm. Once these rep's meet the consultation period would begin, which I think can't be any less than 30 days. They can't discriminate against part time employees as I think the employee would have a case for a tribuneral if it was found that the employer was discriminating because of part time/full time hours.

I'm not an expert, but am half way through a consultation period and have asked these questions myself! Someone may be along to offer more advise soon....

izzy339_2

Try the ACAS website, I was made redundant last Dec and found it very informative............Good luck!

briona

bfgun wrote: »

Does a part-time employee have less advantage over a full-time employee?

I have worked for a few companies that have gone through a redundancy process, and in most cases (but not all) the part-time staff were made redundant. The company could argue that since they were part-time, their roles were less needed than those where the people were full-time, but the cynic in me would naturally ask if the part-time positions being made redundant was more about having to pay out less redundancy pay!

bfgun wrote: »

Can a part-time employee be made to change to full-time but without a salary increase?

In response to the above, if your salary is on a pro-rata basis, e.g., 3 days pw, 20K pa pro-rata, then if you were asked to go full-time, it's logical to assume that your salary for working 5 days pw would be the full 20K pa.

If your current salary is equivalent or close to NMW, you could NOT be asked to do more hours on the same salary, as you would then be working for below NMW, which is illegal. If you are over 22, the minimum hourly rate you can legally work for is £5.73.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Pay/DG_10027201

For further information on the consultation process, as others have suggested, see ACAS or BERR.
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1611
http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/employment-legislation/employment-guidance/page15686.html

Briona