Can someone clarify this small redundancy detail please?

yosser_hughes

Hi, I was made redundant an put on 12 weeks notice end of December
Well thats up now an I will be gettin my final redundancy settlement.
My question regards the maximum statutory rate which changed in February from £330 to £350 while I was on notice.
The company are advising me at the old rate which they quoted in December but I am wondering whether I am entitled to the higher rate as I am getting this payment only now after completing my notice period, which I thought counted as still being effectively employed by them?

I might be barking up the wrong tree but they are bunch of cowboys that make it up as they go along so I can't trust em to not hope I havent noticed the change of rate and see if I question it.

Many thanks for any help on this and for all the other useful advice on here :beer:

Pete111

I think if you were formally made redundant before 1st Feb you are stuck on the older rate (£330) I am however not 100% sure on this however as the guidance I have seen is not clear.

You may want to try to argue this either way, as your final day of employment (given they did not pay you in lieu of notice) falls after the relevant date - worth a go!

yosser_hughes

Cheers for the reply mate, It does seem unclear doesn't it?
I'm no stranger to arguing my case but unless I have something concrete I know they will not pay me a penny more than they are absolutely obliged to.

Zazen999

The increases apply where the event giving rise to the entitlement to compensation or other payments occurred on or after 1st February 2009. Limits previously in force under the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3570) are preserved by article 4 of the Order in relation to cases where the relevant event was before that date.

So, you would have to argue that the event is taking place at the end of feb [ie redundancy] rather than december [notice of].

yosser_hughes

Thanks, thats exactly what I'm getting at, although I can't find anything that states whether there is any distinction between the two?

shelly

Try giving ACAS a call. They were very helpful to me when I needed them.

Helpline numbers:
Monday - Friday 08:00 - 18:00 - 08457 47 47 47
Monday - Friday 08:00 - 18:00 - (for Minicom users) - 08456 06 16 00

The Acas Helpline is the place to go for both employers and employees who are involved in an employment dispute or are seeking information on employment rights and rules. The Helpline provides clear, confidential, independent and impartial advice to assist the caller in resolving issues in the workplace.
As a result of extremely high demand on our services, some callers may find that they are unable to get though to our helpline. In some cases this may mean calling at a different time of day. We will be expanding our helpline service from January 2009 but we'd be grateful if you could bear with us during these busy times.

HTH

yosser_hughes

Thanks Shelley, good call. I'll report back

savingholmes

Hope you succeed with that - I work for a company where they have been making people redundant at the end of March and they applied the new rate.... I would definitely check out ACAS tho....

yosser_hughes

I think I'm onto something here, just found this on the business link site about redundancy calculation

On what date did your employee's period of continuous employment end?

This is the date that the dismissal takes place, ie the date the employee's notice period comes to an end.
Where an employee accepts a payment in lieu of notice, use the date on which statutory notice, if given, would have expired, ie ignore any contractual notice.
The tool will calculate payments on the dates entered. Please ensure you use the correct dates.
Note that you should only use this tool to calculate payments where the notice period ends on or after 1 February 2009 but before 1 February 2010.

I'm gonna check with ACAS now an follow this up!
Told you they were cowboys!

yosser_hughes

Rang ACAS, was on hold for ages, the queue time notice was goin up while i was waiting!
Anyway, they weren't much help because the girl seemed to be confusing it with payment in lieu of notice and said I would have to check my contract, argue my case and if they said no take them to a tribunal which seems a lot more hassle than its worth.

Anyway I rang business link instead and they just backed up what is stated on their website. Told me as long as my notice period crossed over into the new rate period I was eligible.

I've just sent an email to my employer explaining this and asking them for the balance.
I'll let you know what they say but fingers crossed at the minute..

cfnc

My husband was given 3 months notice in November and was actually made redundant in February, he was quoted the old figures in November but was actuall paid the new amount.

Kirsty