advice pls!!

blueye

ive just been "made redundant" apparently anyway, i was called aside by my boss and told she couldnt afford to keep me on, i asked when would my final day be and she said today, i said you cant do that you have to give me some notice, she said you have no contract i can, anyway after a bit of argueing she agreed to give me one more week at work. needless to say im a bit miffed what are my rights with no contract i have worked for her for over a year.
how much holiday pay am i entitled too? if any my holidays started in january and i work five days a week pls help

Debt_Free_Chick

You do have a contract - it's just not evidenced in writing.

If you didn't have a contract with your employer, you wouldn't have been going into work and they wouldn't have been paying you

If you are confident to do so, you should write to your employer and point out that you do have a contract, although not in writing, and as you have been employed for more than one year (how long is it?) you also have certain redundancy rights.

But call ACAS and discuss this with them - they may take the matter up for you, or they may help you make the next move.

Don't do anything different for now - just go to work as normal.

As for holiday, if the holiday year runs from Jan to Dec, you should get 5/12 of your normal annual holiday entitlement. Deduct from that the days you've actually taken already and the balance should be paid to you.

It seems a lot, but please read the ACAS Guide to Handling Redundancies as this tells you all the things that your employer should be doing!

And call ACAS on 08457 47 47 47

blueye

thanks just spoke to them said i needed to have worked 2 years for any redundancy pay but i am entitled to the weeks notice that i had to beg for. and said my holidays should be calculated up until the end of my notice. so if i finnish next friday is there any brain box out there who could work out my entitlement as i dont know how to work it out thanks in advance.

dbuk44

Sorry to hear about your situation.

I've just come off the phone to ACAS myself as my wife has been redundant-ised.

You've worked for over a year right? But not 2 years?

You only get redundancy pay when you have been employed for 2 YEARS (not 2 weeks)

But there is an updside. It doesn't sound like they consulted with you prior to the decision to let you go - this is grounds for appeal, and even if you dont want to take it to an tribuanal it may influence your negotiation on a leaving package.

blueye

sorry was ment to say two years not weeks, yeah been there over a year.
just cant get over the way she told me, and the fact that she argued with me that she didnt need to give me any notice because i didnt have a contract, she hasent got a clue!
now after thinking about it i dont even want to work my notice, i have given her my all and have had nothining in return, not even a little bit of respect. can i have my weeks notice paid even if im not there? i just want to spend the time to find another job now

LittleVoice

blueye wrote: »

can i have my weeks notice paid even if im not there? i just want to spend the time to find another job now

If you don't want to work your notice, then they don't have to pay you. If you want to be paid, you will have to go in.

[That is advice for the OP. But of course if it were the employer who didn't want an employee to go into work during their notice period then the employee would be entitled to be paid.]

Pete111

Your employer has messed this up

Just because you have no contract does not mean you have no rights and after a year or so full time service you will have what is known as an implied contract in law. Your employer cannot simply wash her hands of you.

From what you say no process whatsoever has been followed in relation to redundancy so you are well placed to appeal due to substansive breach of redundancy procedure (ie there wasn't one). Speak to Acas and they will advise further but if you want you can push far harder on this you should be well placed to do so and could well receive rather more than 1 weeks salary IMHO

Pete

blueye

thanks pete111,
i do feel i have been treated badly, when i spoke to acas on the phone though they didnt really seem that bothered after i explained what had happened.
i only worked in a cafe with 5 other employees the owner included plus two saturday girls who only work during the week to cover our holidays (i bet they are working now though to cover for my absence) would she still need to keep to the rules over redundancy given this situation, the other staff there are her family (mother,brother) so it was inevitable that if such a need for redundancy was to arise i would be the one to say goodbye.
i have to say i am bitter but i did leave it on good terms (mainly so i could get my week in hand pay this friday) if i could do anything what is the likely outcome to be for me and her

Pete111

At the end of the day they have not followed even the most basic redundancy requirements - as such you could call them on it as in this day and age, firms cannot arbitrarily let staff go with no warning and expect their actions to be risk free.

If you were so minded you could get a lawyer involved to write a letter detailing this failing and see where it led

blueye

hay, just spoke to acas and they said the procedures for redundancy arent statutory law or something what does this mean. they said i could write a letter of apeal to my boss (what should i write?)
also they said after that i could claim unfair dismissal at an employment tribual. i dont get it, how could i claim unfair dismissal if there is no procedures they have to follow by law?

dbuk44

I think they mean that whilst some things regarding redundancy are specifically defined in law, other things pertaining to unfair dismissal are not and need to be assessed by an employment tribunal.

A good example of this is consultation. There is a statutory (legal) requirement to consult for greater than 20 redundancies, but not for less than 20. However an ET may likely assess the lack of any consultation for less than 20 as unfair.

What you put in the letter isn't too important. But you need to do it to demonstrate that you have exhausted efforts to resolve the matter with the company yourself before going to the next step.

Suggest:

1. Say you have contacted ACAS, and are taking advice
2. Make clear you are appealing the redundancy decision
3. Give your reasons why you are unhappy i.e
You believe you do have a contract of unemployment and want notice
You believe they did not consult and this was unfair
Any views you have on the fairness of your selection
4. Say you are looking forward to receiving the date of your appeal meeting (just in case they don't know they need to hold one)

After receiving the letter they need to hold a meeting with you. Take notes, and ask as many questions as you like.

It might be worth inferring during the meeting that you intend to take the matter to a tribunal. This might not change their decision but it may influence a settlement package that you are happy with.

After the meeting they need to tell you the result - e.g. has their decision changed. They should put this in writing.

Now contact ACAS again who will help you take the matter to a tribunal, if you still want to do so.