please help just so confused

mogsy54

hi i really need some help to understand the situation that my husband is in, unfortunately this has been going on since feb and we are now at our wits end.
in feb. his company was taken over by another company under the tupe arrangement, because of economic reasons he was served a redundancy notice as they only needed two men and not three ( he lost out on points on a one day assessment )
it is a bit complicated but they extended his redundancy date because they needed him and while this was happening one of the men who was kept on was dismissed, therefore there was a job there for my husband.
they were going to make my husband redundant on the 25th sept, but they have given him a new contract to sign and start on the date he was going to be made redundant, to replace the man that left (they all have the same job title and work)therefore he has a job and i guess will not be made redundant,
trouble is the pay which he thought would be the same as he has been on has been reduced by one and a half and thousand, we are shocked and not sure where we stand, as we thought it was still under a tupe arrangement so confused! they are even asking him for his p45 which is silly as they have it!!!

getmore4less

There are others that are better able to answer this from the legals.

me I would

Ignore the new contract for now

I would phone ACAS for advice.

How was the notice extended? not sure if this could make a difference probably not but there may be an attempt to dismiss this other person all along and then reempoly at a lower wage.

Ask why the notice has not now been withdrawn since this is the same job, reminding them as far as you are concerned this is the same job so there is no redundancy and no need for any contract change.
You want to continue on your old TUPE or enhanced T&Cs

If this is not the same job then get them to explain the difference and the reasons for the new T&C's.

Ask for the original selection criteria/selection information to confirm there were 3 people 2 jobs.

londondulwich

The 7 month notice period is a red herring.

The key facts are that:

your husband's continuity of employment has been preserved by a TUPE transfer;

his duties and place of work have not changed;

from the date of the transfer to the current time there has not been a decline in the need for his service; and

a unilateral reduction in pay is a fundamental breach of contract.

However, after tax and NI, £1,500 is more like £1200. That is a £100 less a month. Working tax credit might be able to plug a certain amount of that gap.

londondulwich

What sort of redundancy package was your husband expecting?

mogsy54

he is suppose to be getting around 4000 (1300 of that is an ex gratia payment) the managers above him who have been fighting his cause all the way, (as it has been very complicated )have took the contract back and are going to see HR about it on his behalf as even they are up in arms about it, i have also written to them asking questions and we have not signed anything yet.
thankyou for your reply, it is a great help
i just do not know why they have not just redrawn his redundancy notice and carried on his job and conditions as before

markandkate

Although this sounds very unfair he really does not have a great choice because if he refuses then the company can just sack him. They can say that he has unreasonably refused a suitable offer of work and has therefore made himself unemployed and therefore not entitled to a redundacy payment. Unless the pay cut is a huge percentage of his salary then I think he may have to take it on the chin look for another job when things get better and give them two fingers some time in the future. it may be that you are entitled to some additional tax credits etc due to the drop in salary which may help.

My old law lecturer used to say that the employers can do what hte hell they like and occassionally they have to get heir cheque books out. In a recession they really do have the upper hand.

Be careful talking to ACAS because they will only tell you the law not the prracticalities and your OH could go into his boss and tell him what the law says and they can say so what, there's the door. He may win a tribunal but it will be a hollow victory as he will have spent 6-9 mnths out of work and will probably end up getting £3000 compensation and a job paying what he was offered or less .

Irrespective of what he signs I think that he still has continuity of service

jazzyman01

TUPE is a really complex piece of legislation. There can be fair changes to contracts for ETO (economical, technical and organisational) but it is difficult to do. The only time when it can work is at redundancy - but it is still not a safe route for the Company because it can be challenged by the employee.

He will retain his continuity of service.