Voluntary Redundancy

jediknight37

I am currently as risk of redundancy. I am in a pool of 4 that has to be reduced to 2. One person has removed themselves from the pool and another is currently on maternity leave.

I have applied for voluntary redundancy which was accepted then withdrawn. This was later re-instated after the company realised mistakes in the process had been made. I can only have my VR if I defer it until next June when my colleague on maternity leave returns to work.

I feel that this is no longer VR but a retainer to ensure that I stay to cover the role and also blackmail.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

jazzyman01

You may not like the answer, but I would think this is reasonable. They could turn round and say that there is no redundancy and that they would revisit it when the person returns from maternity.

I am not sure how a VR would be reinstated after mistakes had been made because you were retained in your position.

The issue you may have is that by the time the person is due to return the Company may decide that they do not wish to reduce the numbers and, of course, the person on maternity leave may decide not to return. Either of these options could mean that your position is not redundant.

simonts

Id like to add more info to this on her behalf as she is my significant other

My GF is going through a right saga with redundancy at the moment.

Redundancy was announced with the options of application for Voluntary which came with a £2K payment, This offer was accepted but the wanted to defer to June in order to cover the maternity period of the person moving into the remaining position.

We were trying to clarify everything to make an informed decision and the VR was pulled by the company, We complained and it was reinstated as they had made 'mistakes'

We are arguing that as per the other staff she should be allowed to leave with the money now but they refuse and insist she cannot have the money until next year (They could also change their mind and make her compulsory down the line and give her nothing in return for agreeing to stay on)

We have been arguing the hell out of this and they have now come out saying the payment is a retainer not a VR...surely they cannot do this if an application for VR was accepted already?

All through this they are bullying her into making a rash decision by giving her only a day or two to make a decision when the process has been dragged out by their fault not hers and calling meetings with 5 minutes notice not giving her a chance to arrange representation.

I cannot get her to a solicitor till Monday and they are demanding a decision on that date.

PaulDucksbury

If your not in a union join one if possible. In some cases VR can result in a personal legal contract that has to be signed.

simonts

Thanks Paul, Our company does not recognise unions however

Could you clarify the contract part? We have a copy of the meeting notes signed by all parties accepting the VR application. It certainly does not specifically mention retainer but may mention deferral of payment

jazzyman01

Okay getting a bit muddy here. Firstly, the person that removed themself from the pool - as this is not something that they can do without resigning (because it could be seen as unfair selection when 4 people doing the same job) - I assumed that this is what was meant. Therefore there was only 1 redundancy from a pool of 3. With one person going on maternity leave that realistically meant that in the short term there are no redundancies hence the company accepting a VR for the conclusion of the maternity leave. If the maternity person does not return then it is not unreasonable for the Company to say that there is no redundancy situation and the VR is rejected.
In effect, her job is not redundant at present therefore she cannot receive a redundancy payment and continue in her role.
Second point, if she does remain until such time as the mat person returns then potentially she has additional service? If not she will have received salary for the period of time and will still be eligible for redundancy payment.
If they are now saying that it is a retainer then this is different again. If she can get this in writing, then she should get this (taxed) on top of the redundancy payment that she would be owing if she was to be made redundant.
Ask a question - if she was to leave stating she is owed redundancy and took it to tribunal what would the grounds be? She had a job, told when they were likely to accept redundancy but, due to circumstances it would not be at the original time and it would be deferred by almost 9 months so the company were going to pay her and then potentially make her redundant - where is her loss?

getmore4less

One point to remember is that redundancy can be withdrawn, even once notice has been given right upto the termination date.

I don't think there is any legal difference with a VR situation

The employer has muddled things a bit but they are engaging in consultation reviewing ways to avoid the redunancy and most importantly reduce the impact to the company which they seem to be dong.

My thoughts

Insisting on leaving now is a non starter so drop that unless the personel situation changes. Don't fight battles you cant win.

Work on getting a redundancy agreement with the enanced VR componant(tax free)that is valid for any time in the future, work out the notice and hope they don't withdraw when the maternity is over. If they insist on a retainer make that payable even if not made redundant in the future.

Pick someone to be the rep and let the company know so they can notify both of you when any meetings are.
unlss you know a sutable nion person it will need to be someone form the office.

PaulDucksbury

simonts wrote: »

Thanks Paul, Our company does not recognise unions however

Could you clarify the contract part?

sometimes if a company is offering VR it might still be on lower terms than officially recognised (assuming there was a union), or it could be different in some other way. At end of the day someone may decide to accept and get out, then it can become a sort of personal VR between individual and company.

getmore4less

PaulDucksbury wrote: »

sometimes if a company is offering VR it might still be on lower terms than officially recognised (assuming there was a union), or it could be different in some other way. At end of the day someone may decide to accept and get out, then it can become a sort of personal VR between individual and company.

This would be a Comprimise Agreement

These are the legal way to do mutualy agreed terminations.

One of the key features is you give up our right to any future claims.

The company needs to pay for yourlegal representation to do one of these.