Failed 4 week trial in same job i have been doing for 3 years = redundant??

Martrix

Hi im hoping someone can tell me if anything about this procedure is wrong i got made redundant today and my head is spinning. It feels like everything about the way they did this was wrong.

Early this year the hotel i work for announced redundancy's in various departments except the dept i worked in (engineering) soon after over 30 people were gone and replaced within days by agency staff. Around june the hotel hired a new engineering manager and a few weeks later further redundancys were anounced this time engineering was targeted. we were told over the next few weeks we would be having 1 to 1 meets with new manager and a head office mediator discussing the proposed plan to "restructure" the dept. they proposed around 9 job titles would be scrapped including my title as pre preventative maintanance technician (ppm) generally maintaining rooms and fixing any broken furnishings. Another selected job was laundry engineer however new titles would be created which we were free to apply for should our job be selected for scrapping. so the choices being leave with redundancy or apply for new position. I was told i was eligable to apply for the handy person role (nothing in the description was anything new to what i did on day to day basis). My coleague whos laundry engineer title was scrapped was told he could apply for the shift engineer title which at the time he did however later on after considering it he decided he would rather take the redundancy and when he approached them to take this option they told him he could not take the redundancy as the laundry engineer duties and the shift eng duties are too similar and so he would just be moved into this role (although they made him apply for this new position at the beginning). Now I having applied for the new handyperson role was called back on the 28th august to tell me I was accepted for this new role along with 1 other applicant from the current staff but there was to be a 1 month trial for us both. a 1 month trial for the same job i had been doing for 3 years with a different title. Well the 1 month was up on the 28th of september and wed 7th october i got letter attached to my clock card inviting me to the result meeting today needless to say they made me redundant giving reasons for doing so as reports i was not doing as much as the new employees and lateness.This whole procedure had got me so down and worried that a week before i was put on the trial i had to see my G.P who signed me off. Knowing i wouldnt have a job to go back to in a month i went in and told then the stress i had been under with the process and it was affecting my sleeping and time keeping and gave them the signed doctors certificate and told them i would be ok to work through it which they allowed me too and said i could talk to them and too let them know if i needed to leave. well i was at work right through it althrough it was making me late. i know i was stupid to do this as being signed off but the worry of ending up unemployed just made me feel worse. This way seemed to me like i was gonnna come out ok. Well now its all done and the reasons i was given were lateness and "a staff member" said i was not working as hard as the rest even though my shift supervisors all know how hard ive worked there. i guess i just feel that the company have used me being there as this week another new starter has joined. if anyones got any advice i would really appreciate it... sorry ive gone on so long but its still pretty fresh in my memory and im ventin a bit aswell i guess. Thanks guys. Martin.

celtic_curl

most importantly - a person is not made redundanct a job is. It does not matter if the job has been re-titled, if the role is largely the same as the previous role then the post still exists and you cannot be made redundant only dismissed. In the case of this happening it sounds like you would have a very good case for unfair dismissal at tribunal.

Also - if you had a doctors certificat signing you off work it was unlawful for your employers to allow you to work. They would not have been insured for you to be working and they were breaking the law.

I suggest you take some legal advice. ACAS is a good place to start. also if you are not a union member (always recommended by me) you should check to see if you have a local law advice centre or CAB.

Good luck.

getmore4less

I think the following may apply.

Failure to notify before the end of the trial means the default is success and they cannot make you redundant.

You could argue the position was the same and no trial was required. Job tiltle change is not enough to make a trial necessary.

The issues described should be dealt by disipline procedures.

The risk is that you can sucessfuly overturn the redundancy but not a disiplinary.

I don't think you should work when signed of and they should not have let you, their insurance conditions may not cover this.

I think there is a enough here to need to talk to ACAS or get legal help for an unfare dismissal claim. Check your house insurance this may be covered on the legal side.

LittleVoice

celtic_curl wrote: »

most importantly - a person is not made redundanct a job is. It does not matter if the job has been re-titled, if the role is largely the same as the previous role then the post still exists and you cannot be made redundant only dismissed. In the case of this happening it sounds like you would have a very good case for unfair dismissal at tribunal.

Redundancy is a fair grounds for dismissal. It would be a dismissal.

Just because one job (whatever the title) still exists does not mean that the person doing it cannot be selected for redundancy if someone else in the organisation would be moved to that job but recruiting someone from outside would be a different matter.