Impending Public Sector Redundancy

rustyg

I have today received a letter informing me that my services will no longer be required as from 28th Feb. I'm a bit gutted to say the least.

I found my current employer through an agency in November 2007. After a few months the employer was satisfied with my performance and wanted to take me on permanently. My "permanent" contract began on 10 March 2008.

I enjoyed my job and managed to get internally promoted a couple of times. The organisation agreed to fund a professional qualification from September 2009 and I have been studying in my own time under the assumption that this would enhance my chances of upwards progression within the organisation. I signed an agreement which stated that i would repay the course fee if I left the organisation within two years of completing the qualification.

In October 2009 it was announced that a review of my department would be undertaken and the result was that several positions would disappear and new ones would be created. I was informed that I was "at risk" in December 2009 but that I (and several colleagues) could apply for the new roles which would arise. It was apparently the aim of the Director to minimise the number of redundancies.

Five of us expressed an interest in the three new roles, were interviewed and took numeracy tests. All of us were considered unsuitable as we had insufficient experience in the jobs and therefore would be unable "to hit the ground running". At my feedback interview I was informed that I had scored 100% in the numeracy test but this wasn't deemed sufficient to satisfy the interviewing panel. The jobs will now be advertised externally but I struggle to see how a newcomer to the organisation will "hit the ground running" as he/she will surely need time to familiarise themselves with the computer system, customers, suppliers, contacts, etc. In fact, it would probably be much quicker to train me to do the role but this was not the conclusion reached by the selection panel.

Anyway, I have been given the option of redeployment to a different department within the same organisation. This will entail travelling a longer distance to a different city but is feasible. According to the redeployment procedure, I can have a four week trial to see if the role is suitable for me.

So, my questions for the experts on this board:

1) The letter I have received states that my employment will cease on 28th February. This means that I will have worked for the organisation for 23.5 months and will, as I understand it, therefore not be entitled to any redundancy payment. Is this true or can my employment through the agency count towards my "continuous service"?

2) Can I do the four weeks redeployment trial to prolong my continuous service to two years and thereby qualify for a redundancy payment?

3) Can I be forced to repay my course fees if I am made redundant? This hardly seems fair.

4) If I accept the redeployment in a department for which the qualification is not relevant, can I be forced to repay the course fee if I leave of my own accord after a few months?

5) What will happen to my pension if I accept the redeployment? Will my continuous service be calculated from when I joined the organisation or from when I switched departments?

Lots of questions - my head's in a spin.

ambercam

I'm not a HR expert nor a legal expert but my understanding (which may be wrong) from when I have been in redundancy situations is as follows:

1) No, your employer was the agency originally, so continuous service will only apply from the date you became an employee of your current company

2)Yes, also the redundancy would be worked out at your new salary (so if it is less than your current salary then in theory you would be worse off, but as you wouldn't get anything for being there less than 2 years in this case you won't be. If the redeployment is at a higher salary then this is what your redundancy pay will be worked out from).

3) No, as you are not leaving of your own accord

4) Tricky one, if it is inside the 4 week trial period then no as you are taking redundancy. After the 4 week trial period they could ask you to repay it as you have accepted the new position at this point, I suppose this would be at their discretion.

5) From when you joined the organisation, as changing departments does not break your continuous service.

mjm3346

Has your department stated you will not receive a redundancy payment? Some pay one months salary for each year of reckonable service if you have at least one years service, plus one month extra for each year worked if you are over 35 years old.

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/Assets/ERRCPPP%20final%20proof%20Feb%202009_tcm6-1852.pdf