redundant

poptart1_2

sorry have deleted post.I do thank folks for their advice and concern . Good luck to all people facing redundancy in these trying times

nuttyp

your son needs to contact acas who will be able to give him the correct advise. I wouldnt have thought they can only have 1 redundacy letter issued, but if cutbacks are needed then a full consultation should take place. Maybe a mention at the meeting that he has consulted acas will help him, and if he is made redundant he can still claim if he is treated unfairly.

Citizens advise beaurea can also help. The very best of luck to your son

getmore4less

As he is the only one doing the job he needs to ask why it is redundant.
depending on the answer there are a number of followup options.

One will be how will the job be done.

They need to give him chance to offer alternatives or other solutions to try and avoid the redundancy

Since he is not experienced at this, he might want to take a more experienced workmate if someone is prepeared to help.

getmore4less

Are there any other UK centres, they could be relocating people and are making space.

This is potentialy usefull info for consultation meeting to back up the I should not be made redundant case.
Is the article a reliable source? (eg. newspaper web site)
Have you looked for the accounts or financial info if that is public?

The problem is when to use this info,
I think I would keep it back untill they have outlined the redundacy case and explained how the job will be done if he does go. Then use this as part of the counter case.

On the other hand it could be that they are in more trouble and are not moving business(because there is none) and they will go down if things don't pick up.

On a general point,
As an employee this is the sort of background info that all employees should be on the look out for anyway.

What notice is in his contract if that is more than 3 weeks then he should get that, think about PILON if he wants to leave now, contributions JSA kicks in immediately

Redundancy should be 1.5weeks(under 22) capped at £380pw(this might be worth negotiating for full pay and more).

Unused holiday should be paid.

They may want him to work notice and use up the holiday.

The problem you have now is that if they get a sign that he wants to leave they could just withdraw and then that leaves him in a bit of a pickle.

The first time this happens it is a big shock to the system but you have to learn that it is not personal(most times). I have been made redundant 3 times and another time we got the company to withdraw through carefull negotiation at consultation. I know others that I have worked with that have notched up over 6. In my line hi-tech IT it comes with the job.

RobertoMoir

When you say things like "It's getting seedier by the hour" it sounds like you suspect some kind of grand conspiracy against your son. It's one thing to be defensive and supportive for your own family but you can go too far.

The questions that need to be asked, imho, are:
1) Is the redundancy "fair". Not do you think it's fair, but has the selection process been handled fairly, etc. (Keep in mind if they make a job redundant and there's only one person doing it then yes, the process is kinda inevitable).

2) Have they followed all the procedures for a redundancy correctly?

3) What does he think, or what would he like to be the realistic outcome of any complaint or challenge to the process. Unless there's more to this than you say then redundancy isn't usually mean as a personal slight on someone, so you / he shouldn't take it personally. It never helps...

Lastly, I know this is distressing for you. I know it's distressing for your son (I've gone through redundancy myself before), but it's something he needs to handle for himself. With your support, sure, but he needs to deal with this himself.

poptart1_2

I have deleted some of my posts on this matter and took your advice, I will let him go it alone. I am obviously an over protective mother who should know better.

Ewarwoowar2

RobertoMoir wrote: »

When you say things like "It's getting seedier by the hour" it sounds like you suspect some kind of grand conspiracy against your son. It's one thing to be defensive and supportive for your own family but you can go too far.

The questions that need to be asked, imho, are:
1) Is the redundancy "fair". Not do you think it's fair, but has the selection process been handled fairly, etc. (Keep in mind if they make a job redundant and there's only one person doing it then yes, the process is kinda inevitable).

2) Have they followed all the procedures for a redundancy correctly?

3) What does he think, or what would he like to be the realistic outcome of any complaint or challenge to the process. Unless there's more to this than you say then redundancy isn't usually mean as a personal slight on someone, so you / he shouldn't take it personally. It never helps...

Lastly, I know this is distressing for you. I know it's distressing for your son (I've gone through redundancy myself before), but it's something he needs to handle for himself. With your support, sure, but he needs to deal with this himself.

I think that you're missing the bigger picture here.

In any unfair dismissal claim related to redundancy, the first thing to ask is whether there is a redundancy situation i.e. was redundancy the real reason for dismissal. Fair procedure, although important, comes next.

What the OP is suggesting is that the redundancy is bogus. His son is the only one at risk of redundancy and being dismissed. The evidence that the OP has found is that there isn't a downturn in work.

The OP should discuss with his son whether there are any other reasons his employer might want to dismiss him e.g. lateness, problems with his colleagues, etc.. This is very common, dress up some other reason for dismissal as resunsancy to avoid dealing with the real problem.

At the appeal, I would discuss with the employer the need for redundancies, based on the info you have found. What's the reason for the downturn (cancelled contract, etc..) ? Why is it only his job that's gone?

In relation to procedure, a fair procedure should identify a pool of people, who do similar jobs or who's skills are transferable. They a fair selection based on an objective criteria. You son should also have been consulted with about the need for the redundancies and ways to avoid redundancy.

getmore4less

Young people need support through these times lucky to have parent that cares and wants to help.

I was lucky that my employer was very supportive when I was 19/20 not everyone is so lucky.

By the time you have been through a few rounds of redundancy you get to know how to negotiate and the signs that a company is a bit dodgy or going down.

Redundant 3 times at risk over 10.


By the way deleting posts tends to make a thread meaningless so no one can learn from it.

RobertoMoir

poptart1 wrote: »

I have deleted some of my posts on this matter and took your advice, I will let him go it alone. I am obviously an over protective mother who should know better.

Please don't delete your posts and stop caring for your son, my opinions are just food for thought - I'm not suggesting you're wrong to want what's best for your son or to help him, just that he needs to take the lead for himself.

Ewarwoowar knows a lot more about this subject than I ever will and has raised a few good points, too.

dickydonkin

only person doing this particular role, warehouse operative ..distribution warehouse.

Your son works in a 'distribution warehouse' and is the only person doing the warehouse operatives role?

It would be interesting to know the roles of the other staff who were summoned to the MD's office.

My reason for quering this is that based on the posting, there are another 9 staff members working in a distribution warehouse that do not perform the warehouse operatives role - what do they actually do?

Unless I have misunderstood the post, I find it strange that there is only one warehouse operative in a distribution warehouse. If the business is not solely warehouse and distribution and for example is a production unit with a warehouse facility, who will then perform the role in the future and who will send the products out of the door?

poptart1_2

thank you for reply, but as I said earlier I will leave him to sort it his self, I was obviously getting too involved and taking my role as mother too far. I have learnt to back off , I will not be seeking any futhur advice on here.