Will refusing short hours job negate redundancy terms?

seven-day-weekend

My son is being made redundant on 23rd October from a well-known retail cheap clothing store.

He has been offered an interview at another branch. However, it is further away and will cost in bus fares (he does not drive and travels to his existing store by cycle). He thinks that the contract is only for eight hours. His existing contract is for eight hours, but he often gets more than this and does not have any travel costs.

He just will not be able to afford to take the job if it is only eight hours as the travel alone will cost too much.

If he is offered the job, and refuses it due to it not being financially viable, will this negate the terms of his redundancy? In other words, can they claim that as he has been offered a job and refused it that they no longer have to pay him any redundancy pay?

Also will it affect any Jobseekers' Allowance (Income-based) for the same reason - will they say he has made himself intentionally unemployed?

I hasten to add he is also applying for other jobs!

Andy_L

If his transport costs increase significantly then it is likely the job is not "suitable alternative employment" and so he can turn it down without affecting any redundancy payment:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Redundancy/DG_10029844

"If your employer is making you redundant, where possible they should try to offer you 'suitable alternative employment' within their organisation or an associated company.
Whether a job is 'suitable alternative employment' depends on several things including:

• how close the work is to your current job
• the terms of the job being offered
• your skills, abilities and circumstances in relation to the job
• the pay (including benefits), status, hours and location of the job

seven-day-weekend

Thanks very much. His travel ticket will come to £57 a month, out of eight hours a week ar minimum wage (around £200 a month). It is too far and the roads too busy to go on his bike. Would this be acceptable if he does turn it down?

getmore4less

Why is he applying for a job he does not want?

If it is not sutiable stop the application.


By aplying it just creates he potential situation that they may try to say it is suitable alternative so he has to argue a case.

Should have waited till he was redunant and been paid, then apply for jobs at the same company.

seven-day-weekend

They have offered the interview to him, he has not applied for it. His store is closing down, but there are a few vacancies at the other store and he has been offered an interview for one of the jobs.

He does not actually know how many hours it is yet (the person who told him about the interview didn't know either), but many contracts at this company are 8 or 12 hours.

getmore4less

Tell them you need details of the job, hours, pay etc, before you can decide if going for an interview is worth bothering

Don't forget to get expences paid if he does go for the interview.

seven-day-weekend

He knows the pay and he will get paid for going to the interview as it is during one of his shifts.

He is going to ask about the hours tomorrow.

Thanks all for your advice.

seven-day-weekend

Hi again, he has found out there are several jobs of 4 or 8 hour contracts, evenings and weekends.

They are therefore not 'suitable alternative employment' as it will cost him a large propotion of his wages just to get there, and at evenings and weekends is also quite awkward as he will have to rely on public transport.

He is going to write them a letter, declining the interview on those grounds.

However, I'm a bit worried as his existing contract is eight hours, evenings and weekends, but as I say he can cycle there, or even walk. Have they fulfilled their obligations to him by offering an interview for something with a similar contract and will this negate his redundancy terms if turned down?

Thanks all.

getmore4less

Often a company will use a blanket policy for mobility but this still need to be reviewed on an individual basis.

If the new location requires a different mode of transport that is not convenient or the shifts on offer and increases travel time and cost that should be OK to not be a sutable alternative.

I would wait and see if they try to claim it is a potentialy suitable alternative before building the case(why waste time if not needed)

How much further is it, how far does he cycle now, how much longer would hte trip be by public transport and how convenient are the tme tables.


How long has he worked in the job? and what is the normal weekly pay.

Statutory redundancy is not that much.

You say income based JSA, so if he has been there less than 2 years there can be no redunduncy pay,
Does the company do enhanced redundancy?

seven-day-weekend

getmore4less wrote: »

Often a company will use a blanket policy for mobility but this still need to be reviewed on an individual basis.

If the new location requires a different mode of transport that is not convenient or the shifts on offer and increases travel time and cost that should be OK to not be a sutable alternative.

I would wait and see if they try to claim it is a potentialy suitable alternative before building the case(why waste time if not needed)

How much further is it, how far does he cycle now, how much longer would hte trip be by public transport and how convenient are the tme tables. It is the other side of the city and the bus journey would be twice as long. The bus runs pretty frequently but then there is a twenty minute walk at the other end.


How long has he worked in the job? and what is the normal weekly pay. 3 years, minimum wage, fluctuting hours but on average about 12- 16 a week over the three years.

Statutory redundancy is not that much.

You say income based JSA, so if he has been there less than 2 years there can be no redunduncy pay,

Does the company do enhanced redundancy?

See my comments in blue above.
The reason ist will be income based JSA is becasue of the amount of hours he has done, he has gaps in his contributions history. There have been weeks, especially recently when he has only done 8 or 12 hours so has not earned enough to pay NI.

seven-day-weekend

Update, he has cycled the route today and it will take nearly an hour along dual carriageways. This may be impossible in the winter. He can't afford bus fare on an eight hours contract. Therefore he is going to explain that he is not taking the interview as the job is not suitable.

Thanks for your replies.