Redundancy criteria

scrumble_2

The company I work for, like many others, is struggling and notice has been given of possible redundancies. I have been intending to move anyway to be with my partner, and I've offered myself up for voluntary redundancy.

I started working there in 2003, the company was then sold to my current boss in 2006. In 2008 a new contract was given to me, which stated "Your employment began on 5.4.2006. No previous employment counts as part of your period of continuous employment". I queried the this, as well as the reduction in my holiday entitlement, and heard nothing since. I didn't at any time sign that contract.

As far as I understand it I'm entitled to seven weeks notice and a minimum redundancy payment of seven weeks wages, due to my time there. Can they actually claim I'm only entitled to 4 years? Even if I had signed it, regardless what that form says, I have been continuously employed there since 2006.

They haven't come back to me with any offer, but I'm trying to arm myself just in case.

SarEl

Signing or not signing isn't relevant - you have worked under these terms for 4 years without doing anything about it, so it is now your contract. That said , your previous service may count, regardless of what the contract says on this specific matter, if the company was TUPE'd. That would appear to be the case - but there isn't enough information to be sure about it, so if a dispute arose you would need legal advice on this issue. In your position, if it came to it, I would probably be arguing that TUPE applies and they cannot lawfully discount your service 2003 - 06 - and leave it up to them to prove that it doesn't (because in most cases it world).

Then again, this is all voluntary redundancy, and since it is voluntary on both sides, then they can refuse to give it to you anyway, for any reason they want - so if you start arguing about this the simplest thing for them to do is refuse to give it to you.