Redundancy payments

djl75

Hello,

I've just been placed at risk as my company plans on closing my department in the office where I work. We've basically got 3 options at the end of the consultation period - Relocation, immediate redundancy and get s small payment or stay a few months and get an enhanced redundancy payment (this is so they can do knowledge transfer to another office).

My question is if I say I'm going to stay for the enhanced package but then find another job before the end of the period I'm supposed to stay for, would I still be entitled to a redundancy payment? According to Acas, I'm entitled to it if "the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business in the place where the employee was so employed." They are keeping some of the office open (for other things) but closing my department. So would this count as intending to cease and so I'd be entitled to a redundancy payment?

Thanks for any help.

Jarndyce

djl75 wrote: »

Hello,

I've just been placed at risk as my company plans on closing my department in the office where I work. We've basically got 3 options at the end of the consultation period - Relocation, immediate redundancy and get s small payment or stay a few months and get an enhanced redundancy payment (this is so they can do knowledge transfer to another office).

My question is if I say I'm going to stay for the enhanced package but then find another job before the end of the period I'm supposed to stay for, would I still be entitled to a redundancy payment? According to Acas, I'm entitled to it if "the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business in the place where the employee was so employed." They are keeping some of the office open (for other things) but closing my department. So would this count as intending to cease and so I'd be entitled to a redundancy payment?

Thanks for any help.

Yes from what you are saying you will be redundant once your department closes and so entitled to a redundancy payment (assuming that relocation is not a realistic option).

If you leave for another job before your notice period expires, you are resigning and not entitled to a redundancy payment, unless you are in the period which would have been your statutory notice period (one week for each complete year of service) in which case you can serve counter notice and still get your payment.

That is a very quick summary - am rushing out. WIll try and expand later or others will do so I'm sure.

getmore4less

AIUI it will depend on the exact timings and how they structure the packages.

Counter notice which is what you want to do has restrictions on timings as described above.
(a few threads cover more details have a search).

If they structure the enhanced package correctly they could avoid paying it if you leave early even if you get the counter notice timing right.

Many jobs include broad terms that would make supporting the handover part of the contract so they could delay giving notice(so counter notice is not possible).

If they are offering immediate termination that must be with PILON.

Make sure they have not swapped PILON for the enhanced redundancy you want both.

Advantage of staying continuing pay, increased chances of finding alternatives or even relocating(if other jobs are hard to find). what if the trainees are not good enough.

How many people involved what happens if as a group you all elect to leave immediately do you have room to negotiate better terms to do handovers.

SarEl

I do so wish that ACAS would stop trying to give legal advice - they really are rubbish at it. As Googlwhacker has suggested, if the enhanced paymnet comes with a term that you must remain until a specified date, which it sounds very much like it will, then any enhanced payment will depend on your fulfilling those terms in full. You would not loose statutory redundancy, provided you give counter-notice as explained, and it must be within the statutory notice period (and can be refused), but any ehnaced payment would be fair game. It would seem most sensible to try to line up your ducks - ensure that any new job starts after your termination date.

djl75

Thanks for all the help.

The enhanced package does come with a term I'll need to stay for. What I was looking at was if I would still be entitled to the statutory minimum if I said I was going to stay but left a bit earlier. What they've given me so far suggests I can leave straight away and get the minimum, or stay for a fixed period to get an enhanced package but doesn't say what would happen if I left between the 2 dates. I'm considering staying for the longer period but looking for a job at the same time so would like to know if I'll still get some redundancy if I found a job before the end.

SarEl

Not necessarily. You can only serve counter notice in your statutory notice period. So let's assume you have worked there 5 years - your statutory notice period is 5 weeks. You take the "enhanced with strings package" and they tell you that your leaving date is 31st December - and your contractual notice is, say two months. Leave between now and 1st November - you have resigned because you are not actually in your notice period at all. No redundancy. leave the first three weeks of November - and the same applies because you cannot leave without serving your notice. Leave anytime after the fifth week before 31st December and you can serve counter-notice and get your normal redundancy pay but no enhancement, Stay until 31st December and you get the enhancement. That's a little bit simplistic and a little bit of a broad sweep - but is close enough for 99.5% of circumstances. Does that help at all?