Have my company broken the rules?

uknuke

My situation is quite complicated so I’ll try to keep it as brief as possible.

On the 7th June I was told I was at risk of redundancy from a job I have had for just short of 4 years & that the consultation process will start in the next couple of weeks (I work for one of the world’s largest building materials companies). Immediately I started contacting colleagues in other departments about any possible vacancies that may be available. As luck would have it someone had been recently sacked & another had resigned & both jobs where well within my capabilities.
A meeting was set for 27th June to discuss possibilities with the management from the other dept. I was verbally offered a role & a start date was mentioned but not agreed as such. Because of this the redundancy process stopped.
Two days before my transfer to the new role I was informed that it had fallen through due to restructuring & the redundancy process would recommence.
I have since found out that before my meeting on the 27th June 2 other positions, that I am capable of doing within the dept were filled by people hired from outside the company. I was given no chance to apply as they were not offered to me. One position was even filled before the expiry date to apply so I had no chance anyway. The company decided themselves what job I should be offered without any consultation. CAB & other organisations have told me I qualify for unfair dismissal as the company broke its own rules on employment as well as the law. Is that correct? Any advice would be extremely welcome.

Jarndyce

Can you clarify whether you have now been offered (and whether you have accepted) an alternative post?

uknuke

As of right now i've not been offered anything further. A local company called Southampton Advice And Representation Centre (SARC) went so far as to say that as soon as my move fell through the company should've terminated the employment of the new employee & offered me the job. Sounds a bit harsh but i've heard this more than once. I have my 3rd and final consultation this afternoon. In my 2nd one I did make them aware that I thought they'd broken some rules but my manager seemed quite uninterested about my concerns.

SarEl

God help us if that is the quality of advioce from an agency supposed to be representing employees!

No it is not right that someone should be sacked because you are at risk of redundancy. And there are no rules or laws (unless the company has a policy to this effect) that says that a company cannot employ new staff whilst people are potentially at risk of redundancy - the protections around suitable alternative employments cover people who have been made redundant. Being at risk is not the same thing as being made redundant - the purpose of the consultation is at least partially to check that the redundancy is actually required. In fact, it would appear that the consultation process hadn't even started, and was only due to start, at the time that you found yourself a position elsewhere in the company, albeit that this dis not work out, it is not even clear that in a legal sense you were actually at risk.

The employer is not and was never required to hold open any and all posts that you might be able to do. You had agreed a suitable alternative position and this did not fall through until after the posts had already been appointed to. It may be that the employees concerned have no right to claim unfair dismissal, but equally that does not make it right to just sack people who have done nothing wrong, because the company no longer wants or needs them.

I sincerely hope that these advice agencies are prepared to put their money where their mouth is and support your claim - because you will struggle to find a lawyer who will do so based on what you have said here.

Jarndyce

Hmm. I suppose strictly speaking they haven't acted unlawfully unless and until they make you redundant without having found you a suitable alternative role and you can demonstrate that one existed, but based on what you say they do seem to be on dodgy ground if they are going round hiring externally while their own staff are being made redundant.

Your best chance of retaining a job is now, not by going to a Tribunal afterwards, so do all you can to identify roles which you could do and I would also suggest putting in writing the concern (maybe as a formal grievance - although there may be a separate procedure for redundancy related grievances) you have about the specific roles that have been filled from outside when you could have done them. At the very least it would be helpful for you to know their reasoning for doing that, but it may also concentate their minds for the remainder of the consultation process.

getmore4less

How many others involved in the redundancies?

CAB & other organisations have told me I qualify for unfair dismissal as the company broke its own rules on employment as well as the law. Is that correct?

Which company rules were broken.

For those you will need to put in a grievenace.