Redundancy and temporary contract

Rowanblue

Hi folks

Can anyone help with these questions please?

I was made redundant from my local government post earlier this year but immediately offered a one year (externally funded) post which ends March 31 next year. This is a lower grade post.

I didn't receive any redundancy payment and was told this is continuous service but if I am made redundant at the end of the contract (by which time I will have eight years service in) my redundancy pay will be calculated on the lower graded post. Can they do that? Or should I have been paid redundancy at the time I was made redundant, even though I started the temporary job the next day?

A colleague has been told that because he accepted a temporary contract he is now a temporary worker and is not entitled to redundancy. Am I right in thinking that's wrong - my understanding is that the temporary contract for the same employer means it is continuous service?

Plus another colleague, in the same boat, worked as a temporary worker (through the council's own employment agency) before taking up a permanent contract. He was then made redundant from the permanent contract after two years and was told he was only eligible for two weeks redundancy pay - they discounted his previous employment. Is that right?

thanks for any help - good luck to everyone

R

SarEl

Rowanblue wrote: »

Hi folks

Can anyone help with these questions please?

I was made redundant from my local government post earlier this year but immediately offered a one year (externally funded) post which ends March 31 next year. This is a lower grade post.

I didn't receive any redundancy payment and was told this is continuous service but if I am made redundant at the end of the contract (by which time I will have eight years service in) my redundancy pay will be calculated on the lower graded post. Can they do that? Yes - you accepted the job as a suitable alternative employment and redundancy pay is calculated on what you earn at the time of redundancy. Or should I have been paid redundancy at the time I was made redundant, even though I started the temporary job the next day? No - you were not made redundant.

A colleague has been told that because he accepted a temporary contract he is now a temporary worker and is not entitled to redundancy. Am I right in thinking that's wrong - my understanding is that the temporary contract for the same employer means it is continuous service? Yes, you are correct

Plus another colleague, in the same boat, worked as a temporary worker (through the council's own employment agency) before taking up a permanent contract. He was then made redundant from the permanent contract after two years and was told he was only eligible for two weeks redundancy pay - they discounted his previous employment. Is that right? Yes - a number of councils have internal agencies - they operate in exactly the same way as any other agency and employment rights do not accrue.

thanks for any help - good luck to everyone

R

Which brings me to the obvious question back - why the hell are you lot not in a union and depending on the advice of complete strangers on a website?

Rowanblue

thanks very much for your response.

As for the union....fair point but I used to be a member of Unison, felt I was paying money for nothing so decided to save the monthly expenditure.

R

SarEl

Rowanblue wrote: »

As for the union....fair point but I used to be a member of Unison, felt I was paying money for nothing so decided to save the monthly expenditure.

R

It isn't money for nothing until you discover that you need it and haven't got it. Do you cancel your house insurance to save money because it hasn't burnt down yet?

fluffy70

Shame that you felt that way about money for nothing in UNISON....I'm a Unison steward and I hear that so much..... until there's a reason to be needed.... redundancy negotiations, equal pay, and terms and conditions negotiations, grievances, disciplinaries, absence disciplinaries, welfare funds, legal advice, flexible working applications, what a lot of members don't realise is that a lot of what Unison, and other unions, do for the members is not seen or heard but is crucial to the everyday employment well being of the employee or worker.

As for your query... you have continuous service, but redundancy is always calculated on pay at time of redundancy notice.... However you made a mistake by not ensuring that your redeployment to your current position involved protected terms and conditions for two years... you would then have not been on a reduced salary in this position. Is your contract still with the local authority or with someone else (As you say it is externally funded now?) Unfortunately your union would have been a great help here................

SarEl

fluffy70 wrote: »

Shame that you felt that way about money for nothing in UNISON....I'm a Unison steward and I hear that so much..... until there's a reason to be needed.... redundancy negotiations, equal pay, and terms and conditions negotiations, grievances, disciplinaries, absence disciplinaries, welfare funds, legal advice, flexible working applications, what a lot of members don't realise is that a lot of what Unison, and other unions, do for the members is not seen or heard but is crucial to the everyday employment well being of the employee or worker.

As for your query... you have continuous service, but redundancy is always calculated on pay at time of redundancy notice.... However you made a mistake by not ensuring that your redeployment to your current position involved protected terms and conditions for two years... you would then have not been on a reduced salary in this position. Is your contract still with the local authority or with someone else (As you say it is externally funded now?) Unfortunately your union would have been a great help here................

Agree entirely except for one point - salary protection is now negoatiated authority by authority. If yours has two years then all power to you - the majority have six months or a year at most.

fluffy70

Ahhh thanks for that SarEl - I didn't realise that.

At least our authority have done ONE thing almost right then :beer: