Potentially Jobless AND Homeless :(

aweebargain

I really would appreciate some words from those of you who may have knowledge in this field.
Due to a LA withdrawal of funding issue. My ‘Tied Accommodation’ Post of many many years is redundant (redundancy payment £9K) and I am being offered redeployment to a ‘suitably matched’ post (with no housing). As you can imagine this is extremely stressful and life changing. The salary offered in the redeployment post however is less than I currently earn and I find this unfair; it’s at the same grade but bottom point of the incremental scale (apparently because I am not ‘trained’ for the redeployed role). Given not only is the tied accommodation element no longer available to me (it is only available so long as the post was available) but I will be paid less too, is this reasonable and legal and negotiable do you think?
Please please can you advise me?:(:(

getmore4less

That does not look like a suitable alternative.

are they refusing redundancy saying it is suitable?

aweebargain

No, they're not refusing redundancy. I'm still in 'trial' period (4 weeks) and am expected to make a decision as to whether I want the job or not. I just don't feel it is at all comparable ie ' suitable alternative..' Financially it will be a significant reduction to my existing income.
Thanks for your response.

Fire_Fox

Are you a member of the union?

zzzLazyDaisy

aweebargain wrote: »

No, they're not refusing redundancy. I'm still in 'trial' period (4 weeks) and am expected to make a decision as to whether I want the job or not. I just don't feel it is at all comparable ie ' suitable alternative..' Financially it will be a significant reduction to my existing income.
Thanks for your response.

Your problem is that the employer is doing everything it is required to do.

Your employer is NOT under any obligation to find you a comparable post within the organisation or one that is considered 'suitable alternative employment', and very often this is simply not possible.

The only relevance of 'suitable alternative employment' is that IF the employer offers you such employment and you refuse it, they are entitled to refuse to pay you any redundancy pay - but that does not seem to be the case here.

The point of the trial period is for you to decide whether you wish to accept the new post. If you do not feel that it is suitable, you are entitled to accept redundancy from your old post, provided you do so within the trial period. However if you remain in post longer than four weeks, you are deemed to have accepted the new post, so you do need to make a decision fairly quickly.

aweebargain

Yes I have joined the union but have not (yet) sought advise. Is there anything a union can do??? I feel my bosses probably ARE doing everything they CAN do under the circumstances ie LA funding withdrawal.
Nevertheless I have gone from a much loved Mon - Fri 9am - 3pm Part time post to a gruelling rolling shifts pattern of working (early late day night etc) for a reduction in my hourly rate.
Thank you for reading and for your comments.
I don't want to appear ungrateful as I do realise I am very fortunate to be offered redeployment. It's only that I understood I would have stayed at my current pay scale/rate and am disappointed not to as my outgoings will have to increase significantly now due to loss of tied house.
Thanks you again.

Voyager2002

You might be better off taking the redundancy payment: how likely is it that you would find another job?

zzzLazyDaisy

It is also worth you inputting your details into the turn2us calculator, to see if you would be entitled to help with housing and council tax costs. However do be aware that if renting privately, you are limited to the number of bedrooms depending on the number of people in the family. You can check this by googling 'LHA' with the name of your local authority, you then put that maximum allowable rent into the benefit calculator as your rent.

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

warmhands.coldheart

So options are;

No job, No accomodation but with £9000 in your pocket
Job, but no accomodation with less money in your pocket.

Personally unless you're absolutely sure you will get another job somewhere on a suitable salary (Which I'd inmagine No-one can be sure of now-a-days,
I'd take the job, then look for something else

aweebargain

Thank you everyone, Will keep you updated on outcome.

repeatoffender

Are you employed by the LA? Is your pay not protected for a number of years under redeployment? Check with your union and will you not be priority for housing given that you are unintentionally homeless? Does your union not have welfare advisers and/or a hardship fund?

Just a few questions i would be asking my union rep.