Change in job pay and hours - grounds for redundancy or constructive dismissal?

Irishsmurfy

Hi all

I hope someone can advise us please. My husband has worked on a part time basis of 2 days per week for a limited company for the past 4 years. The company was sold in December to a new owner (no administration or liquidation - just a sale from one owner to another).

The new owner has called my husband into a meeting to say that he has now decided that he wants a full time member of staff rather than a part time member of staff and that my husband is welcome to apply. However the new full time role will be classed as a significant drop in responsibilites and as such the owner is offering the job to my husband but with a 42% pay drop!!

Basically he is now saying that unless my husband agrees to work 5 days per week instead of 2 day per week, and agrees to a 42% pay drop then he's out of a job. He says my husband is not entitled to redundancy or anything other than his 4 week notice period if he turns down the new job.

Is this right?? Or could my husband argue for either redundancy based on the fact that the new job is signficantly different hours and pay than his current job - or could my husband qualify for unfair constructive dismisal as the pay drop is huge. Also my husband works 1 day per week somewhere else at his usual rate of pay so he would have to give that up to work for the 5 day week instead.

He has to give his final response tomorrow to the new owner.

Any advice would be much appreciated please.

Kayalana99

Wish him luck today OP, my understanding is that when made redundant because your job is no longer needed they can offer you other roles but your free to decline and still take it but I'm no expert by far - I would of googled it abit for you if it wasn't to late.

getmore4less

I think this should be a redundancy situation, they need to terminate the current contract.

The replacement would likely not be classed as a suitable alternative

Don't resign and refuse the change in terms of the current contract.

I would post on www.redundancyforum.com better chance of getting some suitable responses.

CKhalvashi

Getmore4less has the nail on the head.

We ask staff to swap departments occasionally, however will make sure that there's no pay cut when this is done, even when there is a drop in responsibilities (although we try to make sure it's a comparable job.)

Redundancy, IME, should come into play here.

CK

SeaLion_2

This is a redundancy situation. There has been a decrease in the type of work that your husband does, and an increase in a lower level type of work. Hence there is a requirement for a new fully time role for the lower type of job work and redundancy for your husband who does the higher kind of work.

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay

plus his notice period.