Notice period in contract

kingborris

Hi all,

Myself and around 60 others have been placed on consultation for an up coming redundancy. Our HR department are basically offering us statutory, however, many of us also have the following in our contracts:

Subject to Clauses 10.3 and 22 below, you will be entitled to receive one month’s notice of termination of employment. After 5 years of continuous employment you will be entitled to receive an additional one week's notice for each year of continuous employment up to a maximum of 12 weeks, after 12 years' continuous employment.

(10.3 and 22 don't have anything to with redundancies)

This is likely to affect around 20-25 employees, so we're trying to get a handle on what notice period we should be recieveing

EG... if I've worked at the company for 10 years, do I get:

a) 10 weeks notice
b) 1 month + 10 weeks, then capped to 12 weeks max
c) 1 month + 10 weeks (uncapped as i haven't worked 12 years)

Unsurprisingly our HR department are suggesting it should be a), be we are reading it differently.

I'm after opinions on what notice we should be pushing for, and if HR insist on the minimum, what our next course of action would be?

Thanks in advance

KB

getmore4less

a.

standard statutory notice 1week per year upto 12.

Undervalued

Sorry but I think you are trying to "creatively" read it the way you would like it to be.

Statutory, as I'm sure you know, is one week during the first year then one week for each complete year of service up to 12 in total.

By any reading your contract gives those with less that four years service some extra notice so that is good for them. However I struggle to read it as a "bonus month" for everybody else.

Ultimately, unless you can persuade them to read it your way, you would have to take this to a tribunal. That will cost you c. £1200 in fees which you are unlikely to get back even if you win.

General_Grant

kingborris wrote: »

Hi all,

Subject to Clauses 10.3 and 22 below, you will be entitled to receive one month’s notice of termination of employment. After 5 years of continuous employment you will be entitled to receive an additional one week's notice for each year of continuous employment up to a maximum of 12 weeks, after 12 years' continuous employment.

IE... if I've worked at the company for 10 years, [STRIKE]do[/STRIKE] I get:

a) 10 weeks notice


[STRIKE]Unsurprisingly[/STRIKE] Correctly, our HR department are suggesting it should be a),

KB

I suppose you could try to argue that, for those with less than 12 years' service, they could be entitled to an extra couple of days notice because the base of one month to which the additional weeks are added is 2 or 3 days more than 4 weeks (unless February is included when anyone receives notice).

hawk30

It's quite clearly a.