Q re Notice Period

aldredd

Hi, I've been given the opportunity to apply for Voluntary Redundancy. We've been given an initial quote, and I'm giving it some thought. It's a big company, so I think it's fairly 'vanilla' (not much negotiating to be had) but there is a reasonable package being offered.

However, I think I've found a discrepancy, which led me to do some checking... I worked out that the quote they've given me only shows 9 weeks of pay in lieu of notice. However, I was sure my contract - which was reissued to me a couple of years ago (signed by myself & HR) that states it's 13 weeks. Not only that, but there was another clause, which suggests it's actually 20 weeks.

it reads as follows:

If we end your employment, you will receive the following notice, except in cases of gross misconduct, when you will receive no notice.

Completed Service
Less than 1 month - No notice required
1 month or more - 13 weeks

Then 1 additional week of notice for each additional year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks

I've been the with company getting on for over 7 years. I wasn't sure whether 'maximum of 12' was a total cap, or 'additional' cap, but given it states 13 as basic, surely it must be on top of that? Which would give me 20 weeks.

Or is there a reason why redundancy means this wouldn't apply in this case?

Undervalued

So called voluntary redundancy technically is not actually redundancy at all. It is a mutually agreed termination. As such, the terms are whatever is mutually agreed.

If you don't like the terms being offered you have the option of declining.

aldredd

Thanks Undervalued.

did some quick checks, and Citizens Advice Bureau suggests differently...

Taking voluntary redundancy

Where jobs are to disappear, an employer may ask for employees to volunteer for redundancy. Even if you take voluntary redundancy, it will still count as a dismissal and your employer must still follow the proper procedures. You won't lose any right you may have to redundancy pay.

or am i missing a point? (not unheard of!)

CKhalvashi

You'd be entitled to 12 weeks notice in terms of statutory redundancy, as this is in the contract.

If you are to take voluntary, it's whatever is agreed between you. You may wish to ask for 12 (or 20) weeks, plus statutory redundancy pay, but it doesn't mean you'll get it.

As an employer, I'd personally give it, but many have said before that I'm much more generous than most.

Undervalued

aldredd wrote: »

Thanks Undervalued.

did some quick checks, and Citizens Advice Bureau suggests differently...



or am i missing a point? (not unheard of!)

Don't really see how that is different.

If your job really no longer exists your employer could perfectly lawfully make (i.e force) you redundant. You would be entitled to your contractual notice plus some additional pay depending on age and length of service using a scale laid down by the government. You would have no choice in the matter and your only option would be to take them to a tribunal if you felt the redundancy wasn't genuine.

However if the company wants to simply reduce costs overall and it is less clear that a specific job is redundant they may ask for volunteers. Under these circumstances they generally offer more than the statutory minimum to encourage people to accept. Although this is often called voluntary redundancy, as I said, technically it is not redundancy but a mutually agreed termination.

Under these circumstances, apart from perhaps strengthening your negotiating position, your contractual and legal entitlements are irrelevant as the total value of any offer is bound to exceed the legal minimum. If the offer appeals you accept it. If not you reject it or try to negotiate a better offer.

getmore4less

The minimum in a mutualy agreed termination is Zero.

There seems to be some confusion over the PILON

Even in a normal redundancy situation the only extra payments due are statutory redudancy.

An employer does not have to pay PILON, and if you work you notice they can make you use up quite a lot of acrued unused holiday but would need to pay any unused.

In a mutual termination(or even enhanced redumdancy) cases how you handle notice is by agreement and that included how much notice.

The basic options are
work
garden leave
PILON.

These can be combined.
an employer could for example offer 4 weeks notice work 1, garden leave 2, PILON 1.




The notice as described by the OP is very unusual and not something a competent person would draft.

I suspect it was either a mistake or the OP has missed out some cruicial wording.

lovehackney

If the company I am thinking of is the same company I work for, where they have issued a website with a voluntary redundancy calculator, it is likely just that the calculator is wrong for you specifically.

e.g., for a certain grade, when you put in the details it indicates that pay in lieu of notice is 4 weeks. I am this grade, but my pay in lieu of notice is 13 weeks. The discrepancy is just because my notice period is not standard for my grade.

So, if it's the big company I am thinking of, it's probably just that your terms aren't standard for your grade, and the calculator isn't taking those into account as it isn't done for individuals.

Contact personnel and ask them to a) confirm your notice period and b) if they can provide a more accurate quote.