Individual consultancy - reasonable timeframe?

chockiethief

Hi,

My team were put at risk of redundancy yesterday.
There are less than 20 people affected and there have been no others within the last 90 days, so we have been told there is no need for a collective consultation but that we will have individual consultations.

From a quick look Gov.UK I understand there are no set rules around a consultation period for numbers under 20, but that it is good practice to consult.

My question is whether the time frame we have been provided for this process is reasonable.

8th July - We were put at risk yesterday at 3.30pm, and provided with a bare bones outline of the future structure of the new team.
10th July - 1st consultation meetings
14th July - 2nd consultation meetings
15th July - The selection process will be carried out - mainly a paperbased excercise with an indivdual 'professional conversation' with all affected.
16 July - results of selection process will be fedback individually.

The reason given for the short timespan is that our manager goes on leave on the 17th.

There's a further factor that only affects me. The rest of the team, and the manager, are all based in the North of England, while I am in the South.
No attempt has been made for any of my meetings to be held at my home office. I will either have to travel to the other office or have the meetings by video conference or telephone, neither of which are ideal. Again, timeframe has been quoted as the reaon for this -if my manager travels to my office then meetings can not be held with the rest of the team.
While I accept that this is true, it was the decision of the company to make this announment now, knowing that my manager is going on leave.
The financial implications to the company of delaying the announcement by a month so that this was not a factor are negligible, and there are a number of non-financial advantages in delaying the process by a month. (I know that's my opinion and that it is the company's right to choose the timescale).

This doesn't feel reasonable to me - but I appreciate that feelings have no place in law.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

getmore4less

First consultation by phone then go up for the others as they are on concecutive days and time to prepare.

Even with a small number a group consultation can be a sensible first step as the company can out line it proposals and give all involved time to prepare for their consultations, that may be what they have done allready on te 8th..

Remember consultation is a two way process to look for way to reduce the impact or not have redundancies.