Husband has been handed redundancy settlement, unsure what to do next!

koneko

My hubby has very unexpectedly been given a redundancy settlement letter today and has been told that due to company restructuring, they are absorbing his duties into someone elses role. We believe there are other redundancies being made in the company.

The settlement letter says that if he signs it, he relinquishes all right to any further claims etc from the company. If he doesn't agree to it, then it will go to a length redundancy consultation process.

As far as we can see the settlement being offered is no more than statutory redundancy as it amounts to PILON + one months pay (he has been with the company 5 years) so it doesn't seem in our best interests to sign it as going through the redundancy consultation he will still be paid for the duration of the process plus still benefit from stat redundancy.

Does this sound right? Can he negotiate via an employment lawyer for a better settlement?

This couldn't have come at a worse time as I am 5 months pregnant and due to go on Maternity leave in May. My company only pay statutory maternity pay so we were relying on hubbys wages to pay the mortgage and bills. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Guest101

im fairly sure unless he's had independent legal advice, him signing the letter is meaningless

koneko

The letter does state that we need to seek legal advise before signing but at the moment he is leaning towards not accepting the settlement. Interested to hear from anyone with experience of agreeing a settlement vs going through the redundancy consultation process.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

From what you say it does seem foolish for him to forego the right to the process unless they are offering him something more than the minimum he could expect at the end of the process. Indeed, it seems such an odd thing that I would be concerned there was some mistake. As you believe there were other redundancies being made, I would have a word with the appropriate manager to find out if this is a standard letter that got sent to everyone and somebody forgot that people with longer service would already be getting this, or more than this.

wishus

Just want to say good luck with this. I don't know anything, and I've not been through a redundancy myself, but I did look things up when a previous employer gave us notice they would be doing them.

I imagine you've already been here?

I would also check to see if they can make him redundant by absorbing his job into a different person's job spec. I am not sure they can do that, having read this:

Your employer can make you redundant without having to follow a selection process if your job no longer exists, eg if:

• your employer is closing down a whole operation in a company and making all the employees working in it redundant
• you’re the only employee in your part of the organisation

Your employer may offer you a different role if one is available.

Advice seems to be to contact your local job centre plus.

getmore4less

Depending on age statutory would be 5weeks capped at ?(forgot current amount..... looked it up £475).

Notice 5 weeks or more if contractual.

Agree if they want to drag out a consultation might be a good idea.

They can absorb the job into others but may need to do selection depending on how it is distributed.

maninthestreet

Why will be a 'lengthy' redundancy consultation? Even if between 20 to 99 people are also being made redundant at the same time, the consultation period is only 30 days.

carslet

maninthestreet wrote: »

Why will be a 'lengthy' redundancy consultation? Even if between 20 to 99 people are also being made redundant at the same time, the consultation period is only 30 days.

Consultation can be any length, depends on the situation and if the workers are negotiating different roles / hours to keep people in the company

frugal54

Hi Koneko

If your husband signs it is the company solicitor going to draw up a settlement agreement for him to sign?

Normally if they are offering a settlement, it is higher than statutory because there is a chance he could take the company to a tribunal. I can't see the point in signing his rights away and would opt to go through the redundancy process unless they substantially increase the offer. He should definitely take legal advice, have the company offered to pay for this?

F54

BobQ

If it is little more than statutory redundancy terms he should not sign it.

The Settlement Agreement is a voluntary and negotiated arrangement that usually offers more than redundancy. A SA must be arrived at based on independent advice from a professional.

For the amount involved it is probably not worthwhile getting legal advice at his expense. So the first reaction needs to be what is in it for me and who is going to pay for this advice?

Of course if the employer thinks he should accept it you could try asking them to pay the legal costs of consulting a solicitor and ask that they make a more sensible offer.

Before signing anything read this:

http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/o/a/Settlement_agreements_(the_Acas_Guide)JULY2013.pdf

A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract that involves him giving up a legal right but it is voluntary. The legal rights he is giving up is to be made redundant after individual consultation and an explanation of why he is being made redundant and not someone else. The process has to be fair and cannot be discriminatory on various grounds.

https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/overview If more than 20 jobs are going there is a legal requirement to have a fair process and fair selection criteria and more formal consultation.

Note that settlement agreements are often discussed under a confidentiality agreement. The firm may be using a SA to try and avoid following a legal process (eg perhaps they plan to make 25 people redundant but want to get under 20 (to save formal consultation) using the SAs. But doing this may not be legal in all cases if they are just trying to get around the law.

http://www.masonbullock.co.uk/is-a-settlement-agreement-the-same-as-a-redundancy/

BobQ

frugal54 wrote: »

Hi Koneko

If your husband signs it is the company solicitor going to draw up a settlement agreement for him to sign?

Normally if they are offering a settlement, it is higher than statutory because there is a chance he could take the company to a tribunal. I can't see the point in signing his rights away and would opt to go through the redundancy process unless they substantially increase the offer. He should definitely take legal advice, have the company offered to pay for this?

F54

To be legal (ie not subject to challenge at an employment tribunal) the agreement must be in writing, be agreed based on independent and qualified advice. He also needs a reasonable time to seek such advice. So should not be bounced into it.