Variation to Contract (VTC) letter - HR advice needed - potential redundancy

Deestar36

Hi All,

I'm hoping there's someone out there who could give me some H.R. advice please ....

Back in April, totally out of the blue, my manager advised that they were shutting down our department within this larger organisation. HR were present in the meeting when this was told to me, and I was fortunate enough to be offered a position within HR by the manager on the same grade/salary as I was currently on in the other department. Grateful for the job/opportunity, and probably still in shock and angry I took it, and a few days later was transferred to HR and given my VTC letter.

I would like some advice as to where I stand on the 'trial period' stated within the letter, which reads:-

"A trial period of 3 months will be applicable from appointment start date, should the trial period not be successful consultation will begin for a potential redundancy situation following closure of your original department".

My 3 month trial is up in July, and I have no reason to believe that there are any issues, far from it, I believe I have settled in well.

However, I would like to know, based on the paragraph above and it's wording, whether anyone from HR believes this would work both ways, i.e., if my employer believes the trial period hasn't been successful they could start the redundancy process, or similarly, if I believe that the job isn't what I expected, could I say it's not for me, please start the redundancy process?

The reason for my question; I've been fortunate enough to have been offered another position more suitable to my skills outside of the organisation which I am considering, but want to keep all my options open, especially if I could benefit from some redundancy pay (8 years).

I know I currently work in HR, but the only person I could ask is the manager, which I wouldn't feel comfortable with at this stage (just want to gather some advice first really).

Any comments gratefully received,

Deestar
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sangie595

Not unless the employer agreed it as part of the terms. As things stand in law, you can only turn down a suitable alternative for good reason within four weeks, and that only if you have been put on redundancy notice. From what you say, redundancy processes were never started because you were offered and accepted the transfer to another job. In which case this would not have been, in law, a trial anyway. Regardless of the terms stated, the employer could not have terminated the contract without good grounds - you would have qualified to claim unfair dismissal. So the three months trial is something of a red herring. They couldn't ever have upheld that in law.

Deestar36

Thank you sangie595.

So if I've understood your reply correctly, if at the end of the 3 month 'trial' my employer says it's not been successful, they could start the redundancy process and I may get redundancy, but if I say it's not been successful, I'm entitled to nothing and I would just work my 1 month notice and go?

Just a bit confused by their 'potential redundancy situation' comment on the initial VTC letter, because although you say the redundancy process was never started (because I accepted the other position) they still refer to it.

sangie595

No - the employer couldn't start the redundancy process! They have offered you another post, and so if they say you are not suitable for that post they would have to prove it on capability grounds. If they cannot then it would be unfair dismissal. You have the required amount of time to claim unfair dismissal, and an employer simply isn't entitled to say "we don't want you". If they wanted this to be a genuine trial period in law, that period is 4 weeks. On both sides. Past that they are constrained by exactly the same entitlements that you would have had if the redundancy of the other role had never happened.

It never fails to surprise me how bad HR departments are at knowing the law!

Deestar36

Thank you sangie 595.