Discrimination in restructuring/redundancy

EleanorRig

Hi

I work in a small village primary school which is part of a multi academy trust (MAT). The MAT recently proposed a huge restructuring, whereby 140 support staff faced redundancy.
My colleague (A), who works as a learning mentor, was given the option to apply for her job but with a massive reduction in pay and hours. Another colleague's (B) position (as HLTA) was removed from the restructuring proposal altogether, there was an alternative position (again, at hugely reduced pay) that was on offer.
After the consultation period, more people than the MAT had anticipated, requested voluntary redundancy, so there were more positions that needed to be filled.
Colleague B decided to take early retirement alongside voluntary redundancy. Colleague A was offered a very different role, with a different age group in another school and felt that it wasn't in any way similar to her current role, she therefore declined the offer.
Since these decisions have been made, colleague B has been offered her original job back (with the same pay): she declined. She was then offered two different options (both of which she has a great interest in); she declined those also.
However, colleague A's original job was removed from the restructuring altogether, she has not had any other offers of employment (aside from the one unsuitable post).
She has been told she can take voluntary redundancy but as she feels she has been treated unfairly, she wishes to take the matter to court and has been advised by her union to go for compulsory redundancy.
My question is this: is this grounds for discrimination or unfair dismissal, or something else entirely?
Both colleagues have worked in the school for over 20 years and are similar ages.

getmore4less

The job has gone nothing discriminatory in that, if they know of suitable alternative then they can ask to be considered for them.


B needs to be careful you can't refuse your old job back they just withdraw the redundancy and nothing changes

They then have to resign or retire or take VR if offered(does not have to be).

sangie595

As said, there appear to be no grounds for discrimination in law - this would have to be based on decisions being made as a result of the persons gender or race, for example. Employers are allowed to discriminate provided the reason for the discrimination isn't one of the protected characteristics.

However, if I am honest, I am not seeing any argument for anything here. Her complaint appears to be that someone else was offered more "unsuitable" posts than she was. That isn't a basis for a legal argument.

The employers primary concern is that they should be able to run their business within the budget they have. If their initial arrangements to do that cannot work out, then they are entitled to change them, and that is all they have done. So what happened to a colleague (who, as Getmore4less has suggested, may end up being told they can't have redundancy anyway - they were offered their job on the same terms, and turning it down means they have no right to redundancy of any kind) in a different role is irrelevant to what happened to A. There is a huge difference between what something thinks is unfair and what the law says is unfair. I am simply not seeing any argument here for the latter.

TBagpuss

On what basis does A think she has been discriminated against?

Discrimination relates to being treated less favourably on the basis of a protected charcteristic such as gender, sexual orientation, race, age, disability or pregnancy.

Unfair dismissal would need to to show that the process or decison making was unfair, and tht the decisions made by the employer were outside the rangfe of what a reasonable employer might decide.

A's job has gone, soon t he face of it, she is redundant. She was offered an alternative role which the employer felt was suitable but which she did not.

It sounds as though A andB had diferent job, so it is not surprising that the options offered to each of them are also different. If A is saying that the alternative roles which were offered to B and which B is rejecting would be suitabkle for her then it might be more constructive for her to approach the amplyer about those specific roles and ask to be considered.