apprentice redundancy

mincedump

Hello, I am an apprentice in engineering. My company is going through redundancy. They have told me that my job is at risk and I am now on garden leave after the scoring matrix.

My query is this but rather complicated;
Their were 20 apprentices all at different stages of their apprenticeships, their were 9 who were due to come out of their time but as the company was going through a redundancy procedure they got rid of 5 apprentices, because they couldn't employ them, they arranged meetings with the other 4 who were due out of their time (who the company wanted to keep and could only keep by doing the following) that they would have to extend their apprenticeship due to the downturn in business. This then meant that the more qualified apprentices went back into the matrix pot with the more under qualified. The scores were then processed and 8 out of the other apprentices went, 2 stayed and the 4 who has their meeting stayed (because the company wanted to keep them because they were good enough to be full time employees) my question is would you see this as unfair?

as why would a company offer an extension to employees then make them redundant with in a couple of days as they could have got rid of them for free the previous week. Meaning the company new before they did the scores who they wanted to keep.

I am lost and I don't know what to do or say in my next consultation meeting, I really could do with some advice.

thank you in advance

ohreally

Apprentices have protection that other employees don't, is the unions aware of the situation.


http://www.anapprenticeship.co.uk/making-apprentice-redundant.html

mincedump

Hi thank you for the reply, we aren't in a union and the company seem to be going forward with it so I am under the impression that I ant do anything to stop this from happening. I have seen this website before but I actually can't find any recent case law to back me up. I am under a modern apprenticeship and have no where really to turn, I don't know whether I would want to burn bridges with this organisation.

Thank you for your response

sangie595

Have you spoken to your training provider about whether it is possible to transfer your apprenticeship elsewhere? If you aren't willing or able to stand up for this, then going elsewhere would be your only other option.

You can find some of the case law here: http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/apprenticeships-how-to-avoid-employment-law-problems/ But possessing case law isn't a magic wand, because you still have to stand up to the employer.

And learn the lesson here while you are young. Join a union and stay in a union. Then they will do the standing up for you, and you will have somewhere to turn.

mincedump

sangie595 wrote: »

Have you spoken to your training provider about whether it is possible to transfer your apprenticeship elsewhere? If you aren't willing or able to stand up for this, then going elsewhere would be your only other option.

You can find some of the case law here: http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/apprenticeships-how-to-avoid-employment-law-problems/ But possessing case law isn't a magic wand, because you still have to stand up to the employer.

And learn the lesson here while you are young. Join a union and stay in a union. Then they will do the standing up for you, and you will have somewhere to turn.

thanks for your reply, I have spoken to the training provider and they are finding it increasingly hard to re-employ due to the crash in the oil and gas market. Now I have read the article you posted sangie, thank you. I am a modern apprentice and I am willing to take it further to an employment tribunal but I was worried that the lack of case law would effect my case and how could I prove that I was unfairly made redundant when they have followed redundancy procedures to the book? I don't really know where to start as in standing up to the company?

thanks again

sangie595

mincedump wrote: »

thanks for your reply, I have spoken to the training provider and they are finding it increasingly hard to re-employ due to the crash in the oil and gas market. Now I have read the article you posted sangie, thank you. I am a modern apprentice and I am willing to take it further to an employment tribunal but I was worried that the lack of case law would effect my case and how could I prove that I was unfairly made redundant when they have followed redundancy procedures to the book? I don't really know where to start as in standing up to the company?

thanks again

Well for a start, it isn't about whether the redundancy selection is fair, it is about the fact that apprentices should not be made redundant during their training. But as for where to start, then it has to be with a grievance and appeal to point this out to the employer, followed by a legal claim if that does not resolve the situation. Unfortunately, I don't think you probably have a grasp of the path that you are starting down, which is why a union would have been a great help. But too late for that now.

Employers tend not to be delighted to find that their employees have a knowledge of their rights. So one warning would be to be realistic - you may survive this only to find yourself dismissed for something else later on. Vindictiveness is par for the course, and employers can always find a reason to dismiss if they are motivated enough.

You cannot simply go straight to a tribunal - you must raise this with your employer and give them a chance to put it right.

And past that, I am afraid that I would have to say that tribunals are lengthy, costly and stressful court cases for which no legal aid is available - so you would have to represent yourself. It isn't an impossible thing to do, but it also isn't easy - so you will have a lot to learn to do it, and there are no short cuts.

I'm sorry that that all seems rather negative, but you do need to know what you are taking on. It would be considered an uphill task for any adult, and that is for people with a lot more experience of the world than you yet have. So you will need grit and resolve - and be ready to study hard to learn what you need to. It's all out there on the internet, but you are going to have to get out there and do it yourself.

You could try CAB to see if they can provide any support, or a Law Centre if there is one locally, although those are few and far between now. Do not trust anything ACAS tell you! Always double check it, because, whilst it should be accurate, it often isn't.