management restructure and potential voluntary redundancy

TPS123

Hi,

I could do with some help!

The company I work for is having a management restructure, and my level of management is being removed. I and a number of colleagues have been directly appointed to the next level down in the hierarchy. While this means we have a guaranteed job it does mean we have effectively been demoted down to officer level from senior officer level. My pay has been protected for 6 months after which time it will drop to a position halfway between my current pay and the top grade of the officer salary. In 12 months it will drop again, this time all the way to the officer salary. This works out as a 10% pay drop for me in total.

The company is willing to consider requests for voluntary redundancy, and so I have put in a request which is being considered, with a "final outcome meeting" next week with me to discuss my request and for them to let me know a final decision.

My question is two-fold I guess:

1) Considering the significant drop in salary and position that I am about to take, along with the significant change in job description (in my view), is it reasonable for me to argue that I believe my current senior position has been made redundant and that the officer job is a step down too far? I currently manage my own caseload of complaints from customers, along with line managing half the team and their own caseload. As a demoted officer I will only manage my own caseload. While the "new" job will be much easier, it is not the career progression step I was next envisaging!

2) In order to be considered for voluntary redundancy I understand that I need to show they don't need me doing the job they are now offering. I can certainly show that other similar organisations require their officers to have a much larger caseload, and that consequently I could argue my team could do without another officer (ie. me!) by spreading the load out across fewer officer.

From a personal point of view, I don't want a demotion. I am in my early 40s and to be relegated down from management to this level is frustrating from a career development perspective. Further to this, I would be able to use the redundancy package they are offering (only the statutory minimum, sadly) to start up my own business, so need all the advice I can get as to how best to convince them next week to "let me go".

All advice would be very much appreciated!

Kind Regards,

sangie595

I don't know a thing about the sector or industry, so it's impossible to suggest whether your argument is sound or not. But I can tell you that with the salary protecting you have in place, you cannot refuse the job. If they insisted on you taking it got would be forced to make a tribunal claim, and frankly, I doubt it will succeed. Salary protection of six months or more is generally a deal breaker - that is adequate time to find another job if you don't like what had happened, so tribunals will consider the employer has been fair.

TPS123

Thanks Sangie, very useful advice. i don't plan on fighting this per se, certainly not to tribunal, I guess I was wondering more whether I could use the demotion as an extra bit of weight to convince them to let me go via VR.

I think I really need to paint a picture that shows they can do without me in the workforce, which is quite a strange thing to be arguing to the director of your team, but apparently that is what is required!?

Thanks again for your swift response!