Redundant, no notice, no money

MONEYTREE_2

Asking on behalf of my close friend and lodger. She is foreign and her spoken English is quite good but her written English is very poor, as is her knowledge of British employment law. I don't know anything about it, either, but at least I can type in English - a bit!

She has worked as a sewing machinist for a top class, luxury sofa/chairs manufacturer for 6 years with a perfect work record. She works with and under others from her country so none of them have had to learn much English. Despite her college diplomas, expertise and years of experience with them, they've never paid her much above minimum wage and up to last week she got a bit less than £8 an hour.

She went to work as usual last Monday and at lunchtime she and a few others (including her boyfriend) were called into the office and handed redundancy letters, then told to clear their lockers at once and leave the premises. She was home by 12.30!

The letter said, roughly, "sorry, we can't afford to keep you on. We realise we owe you redundancy money AND notice money, but we're broke so we cannot pay you anything. Thanks very much, good luck and goodbye."

She later heard that four other machinists were kept on -- and given pay rises! So the firm is still trading.

Still later she received a letter from some kind of go-between firm that is handling claims for redundancy payments.

The day she got her letter, she heard about a vacancy at another company, applied, was interviewed that very day and started the next day.

She is now being told that, because she started her new job the day after she was made redundant, she has forfeited her right to "notice pay" from the previous employer. That does not sound "right" to my English ears - is it?

Is there anything she should do herself to progress her claim or should she rely on the firm her ex employer has brought in?

Since there are a group of them all in similar positions (except some have not found new jobs) should they bring some kind of "group action"?

Thanks to anyone who can make helpful suggestions.

Masomnia

She should speak to ACAS as a first step, definitely not this firm.

I imagine they're trying to argue that since she wasn't available to work in what would be her notice period she isn't due it from the company; but if they've terminated her with immediate effect then they should have paid her instead.

She's due redundancy pay too.

Dia_Pita

I would advise that your friend sees either a solicitor or at the least Citizens Advice Bureau. I am under the understanding that they finished her, so what work she did after that should not concern them, and they still owe her notice pay.

TBagpuss

Yes, there are circumstances where getting a new job can mean that you don't get redundancy pay, but normally that's if you restart work with another part of the same organisation.

She (and her colleagues) should definitely get advice. It doesn't sound as though the company followed a proper process, and even if they did, if the workers were genuinely redundant then they should be entitled to redundancy pay, accrued but unpaid holidays etc.

If they were not genuinely redundant then the dismissals may well be unfair.

MONEYTREE_2

TBagpuss wrote: »

if the workers were genuinely redundant then they should be entitled to redundancy pay, accrued but unpaid holidays etc.

If they were not genuinely redundant then the dismissals may well be unfair.

Cheers. What constitutes "genuine" redundancy? How does it differ from unfair dismissal? Clearly the company is still trading but just wanted to downsize. How they selected the four they kept on, we do not know.

Ten years ago my boyfriend was given a redundancy notice and his job was given to the boss's son. I told him to see a solicitor and sure enough he sued for U.D. and won £25k damages.

Would it be the case, therefore, that if my lodger discovered that there was another machinist sitting at her machine and doing her work, that would prove this is really U.D. masquerading as redundancy?

McKneff

And they owe her any accrued holiday pay

Savvy_Sue

MONEYTREE wrote: »

Would it be the case, therefore, that if my lodger discovered that there was another machinist sitting at her machine and doing her work, that would prove this is really U.D. masquerading as redundancy?

Can't see how. If they had 10 machinists and only need 4, they've got to sit somewhere.

Now, if she discovered they'd got rid of 6 and then reappointed immediately, she might be onto something, but with poor English she's going to struggle to make anything of it, even assuming she can 'prove' anything.

I'd say acting together was their greatest strength.