I was redundant then I wasen't

renegadefm

Getmoreforless, yes I could understand it if I appealed and had some success that way, but I had a letter from HR that sadly my appeal failed.

getmore4less

renegadefm wrote: »

Getmoreforless, yes I could understand it if I appealed and had some success that way, but I had a letter from HR that sadly my appeal failed.

That's OK then new information(someone wants out) meant they could change their minds.

Where I worked shut down for good,

If your old job had gone what job did you end up doing.

Was that a suitable alternative?

renegadefm

Getmore4less, hold on your missing my point, someone wanted out yes but wasen't even eligible to apply for voluntary redundancy as it was a non affected area, but they did let this person go which meant reversing my redundancy at the last minute. Basically I moved posts and took his job.

getmore4less

That's called bumping its legal.

As this was a different job they offered you a potentially suitable alternative and you took it.

if the job was not suitable you could have raised that or had a trial period to test it out and if not suitable still got your redundancy.

renegadefm

No thats my whole point, I had to take it, I had no other option once they reversed my redundancy. If I refused I suppose they could sack me.

renegadefm

Its not really a case if the job is or was suitable, I didnt know how I would fit in a new place or anything at the time. And I wanted out of shift work. But now Im stuck.
But why did they let the guy go from the non affected area and keep me? It's a question plaguing me forever more.

prowla

There's a difference in the terminology between the OP "keeping it a secret" that they had a new job to go to and not understanding that they might have been better off to inform their outgoing employer.

renegadefm

I didnt know I had to inform anyone of a possible new job opportunity, least of all the one that was meant to be making me redundant.
Anyway thats irrelevant, the fact is they done something under hand to by allowing someone apply for voluntary redundancy from an area of the company that wasent affected.
Its complicated by this is a big global company, were I work is a small fish in a very large pond, they have departments all over the country and world, and the county I live have several places of work also.
But they closed down a section and thats where I worked hence the redundancy.
But I been told since from my union albeit 5 years too late that the under hand thing they done was allowing someone to leave with a redundancy package from a non affected area, its been said that the guy was well in with upper management but of course all this I found out recently.
However we dress this up, I still felt hard done by by the way they reversed my redundancy at such short notice to me leaving, and after being led to believe I was as good as gone, so natually I would seek out a new job, I had mouths to feed other than my own. I didnt concider it as keeping any secrets from anyone.
I was even suspicious at the time and wondered are they just trying to avoid paying me my redundancy money because they guy they let go went with only a few thousand as he had a lot less service, they would have had to pay me 30 grand.
Plus remember what they proposed to me as an alternative to being made redundant by offering me a zero hours contract was also under hand to me.
Add it all together now you can see why I'm bitter and twisted.

getmore4less

renegadefm wrote: »

Its not really a case if the job is or was suitable, I didnt know how I would fit in a new place or anything at the time.

That's why the law allows for trial periods when on notice of redundancy and you are offered an alternative position

And I wanted out of shift work. But now Im stuck.
But why did they let the guy go from the non affected area and keep me? It's a question plaguing me forever more.

Because you said you wanted to stay and appealed the redundancy and the other person wanted to leave.

The company did its best to keep you and managed to to that.
From what you have said in this thread the company did what you asked them to do.

The union should have advised

If you want to go don't try to stop the redundancy.
If you get another job consider counter notice and explain what it is and how to do it.
If you get offered alternative positions they have to be suitable and have a trial period if needed/wanted to make sure.

renegadefm

But I wasent told this at the time. All I had was a phone call out of the blue from a top manager stating as from today I was no longer redundant. So I politely asked where will I be working and he simply told me my new post. There was no choice of trying to wriggle out of it.

Plus as I have said we were told by the union we all have to be seen at least to appeal to redundancy but don't expect a happy outcome, which of course in my case would have been the opposite, I really wanted to go anyway. I was just playing it cool. But I lost the appeal and had it all in writting from HR.
Which baffles me how can they reverse it all at the last minute to someone who was from a non affected area?
Surely the company have done something not by the book here?