Possible redunancy 29 May 2020 at 10:46AM in Redundancy & redundancy planning 9 replies 351 views

DFW1974

Morning all, just after bit of initial advice off the good people here, I'll obviously get professional advice if needed but wanted to gauge opinions on whether it would be worth it.

My wife if currently furloughed and had her second consultation over the phone about possibly being made redundant. On the first consultation call they cited that the sales for the business were down (Landscaping company) and there isn't enough work for her (accounts payable role) as they can't see an upturn and the company funds have taken a beating which is fair enough and  she was happy to accept this until she saw on their facebook page that they were currently recruiting for staff to help them achieve their ambitious growth plans. 

Where does she stand, like I said she had no issues with being made redundant for the given reasons, but after seeing the advert for new roles it now feels like it's a kick in the teeth and touch personal, would she have a case for constuctive dismissal?
Cheers

jonnygee2

Where does she stand, like I said she had no issues with being made redundant for the given reasons, but after seeing the advert for new roles it now feels like it's a kick in the teeth and touch personal, would she have a case for constructive dismissal?

Not really. Redundancies don't have to be because the whole business is down. The business might just be changing, and they are looking to expand in some areas, decrease in others, or have more frontline staff and fewer admin staff etc. They may have misrepresented exactly what was going on to her, but I don't think that's anything close to a constructive dismissal case on its own.

Unless the new roles advertised were the same as your wife's role, there's not much that changes things here.

DFW1974

jonnygee2 said:

Where does she stand, like I said she had no issues with being made redundant for the given reasons, but after seeing the advert for new roles it now feels like it's a kick in the teeth and touch personal, would she have a case for constructive dismissal?

Not really. Redundancies don't have to be because the whole business is down. The business might just be changing, and they are looking to expand in some areas, decrease in others, or have more frontline staff and fewer admin staff etc. They may have misrepresented exactly what was going on to her, but I don't think that's anything close to a constructive dismissal case on its own.

Unless the new roles advertised were the same as your wife's role, there's not much that changes things here.

Cheers for the reply

Grumpy_chap

DFW1974 said:

My wife if currently furloughed and had her second consultation over the phone about possibly being made redundant. On the first consultation call they cited that the sales for the business were down (Landscaping company) and there isn't enough work for her (accounts payable role) as they can't see an upturn and the company funds have taken a beating which is fair enough and  she was happy to accept this until she saw on their facebook page that they were currently recruiting for staff to help them achieve their ambitious growth plans. 

When were the adverts on line placed?  Are they legacy from before the lock-down impacted the business?  Have the 'ambitious growth plans' now been scrapped?

Given that your wife works in Accounts Payable, that will be there regardless of what type of work the business focuses on in the future.  It is worth asking about this as it may mean there could be alternatives that your wife could suggest, for example to work part time for a short period until the benefits of the ambitious growth plans yield fruit.  If she does that, then she needs to be sure to protect her position in case they just pay her less for a couple of months and then make her redundant from the reduced salary level.

sharpe106

As above they may have been paid for before. 
What are they recruiting? I would guess it is more of the ground floor workers i.e landscapers rather then admin. There is nothing stopping her for mentioning this to them and stating she would prefer to do that then be made redundant. The company probably thought in all fairness that she would not want to do that job as it is completely different. 

DFW1974

Morning all, the advert for the vacancies were posted at the end of April and then again just before her second consultation. She did actually mention the advert during the consultation and to be honest she'd love to do it but they made up some feeble excuse and fobbed her off. 

She has also found out that some of the staff that he has been claiming furlough for have also been working odd days, but thats another can of worms she doesn't want to have anyhing to do with.

Thanks again for the responses

sharpe106

Sounds like for whatever reason they do not want them still. So they are probably best just taking the redundancy and looking elsewhere. 

DFW1974

Morning all.The wife has had her final call and has been made redundant, they have given her 2 weeks notice and they have said they will pay the redundancy then and will pay her final salary and accrued holiday pay on her usual pay date at the end of the month. I thought it would have made sense to pay it all at the same time, can they split the payment (i get the feeling they can).

Also I take it she can't appy for any contribution JSA benefits until the 2 weeks is up?

Thanks again

Grumpy_chap

Yes, they can split the payment.  Doing so means that the Government cover 80% of the notice pay as furlough.

sharpe106

Nothing stopping them and is a saving for them, as long as you get all the money doubt anybody would care too much if they paid it in one go or twenty.