Made redundant. Legal to dole out duties to existing employees when they say role is not needed?

shadowfortress

Hi. After being on furlough, I've just been made redundant. The reason being that due to Covid, there is no justification for my role for the near to medium term future. I argued there was enough to do under the JSS, which would require me to work 7.5 hours a week but they said no. However, some of my duties that still needed doing during my time on furlough (including coming up with new Covid policies) had been given to a couple of other employees, and they will probably continue to do them once I leave. During my handover, I need to present my knowledge to one of these employees, which increases my suspicion.

My question is, is this legal? It is clear that my job role is still needed, albeit at a much reduced rate. And I thought it was illegal to make someone redundant and simply pass on the job duties to others when they just told me the role is not needed at this time. What also increases my spidey senses is that the amount they are having to pay me to let me go far exceeds the cost of keeping me on JSS for the full six months.

Would going to Citizens Advice and seeing what they have to say be worth doing? Thanks for the advice!

Thrugelmir

How many hours a week are you contracted to work? 

bradders1983

How long have you worked there for?

shadowfortress

bradders1983 said:

How long have you worked there for?

6 years

shadowfortress

Thrugelmir said:

How many hours a week are you contracted to work? 

Full time

Galloglass

My question is, is this legal?

Would going to Citizens Advice and seeing what they have to say be worth doing?

You probably need to see an employment lawyer. Some CAB's have them offering pro-bono advice but normally legal questions are for a solicitor only. 

Jeremy535897

What they cannot do is make someone redundant, and then hire someone new to do the same role. There is a grey area between that, and the straightforward case of close the company, everybody is redundant. It would be surprising, where the company continues, if none of what you did needs doing going forward. It just needs doing by fewer people. They do have to have acted reasonably in making you, rather than someone else, redundant.

MattMattMattUK

Yes it is entirely legal. What they can not do is give your job role, like for like, to someone else, but they can integrate part or all of your duties into other job roles.

There is also no obligation to keep you on a reduced basis under JSS (something which is now delayed until December at the earliest anyway). I am not sure if your calculations are correct unless you are on a very high contractual redundancy, it also has the problem that the cost to make you redundant would still exist in six months time.

Thrugelmir

shadowfortress said:

Thrugelmir said:

How many hours a week are you contracted to work? 

Full time

Your employer is perfectly within their rights to restructure the business. Always been the case that remaining duties and tasks are assigned elsewhere when redundancies are made. More often or not the reduction in workload determines where the reduction in head count will be made. Employers can choose to use JSS or not. 

diggingdude

Sadly it does sound like your role is no longer needed as they can fill it within other existing roles. I would focus on finding something else 

prowla

Yes, they can apportion out your work to other employees.

They can't have someone else do exactly your work (ie. all of it and nothing else).