My boss wants to move me to a different department

separatedinsamehome

Hi all,

I work as as senior designer in a major TV corporation, i have been there for 20 years. Recently my boss told me that there is not enough work for me in my role anymore so asked me if i was open to moving to another department. I said i would need to know more about it. My questions are:

• If there is not enough work for me in my current role dont they need to offer me redundancy?

• Also can i be forced into moving to a new department?

Sorry if i havent given enough info here, I am very anxious and stressed about this. I am suspecting he is trying to get out of offering me redundancy and just trying to get rid of me, he is not a very good manager and there have been several complaints about him by most of his team. He is not the type to do the right thing.

MalMonroe

If your manager is not doing his job properly, and there is a general consensus about that, you should all be contacting a senior manager or contacting HR to voice your collective concerns.

I don't think he is a 'bad manager' at all, he's probably doing what he's been told to do by his superiors (and sounds like he's doing their dirty work, too) especially as it's a major corporation. He won't be just acting autonomously - instructions have to come from higher up. I think it's a good sign that you've been ASKED, rather than told, about moving to another department. If there isn't enough work for you in your current role they have every right to ask you to move to where there IS work. I don't see the problem here. It's an opportunity for you to gain more experience and 'spread your wings', so to speak. If course they don't want to offer you redundancy because there's obviously work you are capable of doing elsewhere in the workplace - why not look on this as an opportunity to expand your knowledge, rather than see it as a bad thing? Redundancy will cost them, yes but they obviously feel that you have a lot to offer. I see this as a positive, rather than negative situation.

What does your employment contract say? Normally they say that your employer has the right to ask you to work in other departments, if necessary (not that exact wording but similar). 

I guess you can't be forced to move to a new department (or as I see it, take advantage of an exciting opportunity for your own development) but what do you see as the alternative? Leaving and finding something new before you've even tried the new role?
Why not have a go, you have nothing to lose. But you may have a lot to gain. And stop blaming your manager, he's always just following instructions.

elsien

It is normal practice for the employer to offer suitable alternative employment.
Whether you can refuse it and still get redundancy depends on the circumstances- different hours, different role, different location etc.

But if they offer you the same role in a different department in the same place you’d struggle to give a valid reason for not accepting it and redundancy payments can then be declined. 

Why don’t you want the job, if your current manager is as poor as you say? 

Thrugelmir

separatedinsamehome said:

Recently my boss told me that there is not enough work for me in my role anymore

Do you concur with this assessment?  

Offering alternative roles is standard practice in such instances. You can lose the right to statutory redundancy pay if you do turn it down and the role meets suitability requirements.  (Senior management has normally thought this through with HR). 

getmore4less

Have you been sitting around doing nothing.

Most people realise they are not utilized to their full capacity and want to change the situation.

theoretica

If anything, the emphasis on what they need to do is more towards finding suitable alternate roles and avoiding redundancy.

Thrugelmir

theoretica said:

If anything, the emphasis on what they need to do is more towards finding suitable alternate roles and avoiding redundancy.

It's a legal requirement. Which is logical. Given the cost of recruiting new staff members and intergrating them into an organisation. 

JJ_Egan

Senior Designer in a Major TV company , would this company not have a personnel department you can ask ??