Placed on 3 month "Support Plan" with a child on the way

Simon11

Hello all,

Work has been quiet for a while with not much work coming through and I don't think there will be much coming until the mid/ late 2024. Other team members are in the same position but I am not sure if they have been put on a plan.

I have now been asked to write a 3 month "Support Plan" to improve my performance and speaking with my line manager, it is solely around increasing my utilisation (billing rate). I feel however that I am not going to be able to meet these goals and as a mid-level person in our team, I don't personally feel I am fully in control of this. It is for senior leaders in the team to win work. I think this may be a ploy to give the firm an option to make cuts in the future if more work does not come in.

On top of this, we are expecting a child within 1-2 months and I need to do as much as possible to ensure we have a steady income coming in. I have of course, done everything I can think of to increase my utilisation to meet these goals in the plan but I also have spent time looking at new roles, applying for a few of the best ones.

I have found an opportunity/ loop-hole where I can bring forward my planned Shared Parental Leave which offers full paid leave for several months (offered for all employees, including low performers) and will thus 'interrupt' the three month support plan meaning, meaning I could have a steady income until June. 

Reason for writing this post was to check that I am doing everything possible in a challenging time but I also had a few technical employment questions:

• If I am lucky to find a new job while on SPL, I have a 3 months notice period. I assume the employer will pay three months notice period of which it may cover my SPL time too? 
• If I am unlucky to find a new job while on SPL, I presume the employer will 'reset' the timing for the support plan? Thus I could be looking at three months pay while on this plan. If then I fail to meet this plan, what happens next? Would it be a final warning and maybe a few weeks to turn around my performance? 
• If my employer fires me following the failure to meet the goals of the performance plan, do you get paid the three months notice period?

[Reasons for these last two questions is to understand how long I have a guaranteed income for]

*I have been in this role for more than two years

JReacher1

Sounds like a basic performance improvement plan. Would assume if you don’t meet the objectives set in the plan then they would dismiss you. 

If you don’t think the objectives in the plan are fair (or achievable) then i would raise this with your manager/union asap. 

It doesn’t sound like you would be dismissed for gross misconduct but instead for performance related reasons. As a result they will pay your three month notice from the day they terminate you. 

If you think this has been set up to make you fail i would be tempted to exploit your SPL loophole. 

Marcon

JReacher1 said:

It doesn’t sound like you would be dismissed for gross misconduct but instead for performance related reasons. As a result they will pay your three month notice from the day they terminate you. 

Not necessarily - OP could be asked to work the 3 month notice period.

JReacher1

Marcon said:

JReacher1 said:

It doesn’t sound like you would be dismissed for gross misconduct but instead for performance related reasons. As a result they will pay your three month notice from the day they terminate you. 

Not necessarily - OP could be asked to work the 3 month notice period.

Yes they could do but would say it’s unlikely. When someone is dismissed it’s rare they are asked to work their notice. It creates an unpleasant working environment having someone working in the team who has been dismissed. It’s a difficult situation to manage. 

Besides it’s slightly irrelevant as the OP was more concerned about when they will stop getting paid. The answer to that is they will get paid their contracted notice period once they are dismissed. Either three months up front, put on gardening leave for three months (and paid monthly) or made to work three months notice. 

housebuyer143

SPL doesn't sound like it's going to solve your issue. You can't take it i until the baby is born and in doing so you take maternity pay and leave from your partner? It also appears she must have the leave first and commit to a return to work.

https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/when-you-can-start

JReacher1

housebuyer143 said:

SPL doesn't sound like it's going to solve your issue. You can't take it i until the baby is born and in doing so you take maternity pay and leave from your partner? It also appears she must have the leave first and commit to a return to work.

https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/when-you-can-start

This could be superseded by the policy of the OP’s company. They may offer a more generous package than the statutory minimum. 

Simon11

JReacher1 said:

Sounds like a basic performance improvement plan. Would assume if you don’t meet the objectives set in the plan then they would dismiss you. 

If you don’t think the objectives in the plan are fair (or achievable) then i would raise this with your manager/union asap. 

It doesn’t sound like you would be dismissed for gross misconduct but instead for performance related reasons. As a result they will pay your three month notice from the day they terminate you. 

If you think this has been set up to make you fail i would be tempted to exploit your SPL loophole. 

Thanks, its only in draft but now I have had time to reflect and review, I definitely need to challenge it. 


housebuyer143 said:

SPL doesn't sound like it's going to solve your issue. You can't take it i until the baby is born and in doing so you take maternity pay and leave from your partner? It also appears she must have the leave first and commit to a return to work.

https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/when-you-can-start

It doesn't solve it, but it definitely brings more time to find a new job or hope that the market picks-up, making it easier to hit the goals. It also gives me time to enjoy being a dad and support the family!

I have taken SPL before and basically, I am taking weeks away from my partners 52 weeks maternity leave. For the weeks taken away from my partner, she doesn't get anything from her employer in the last 3/4 of her leave period so nothing financially lost out. My SPL actually pays more than my partners maternity policy over the course of her leave which will be around 7-9 months.