Bit confused - should I come clean to my employer?

sand_hun

I have received an 'at risk' of redundancy letter from my employer. The consultation process is underway and I've had a few meetings with HR. As things stand my role will end on 31/7/24 and I'm eligible to receive 1 month notice pay plus statutory redundancy pay. I'd be happy to accept the redundancy.

In the meantime I have a job offer from elsewhere - it's in writing but a start date hasn't been agreed but is likely to be late August. If I hand in my notice now, will that affect my redundancy in any way?

I'm not sure whether to tell HR I have an offer from elsewhere or just let things play out. I've been told there's a small chance my current role could be retained if funding becomes available. Also, HR are sending me details of other internal jobs to see if I'm interested in applying. My preference would be to politely decline, take the redundancy and then start the new job.

Is there anything I need to be aware of? Should I come clean to my employer about the job offer or stay quiet?

MattMattMattUK

sand_hun said:

I have received an 'at risk' of redundancy letter from my employer. The consultation process is underway and I've had a few meetings with HR. As things stand my role will end on 31/7/24 and I'm eligible to receive 1 month notice pay plus statutory redundancy pay. I'd be happy to accept the redundancy.

In the meantime I have a job offer from elsewhere - it's in writing but a start date hasn't been agreed but is likely to be late August. If I hand in my notice now, will that affect my redundancy in any way?

I'm not sure whether to tell HR I have an offer from elsewhere or just let things play out. I've been told there's a small chance my current role could be retained if funding becomes available. Also, HR are sending me details of other internal jobs to see if I'm interested in applying. My preference would be to politely decline, take the redundancy and then start the new job.

Is there anything I need to be aware of? Should I come clean to my employer about the job offer or stay quiet?

If you hand in your notice then you will no be eligible for any redundancy, the risk with not handing in your notice is that the dates may not line up for when you need to start your new job. 

gwynlas

Surely you should be told very soon if your role concludes in two weeks. As you have not yet been given a start date for new job I would not say anything. What does your current employer ask for in terms of notice?

LinLui

I am slightly confused by your "end date", given that you have not been given notice of redundancy and are still in consultation. Given those two things to be true then of course you should be honest, as everyone should always be, but if you have an offer in hand and have not been given notice by your employer you will immediately end the redundancy for yourself. You will get nothing. Should you choose not to be honest about this, your employer might find out  via a reference request. Or they may not. They also may decide to let you have redundancy anyway. Or not.
Technically, if you are paid redundancy and were not eligible, and the employer finds out, they could sue you for the return of the money. I have never heard of that happening, but I am sure that it occasionally does. 

Alternatively, if you have been given notice - and I mean real notice, not them just saying that you would finish on such and such date - then you are free to take other employment from that point onwards, although if you need to leave earlier than the last day of your notice, you need to give counter-notice. Bear in mind that redundancy can be revoked right up until the last second. 

So you should be honest about this. Whether you are or not (and lots of people wouldn't be) is a different matter. Just be aware that there are some slight risks to not being honest.

Hoenir

If your employment is to end on the 31st July why is there any need to give notice. Your employment will terminate on that date by mutual agreement. 

noitsnotme

Hoenir said:

If your employment is to end on the 31st July why is there any need to give notice. Your employment will terminate on that date by mutual agreement. 

They say that the role will end on the 31st July.  That could mean they are still employed from that date and technically on garden leave until the employment ends.  That's what happened when I was made redundant.

sand_hun

Hi all, thanks for the input. I was on a fixed term contract until the end of July. 

At the end of June HR met me and followed up with a proposed redundancy letter, stating that the role could not be funded past 31st July. So, this was them giving me four weeks notice. They also outlined a redundancy payment, it's not much as I have been there less than 3 years.

There is a chance that my role could be 'saved' if funding becomes available prior to 31st July - or I can apply for internal vacancies and therefore remain employed by them.

However I have another job offer elsewhere, start date yet to be determined as they are doing CRB, DBS, references etc

Brie

There is no harm in asking HR "what happens if I start looking elsewhere for a role?"  Some employers don't want you to be looking even when you are in your notice period.  Others are much more lax.  

LinLui

sand_hun said:

Hi all, thanks for the input. I was on a fixed term contract until the end of July. 

At the end of June HR met me and followed up with a proposed redundancy letter, stating that the role could not be funded past 31st July. So, this was them giving me four weeks notice. They also outlined a redundancy payment, it's not much as I have been there less than 3 years.

There is a chance that my role could be 'saved' if funding becomes available prior to 31st July - or I can apply for internal vacancies and therefore remain employed by them.

However I have another job offer elsewhere, start date yet to be determined as they are doing CRB, DBS, references etc

Is that proposed redundancy letter an actual redundancy notice? Have they given you notice properly or not? This all sounds very haphazard. Would we be talking about a charity here who don't know what they are doing? 

If you want to be certain, and assuming that you want the other job - and IF your fixed term contract contains an end date in writing, then I would suggest that you serve counter-notice for the same date as the end of the contract. Effectively telling them that you do not want to be "saved". But do not do so until you are sure that you are three weeks or less from 31st July - I think you are now, but not looking at a calandar, so be certain. The counter-notice isn't strictly necessary if you do terminate on 31st July, but this all sounds so completely mismanaged that I would do it anyway just to be safe. 

https://www.acas.org.uk/your-rights-during-redundancy/redundancy-notice

sand_hun

Hi @LinLui it's not a charity, but it is a national governing body (sports). They labelled my letter as 'at risk from redundancy' and I've entered into a 2-week consultancy process in which time we look at ways of "mitigating the redundancy". They ask me some formal questions and I'm also able to ask questions of HR and my manager. They also discuss other internal opportunities with me.

Is is however an ACTUAL redundancy letter. If no funding becomes available or I don't get another role in the company then my role will become redundant and my last day will July 31st. I plan to start the new role in late August.

LinLui

In that case you can give counter-notice if you wish to do so, and that would secure the redundancy from being withdrawn.