I handed my notice in less than a week before redundancies

recci

Hi

I am just wandering if I have any legal basis or a claim here.

To cut a long story short I have worked for this company as a software developer for 7 years. It got taken over by an American investment firm three years ago and has been going downhill ever since. I decided it was time to jump ship and got a job offer last week for a new role so I sent my manager a email informing them of my resignation and to confirm how long my notice period was. This was only 5 or 6 days ago. They have been quiet and have not officially responded to me yet which i thought was strange. Anyway this afternoon they just laid a bunch of people off out the blue with no notice, one person having been there 17 years. I know you can do this in the USA but not in UK so these people will be due statutory and wages lieu of notice i assume? One person was laid off from my team which makes me think it would otherwise have been two if I had not handed in my notice. I think i may just have done myself out of a significant about of redundancy money here? Is there any legal way I can get them to treat my resignation as a redundancy since they must have knew this was coming? And I have obviously saved them having to lay one more person off so even though I can't prove it would have been me that was let go surly someone else with the same role in my team would have. Do you see where I am going with this? Is there anything i can or should do?

TadleyBaggie

Nope, just bad timing.

recci

I might send an email to HR and chance my luck anyway. I have just done myself out of 8K which i badly needed. The whole reason for switching jobs was mainly because that wages haven't kept up with inflation.

flaneurs_lobster

Unless you can become the first person ever to find even a shred of humanity in a US Investment Firm then I'm afraid the answer will be no, you'd be relying on good will here

Statutory redundancy pay (you don't mention that there's any other scheme in place) for 7 years service is not a large sum of money, hopefully your new job is at least as gainful as your old.

YBR

I believe that someone in my previous company managed to rescind notice given and get redundancy instead but I'm sure that's exceptional. That company announced redundancies last year a while after I had given notice but it was clear I wouldn't have been able to switch to redundancy.
I was thankful that it put my colleagues in a better position and none from my office were put under threat at that time.

Woodstok2000

Dont assume they were going to make you redundant....what if you rescind your notice and they keep you on?

Dadto3Boys

So you will have no period of time out of work, and less competition when others would be going for similar jobs.
Would you risk not getting your new job by staying for redundancy?

recci

Yeah looks like just bad timing and nothing i can do.

LeafGreen

How many people are being laid off? Has there been any consultation?

It does sound like a bit of a cut throat organisation, so probably nothing you can do, but can't hurt to ask your boss in case someone who is being made redundant and doesn't want to be can keep a role.

I know at my place, someone has handed in their notice in and basically been told that redundancies were in the pipeline, and they've been able to get it that way.

recci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82054665#Comment_82054665

There was no consultation just a quick slack call and then they were locked out of everything and gone. I assume that is standard practice in the USA. It was a few across both the USA and UK I dont know exact numbers. Probably aroiund 9 or 10

Also in my contract it states one months notice plus a week for every year I've been there which would put me at 10 weeks notice. But my new employer wants me to start on the 3rd Aug so I am trying to negotiate less notice but they are dicking around and not getting back to me and my new employer is pressuring me for a confirmed start date. So what will happen if I just leave at the end of the month? I know ill be in breach of contract but will i loose any actual money?

flaneurs_lobster

10 weeks notice for a developer? And they want you to work it?

Things have changed - in my day anyone who knew how to use a keyboard was out the door inside an hour, escorted, with their personal stuff in a box.

They could hold you to that contract but in reality I can't see anyone taking action other than not paying you for the notice not worked. Obviously wait until July's salary is in your account.

Try not to leave anyone in the !!!!!!, these things have a nasty way of coming back to bite you.