Made Redundant but Contractors Kept On

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williduck
williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
in Employment, jobseeking & training
Hi all

I’m looking for a bit of advice please regarding refundancy please:

My wife was made redundant on Thursday, it came as a complete shock - a meeting was put in her diary with her manager on Thursday morning for later that day at which she was told she was being made redundant as of 31st January and to leave the office immediately and don’t return.

It all doesn’t seem right - where was the consultation, offer of alternative employment etc. But most of all contractors who do the same job as her within the team have been kept on (getting paid at least double).

As part of consideration she has £250 towards advice of the agreement, however I am looking for thoughts if the process is correct/appropriate.

Thanks
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  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
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    How long has she worked there?

    Contractors are not employees. There are reasons why an employer might want to retain them and make employees redundant, and they are allowed to do that.
  • williduck
    williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
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    She’s worked there over 2.5 Years - started April 2015

    She’s a project manager and was in the middle of delivering a project so there was definitely a role for her.

    If they employ a contractor to deliver the project is that legal?
  • Cheeky_Monkey
    Cheeky_Monkey Posts: 2,072 Forumite
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    williduck wrote: »
    Hi all

    I’m looking for a bit of advice please regarding refundancy please:

    My wife was made redundant on Thursday, it came as a complete shock - a meeting was put in her diary with her manager on Thursday morning for later that day at which she was told she was being made redundant as of 31st January and to leave the office immediately and don’t return.

    It all doesn’t seem right - where was the consultation, offer of alternative employment etc. But most of all contractors who do the same job as her within the team have been kept on (getting paid at least double).

    As part of consideration she has £250 towards advice of the agreement, however I am looking for thoughts if the process is correct/appropriate.

    Thanks

    Are you absolutely sure she's been made redundant? That sounds to me like a Compromise Agreement??
  • ohreally
    ohreally Posts: 7,525 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
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    williduck wrote: »
    As part of consideration she has £250 towards advice of the agreement, however I am looking for thoughts if the process is correct/appropriate

    Do you have the agreement on which to get advice?
    Don’t be a can’t, be a can.
  • williduck
    williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
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    Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »
    Are you absolutely sure she's been made redundant? That sounds to me like a Compromise Agreement??

    Yeah deffo been made redundant, it is essentially a compromise agreement which is why I feel something isn’t right!
  • williduck
    williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
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    ohreally wrote: »
    Do you have the agreement on which to get advice?

    Yeah we have the settlement agreement
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
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    What is the basis for the Compromise Agreement? If she's seeking legal advice she has to know what to seek advice about. Might it be on non-statutory grounds such as waiving a claim for breach of contract?
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
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    Ok. I expected it to be under 2 years. So I'm going to have to ask. Is there something else going on here? They called her in, told her she was redundant and turned her off the premises, having already drawn up a settlement agreement - and the employer knows she can claim unfair dismissal? That sounds decidedly like a death wish on their part.
  • williduck
    williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
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    agrinnall wrote: »
    What is the basis for the Compromise Agreement? If she's seeking legal advice she has to know what to seek advice about. Might it be on non-statutory grounds such as waiving a claim for breach of contract?

    OK reading through a copy of the brief she received at her meeting on Thursday, essentially due to poor financial performance etc. They are re-structuring etc..... “i am sorry to inform you that as a consequence of these proposed changes your role is now at risk of being made redundant”

    The settlement agreement is offered as a compensation payment to terminate mutually end employment.
  • williduck
    williduck Posts: 17 Forumite
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    sangie595 wrote: »
    Ok. I expected it to be under 2 years. So I'm going to have to ask. Is there something else going on here? They called her in, told her she was redundant and turned her off the premises, having already drawn up a settlement agreement - and the employer knows she can claim unfair dismissal? That sounds decidedly like a death wish on their part.

    Nothing else going on, this is why it’s a complete shock

    Essentially it appears that the meeting she had on thursday was to put her at risk of redundancy and the process is to offer the settlement agreement, it goes on to say that “you are not required to return to work after this meeting.......after the settlement agreement discussions have been concluded I am happy to arrange a date for you to return to work if you wish to say goodbye to your team and colleagues”
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