Redundancy of my job

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johny5_uk

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unfortunately my 17 years long service doesnt mean much to the new investors after the MBO and I feel that I am been "escorted" out.
had my first redundancy letter last thursday emailed to me at 9:01 and then my first meeting at 10:45.
I have gathered quite some evidence that can show they are facilitating my exit but my question to my fellow mercedes users is.....
I am not part of a union, I do remember running redundancy processes in thew past and experiencing said "union reps".
They seemed to know their stuff and I would very much like to join a union to enable me to take a rep to my second meeting.
Am I able to do this? I obviously would have liked to take a solicitor but it is only union rep's or fellow colleagues.
I am in the I.T. sector by the way.
 
join a union straight away - many(Unions) dont care whether or not u have a problem requiring their services straight away - be honest with them - its the cheapeast form of representation u can get
 
Every cloud has a silver lining - take the redundancy payout and become a contractor on more money?
 
thanks guys, Unite was the first one I looked for as I believe they are strong in the I.T sector but I wanted to speak to someone first to make sure they were happy to represent me even though the process had started. I couldnt find anything on their website about this.
Maybe I should just join through the site then?
 
Give them a call first, they should be very helpful if you explain your circumstances.

Is anyone else at your place with Unite?
 
I will do, I just went through the enrolment process and cancelled at the last part because I think it would be best to chat to someone especially as the second meeting is only 7 days away. I will give them a call first thing to make sure they are happy with my circumstance.
No I dont believe anyone else is but there are a number of "at risks" in the company so I may even see if i can get a few to join.
 
Is the position genuinely redundant, if so, I doubt there is much you can do.
 
You can take a solicitor with you if you so chose I think. But as has been said, if the company are truly making to role redundant there is, unfortunately, little that can be done.

Nice to make them sweat and ensure all is done above board though.

Sorry to hear your news.
 
Is the position genuinely redundant, if so, I doubt there is much you can do.

This is true, but it is as well to see it is done properly and equitably.

And then look at it as an opportunity.
 
CCAALLVVIINN said:
You can take a solicitor with you if you so chose I think. But as has been said, if the company are truly making to role redundant there is, unfortunately, little that can be done.

Nice to make them sweat and ensure all is done above board though.

Sorry to hear your news.

Sorry to hear the news but the above advice all depends on your contractual Ts and Cs. It would be very unlikely that you could bring a solicitor with you. Your contract will refer to what terms and conditions you are on but it is normal that it will allow either a colleague or recognised union rep. The law has changed recently and the most your would get at tribunal will now be a years salary whereas before it was capped. For most people this is worse but it is worth bearing in mind when looking at what they are offering to pay you. Hope this helps.
 
Depending on the generosity of your companies redundancy packages, this may not be such a bad thing, especially at this time of year.

With 17 years service you might end up with the equivalent of a years salary or more which should give you plenty of time to look for another job.

Imagine taking the whole summer off, have an extended holiday somewhere far away and exotic for a month or more that you couldnt do whilst in employment. Enjoy the best of the british summer and then jump into a lucrative contracting role come autumn with half a years salary still tucked away in the bank.

It could be the best thing that ever happened to you.....
 
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First off, sorry to hear that your current employment phase looks like it might be coming to an end :(

Second thing to say is that the purpose of having someone with you is so that they act as a witness and can corroborate (or not, as the case may be) what was said after the event. You can seek advice about the correctness / legality of any procedure that is being followed by your employer either before or after the interview: you don't need a "Perry Mason" with you. Bearing this in mind, a colleague you trust, who has an ability to take notes and remember accurately what is said, will likely be of most use.

As has been said already, if the role is genuinely redundant then there's little you can do in the way of fighting it unless there's a massive procedural error by your employer which, to be frank, is fairly unlikely unless they're a tinpot outfit. What you may be able to do is negotiate the most favourable severance terms you can, but you need to closely study your contract and make yourself aware of any "local arrangements" that could be taken as an implied term to an enhanced severance package. Statutory minimum payments aren't pretty, I'm afraid.

Someone said something about "making them sweat". My advice is to not waste your time and energy on that. While it's a time of high emotion for you, they're being paid to do what they're doing whether you make a noise or go quietly. Use your energy constructively elsewhere.

Whatever the outcome, I wish you well for the future :thumb:
 
thank you again :)
I knew the forum would help me think positive.
to be perfectly honest I know that this IS the best thing, for me to leave. As I said I have been with them 17 years, recent management buyout a year back means they are now culling the senior managers.
My role is certainly not redundant and they have made quite a few silly errors in the process that would raise question from any reader with regards to a real redundancy situation.
I obviously cant say much at the moment but they are claiming my role has changed or rather "at risk" along with 8 others whom do not do similar roles.
They have "created" 5 new roles which are so clear to see are 5 of the existing 9's roles right now. The remaining 4 roles were one department and you can see the small amount of work from that department has been spread among the 5 new roles.
my boss also spoke to me christmas time to say he had plans with my role on how to "develop" it and incorporate an element of yet another role (again, this is something that I do now anyway).
Yet here I find myself not being spoken to about adding the minority of this extra work but instead them restructuring and saying my current role will not exist.
I sort of knew this was coming so I have been logging my boss's inefficiencies since he joined end of last year (he was brought in by the new investors presumably to cull, I cant wait to tell you guys where he worked before!).
Anyway, maybe said a little to much and I do have some lovely info to present to them at my second meet that might shock them but cant wait till its over so i can fill out my ET1.
They will only give me stat redundancy so around £400 for each year worked and maybe 3 months notice.
With what I have I would happily compromise at 1 years salary and redundancy.
 
I know little of these matters, but don't forget to enquire the status of your pension during this whole process. Is there perhaps the option for a top-up? Good luck anyway.
 
instead them restructuring and saying my current role will not exist.

That is correct, the role won't exist, but it doesn't mean you will be gone with it. All nine roles will cease and only five new ones will remain, your name may be on one of them.

I sort of knew this was coming so I have been logging my boss's inefficiencies since he joined end of last year (he was brought in by the new investors presumably to cull, I cant wait to tell you guys where he worked before!).
Anyway, maybe said a little to much and I do have some lovely info to present to them at my second meet that might shock them but cant wait till its over so i can fill out my ET1.
Why bother wasting time and effort on this? Just think about the future.
TBH, wanting to belittle your Boss doesn't sound very "Senior Management".

He probably was brought in as the hatchet man. I've done that and it's a thankless, but necessary task and no-one will care about a few blunders, they just want the reorganisation to succeed.
 
I've had experience of Prospect in the IT sector... a colleague of mine was made redundant a few years ago; brought in a prospect rep and walked out with a compromise that saw him get a few years of salary...

M.
 
That is correct, the role won't exist, but it doesn't mean you will be gone with it. All nine roles will cease and only five new ones will remain, your name may be on one of them.


Why bother wasting time and effort on this? Just think about the future.
TBH, wanting to belittle your Boss doesn't sound very "Senior Management".

He probably was brought in as the hatchet man. I've done that and it's a thankless, but necessary task and no-one will care about a few blunders, they just want the reorganisation to succeed.

I didn't intend to belittle the new chap however what has been done is very underhand.
 
I didn't intend to belittle the new chap however what has been done is very underhand.

Possibly, but no one will care at all. Forget looking backwards, just look forwards.
 

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