
New Act aims to prevent sexual harassment at work
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act which covers sexual harassment...read more
My organisation has undergone a restructure which will increase headcount. However, my role and grade do not exist in the new structure and I have been notified my role is ending. I asked my employer for paid time off to look for other work and I asked if any of the suitable alternative roles which I am free to apply for would have a four-week trial period – both of my requests were refused on the basis that the restructure is not a redundancy situation. Just before I was due to leave, a new role was created for me – it’s temporary and a job description will be drafted soon, but I haven’t heard anything since. In my view they haven’t followed the due process and the implied mutual trust and confidence is lost. Am I entitled to redundancy as my role no longer exists in the new structure and there are no suitable alternative roles that I wish to apply for? What are my employment rights in this situation and what legal claim do I have for an employment tribunal?
It seems to me that even though the role is not in the new structure what it means is that the headcount is increasing and not decreasing, which is what would be necessary in a redundancy situation.
I cannot see why any new role would not be subject to the four-week trial period if it was not clearly a suitable alternative and that should be pushed with the employer.
Clearly if the role was created, there should be no issue with providing a job description and clarity around that and hopefully that will have come.
Importantly, however, I do not feel that there is strong enough evidence to support a claim for breach of trust and confidence entitling you to resign and bring a claim in the ET. The employer is providing work and are still paying you so an argument that you ought to have been made redundant may not hold up.
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