Redundancy and finding new work

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Paul1977

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#177893 18-Aug-2015 09:46

A friend of mine has been told his position is being made redundant, and he will be getting some kind of payout.

My understanding is that he is now free to try to find other work, and if he finds a suitable new job he can leave before his end date and still get his redundancy payout.

He seems to think that if he finishes before the end date that they have given to him then he will lose his payout.

Can anyone with knowledge and experience with this help out with how it works?

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xpd

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#1368418 18-Aug-2015 10:06

Read his contract. Probably has a redundancy clause that will let him know.

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gzt

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#1368578 18-Aug-2015 13:04

Imho depends on two things
A) existing contract
B) terms of any additional redundancy agreement he may have signed recently

Eg; b may include additional optional payments over a with the purpose of keeping him around for the remaining period.

Paul1977

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#1368585 18-Aug-2015 13:18

Not sure if he has signed anything. He's in a union, so they are presumably making sure it's fair. I've told him he needs to find all this stuff out for sure so he knows where he stands. Thanks for the help.

scuwp

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#1368603 18-Aug-2015 13:44

Sometimes (more often than not in my experience) companies don't want disgruntled workers, working out their last few days/weeks. If not in his contract get your friend to talk to his/her manager and see if they will just pay them out and they can then just leave immediately, and use that time to find new work.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Brumfondl

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#1368659 18-Aug-2015 15:06

Just make sure he has been officially made redundant before he signs a contract anywhere else. Pretty sure if he signs a contract purely based on the assumption of being made redundant then he is actually considered to have resigned and not be entitled to anything extra.

surfisup1000

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#1368661 18-Aug-2015 15:08

I'm guessing you don't want to ask the employer as it might be detrimental to the current job.

Ideally this needs to be discussed with an employment lawyer.

Case law not covered by contract terms may apply or it may be a grey area where a judge must decide.

MaxLV

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#1368700 18-Aug-2015 15:29

Paul1977: Not sure if he has signed anything. He's in a union, so they are presumably making sure it's fair. I've told him he needs to find all this stuff out for sure so he knows where he stands. Thanks for the help.

He needs to get his union's help and advice for anything to do with being made redundant. IMHO social media (like Geekzone) is the last place for getting advice like this, no matter how 'well intentioned' you're trying to be.

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gzt

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#1368749 18-Aug-2015 17:34

In this case it looks like good representation and one call to his union 0800 will probably sort it.

Paul1977

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#1369178 19-Aug-2015 11:12

Thanks for all the advice, I have passed it on.

nathan

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#1370264 19-Aug-2015 14:10

gzt: In this case it looks like good representation and one call to his union 0800 will probably sort it.

indeed, if he is in a union he might as well get something for all of those wages that have been skimmed off him over the years

K1w1G33k

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#1370297 19-Aug-2015 14:28

I was in the same situation too, finished 2 weeks before my redundancy date and still got my full redundancy payout

Check with HR in the company to confirm the fineprint of your contract's redundancy clause.

josephhinvest

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#1370318 19-Aug-2015 15:04

I learned the hard way when I was made redundant a few years ago.
Human Resources exists to protect the company, not the employees. They are not on your side. Seek independent advice.

Cheers,
Joseph

Smithy100

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#1370339 19-Aug-2015 15:51

In my experience early this year I got my full payout.

But yes, seek professional advice.

toejam316

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#1370379 19-Aug-2015 16:39

From what I understand, assuming your friend works with the same company I'm thinking of, and is in the same union I'm thinking of, once the union ratifies the agreement that is pending, then the consultation process will be free to finish and final confirmation will occur. Only at that point will redundancy be confirmed, and then from what I understand from previous instances of it, it is the worker's manager's decision as to if they will be required to work out the duration of the redundancy period, or if they will be dismissed and paid out.

This of course all hinges on your friend working on the company going through such a process being the one I'm thinking of. The Union should definitely be able to provide more guidance on what the general process is.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.