Hi guys,

I will keep this as brief as I can but presenting the facts. My boss (MD) give me an "off the record" talk to say he was making me redundant, the grounds of which are nothing to do with my performance but rather that he is wanting to take the business in a different direction.

I've been working there as a permanent full-time employee for 16 months. in Northern Ireland Approx 50% of my job is identifying and completing tenders, while the remaining share is focused on raising purchase orders, general admin and telephone etc.

The unusual thing is that these responsibilities will exist even after I'm made redundant but apparently to a lesser degree. The MD also claims that some other staff, "low level" staff such as factory operatives are being made redundant too although I do not subscribe to that claim.

My question is this, given my length of service and the fact that the job I'm fulfilling will still be required, even at a reduced capacity, should he not offer me a salary adjustment rather than all out redundancy?

Please also advise that correct procedure he must follow and what pay I am entitled to ask for? I understand I'm entitled to at least 1 week pay under 2 years, although my contract is vague but suggest one month notice. I also have 14 days holiday pay, I suspect this will be included too.

Redundancy for "operational" or financial reasons are very tricky to quantify. as you have been there for too short a period to have any statutory protection there is little that can be doen to protect you if the selection criteria are not discriminatory.

If your contract says you have a months notice then they will either employ you up to a fixed date or pay you in lieu of notice period. If the company then employ someone new to do your old job you will ahve the right to feel aggrieved but little else, merging jobs is quite common and the net effect is less staff needed. It is common to veview the new post to ensure that there are no grounds for an equal pay claim but that is about it.

Ask about the new role and how many people are affected by the changes. say you would be interested in one of the newly created positions if there is to be an interview process but that is about as far as it can go with less than 2 years in the job.

Thanks Eric. Do you think I am entitled to ask for a severance payment to be included in any package? After all I have done what was requested of me, most of the time to a "perfect degree" where scoring is considered reference to the tenders I worked on.

The frustrating thing is that the main business activities relay on finding and renewing tender efforts to keep it a float. Even after a settlement, can I dispute a payment if its too low based on my gross contributions to the business?

you can ask for and dispute what you like, bearing in mind your limited legal redress.

The main point is you are not entitled to anything. You can ask for whatever you want but if you will find yourself with pretty much the bare minimum ( ie nothing if you work your notice) if you really believe your own hype. Be realistic and you stand a good chance of getting something like a months pay (tax free if severance rather than pay) plus any holiday pay due.

The main point is you are not entitled to anything. You can ask for whatever you want but if you will find yourself with pretty much the bare minimum ( ie nothing if you work your notice) if you really believe your own hype. Be realistic and you stand a good chance of getting something like a months pay (tax free if severance rather than pay) plus any holiday pay due.

My months notice is paid in lieu, is there a way I can ask to take this as severance to avoid the tax?

"can I take that as tax free severance?"

the chances of them saying yes are pretty good as they save money on NI contributions