Is this grounds for constructive dismissal

[twinpowers]

Hello all

 

 

I'm sorry for requesting assistance, but I have a situation which is making me lose sleep.

 

 

in 2015, my company announced it would be buying another company, and the deal would close in March 2016.

 

 

In Feb 2016, my manager at the time told me that following the deal, she would no longer be my direct manager, but would be a key stakeholder. My reporting line would change.

 

 

Immediately after that call, I had a call with a lady who I was led to believe (and still believe will be) was to be my new manager, and she was coming from the acquired company.

 

 

We discussed a role she had in mind which was of a similar level.

 

 

We had a few email exchanges in March as I tried to clarify a few items, and the deal subsequently got delayed until June, then July.

 

 

I have written by email and tried to call this lady for an update on my role, but I get absolutely no response. I know she is in her new role now, but I am still left hanging on.

 

 

My old manager who I still have 1:1 with, recently advised me that the plans she had seen show that my new role is actually at a level below my role when I reported to her, but she assures me there is no change to my terms.

 

 

 

 

I have again this week asked by email for an update as I am already being given more work from other stakeholders, and I know the top line manager for my department is aware of this addition of duties, but still neither he nor the "new manager" are responding to my requests for clarity on my future.

 

 

I do suffer anxiety and take medication for it, and maybe a side effect is paranoia, but I am sensing that they are delaying telling me of my new responsibilities, just to make me desperate and grateful for any job they give me.

 

 

As I have made repeated requests, and had no response whatsoever, not even a "sit tight", I don't feel I can trust the manager who would sit on the other side of the Atlantic to treat me fairly.

 

 

Is this a good case for constructive dismissal? I cannot see a future now with the company.

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance on this.

[BazzaS]

Have you opened a formal grievance?.

If not, they can clIm they were "unaware of the problem".

 

Open the grievance, (giving them an opportunity to solve the problem, with a recorded notification of the issue).

If they then don't respond : that would be useful evidence for any future claim.

 

How long have you been employed? More than 2 years?

[twinpowers]

Hello, thanks for the prompt response, I haven't raised a formal grievance as I'm worried about being labelled a trouble employee, and I guess I still have some hope that there is an amicable solution. My experience from other big companies is that once you raise a grievance, you basically upset the hierarchy and they just make life difficult for you

 

 

I will have been employed here for 2 years in Sept.

[BazzaS]

You don't want to be labelled as a troublesome employee, but you'd prefer to resign and claim constructive dismissal, not having followed the process that will support your claim?

 

When in September is the 2 years up?. I wouldn't "rock the boat" until your notice period takes you beyond that date .....

[twinpowers]

Sept 1st is my 2 year anniversary, and I am on a 3 month notice period.

 

 

I guess I do sound contradictory but it's all new to me, and I what I don't want to do is resign and have to work notice, and then potentially be out of work with no income for several months.

 

 

I have a niche role which means I may not be able to secure a similar role and package easily

 

 

I am very appreciative of your response.

 

 

I have some time off next week, so I guess I really need to think hard about this

[ssparks2003]

Has the deal actually been completed yet?

How big are these companies?

[twinpowers]

deal completed

 

 

huge companies that deal in billions.

 

 

I accept I'm a very small part of their thoughts (if at all).

[ssparks2003]

So, the deal has been completed in the last 4-6 weeks?

 

restructuring companies after a merger can take months and in some cases years, it sounds like your manager got a bit carried away and started to get the ball rolling way before anyone else was even close to thinking about it and is now trying to hide from the mistake.

 

Whilst not great from your perspective, I struggle to see how you have at this stage been disadvantaged, as at the moment you have only been told what might happen by someone that did not know what they are doing.

[ericsbrother]

As your terms havent changed you dont really have anything to complain about at the moment. Doesnt matter who you answer to or what your job is called if you are doing the same work for the same pay.

Cross your bridges when you come to them.

[Ganymede]

To answer the OP's question, not it would not be grounds to resign and take the employer to Court for constructive dismissal.

[twinpowers]

thank you all for your input.

 

 

does it matter that my new role is at a lower grade? The corporation has a hierarchy and the change means that I'm at the next level down.

 

 

No immediate changes to my package, but I guess there is some importance to grades - otherwise why have them?

[steampowered]

It sounds to me like you should try not to worry. Mergers and acquisitions are a messy business. Most of them do not close until a long time after they are supposed to close. Even after they have closed, it takes a long time for acquired companies to become properly integrated into their new corporate group.

 

The most likely reason why your line manager isn't responding is that the reporting lines are still in flux and haven't been decided yet. Reporting lines are often revised following an acquisition but this takes a very long time.

 

It sounds like the management of the company which may now own your employer are sitting somewhere in the United States and they probably don't have a clue what your existing responsibilities are, let alone what new responsibilities you should have. This stuff takes time to get ironed out. A US acquirer of a UK company would typically send a management team over the Atlantic to work in the UK company for a year or so, and then report back on any recommendations for changes to things like reporting lines. You may have seen a draft plan for the business but that could take years to actually be implemented and it could easily be changed or dropped. The plan your old manager saw has probably been revised many times and may now look completely different to when your old manager saw it.

 

Another possible reason is confidentiality. Mergers and acquisitions are a highly confidential business. This is particularly true if one of the parties involved is publicly listed on a stock exchange. In that case the release of non-public information about significant plans for the company to people who do not need to know it (such as you), would mean that the person could be disclosing 'inside information' which is a criminal offence carrying a substantial prison term. Even a response such as 'sit tight' could be construed as inside information, and in this case the management would be well advised not to send you any response at all.

 

I think you just have to be patient. You simply don't know if there will be any change, when that change will happen or what that change will look like. A bit like working for any employer.

 

No immediate changes to my package, but I guess there is some importance to grades - otherwise why have them?

There are countless reasons. One reason is that they might be changing the grade system to align with the US parent company. For example what is currently a grade 8 in your company could be equivalent to a grade 6 in the US parent company. So if they move to the US system and you are moved from a grade 8 to a grade 6, that isn't actually a downgrade.

 

I've worked in the UK operations of major international corporation which had 22 or so grades, but they were mostly meaningless, other than being able to look people up on the company intranet to see roughly how senior they are.

[twinpowers]

thanks for the responses.