Employment Law - Redundnacy & Overtime

[countrykid]

I am being made redundant. My normal working week is 39 hours but for at least the last ten years I have worked around 6 or 7 hours overtime each week.

I don't know if I ever had a written contract that I would have signed, so I don't know if my overtime is voluntary or not. For now lets assume it is voluntary. For redundancy purposes, I realise that what I get is based on my normal working hours, which in essence is 39 hours.

But given that I have worked circa 45 hours every week for the last 10 years or more, does not this become more my "normal" working week?

Each year subject to a performance review and profits being good, workers get a yearly bonus in the form of vouchers. The amount is based on your average wage over the year. This average DOES take into account the overtime I have worked. Might this set a precedent for what now constitutes my "normal" pay.

What happens if I never signed a written contract - perhaps it was just verbal? I do work for a large company but that's not to say everything is done right!!

[Fitzer]

Sorry to hear this and without wishing to bring you down even further, unless they have stated otherwise they are most likely going by the statutory amounts rather than your actual pay, see here https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/redundancy-pay

[ubasses]

A week’s pay does not include overtime unless it was regular and you have to do it as part of your job.
That quote is from the CAB site. Your o/t certainly is regular but the question is did you have to do it.
Also are you getting statutory or contracted redundancy pay. If the former the maximum pay it will be based on is £475 pw, so if you are earning that amount before overtime it becomes irrelevant.
As well as the Govt site ACAS is always helpful
http://www.acas.org.uk/?articleid=1611
Always better to talk to them on the phone as they can ask relevant questions.

[Dogsbody2]

Many large firms still base redundancy pay on a formula of a number of weeks pay times your weekly pay rate. For many people, that's more than the statutory figure of £475pw.

The signed contract doesn't matter - the 'contract' comprises a whole lot of bits of documentation provided over the years, including any letters written to you on pay or T&Cs, the Company Handbook (if any), plus custom and practice aspects.

[countrykid]

Thanks all. I was hoping that having been doing overtime for so long, it would be viewed as custom and practice. Alas, my company are saying my redundancy will be based on my "contracted hours" which is 39, even though I have not worked 39 hours for circa 10 years non stop! Short of paying for legal advice, I can't fight this.

[EDDIE51]

No point in fighting it you can't win, as you have just said, your contract is for 39 hours a week.
That is what the redundancy will be based on.

[countrykid]

History has shown that it is not always worth giving up the fight if you believe in a cause. As Dogsbody2 said, sometimes "custom and practice" can be used to show that what "was" classed as normal 10 years ago, changed to what is now. Working the extra hours has meant I am available to a number of people who ask me to do a whole host of "urgent" tasks which if I wasn't doing the overtime, wouldn't get done until the next day - which in some cases would be too late. There has also been times when I have been asked to stay late, so those instances are surely "not" voluntary as such. If the redundancy amount was based on the additional hours worked, I'd be circa £2k better off, which for me is a fair amount to lose.

[EDDIE51]

You can try, best of luck and I hope you win. But I will be very surprised if the company agree with you. Being asked to do overtime is not the same as it being compulsory and part of your contract. You could have refused the extra hours,that is the crucial part.

[countrykid]

Thanks again

[Peter Pedant]

basically there are rules and for you and me the employer hardly ever ays over and above them [ altho he may for himself or the boss;s daughter ]

it is clear you had a contract even if you cant recollect signing it

try anything but anyway here is a calculator

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/redundancy-pay?gclid=CNHmipex-MoCFVIYGwodzBkPvQ