My Company Have Decided To Restructure Our Jobs Yet Again For The Third Time In 4 Years. I Work In An Operations Hub For A Company Who Still Believe They Are The Worlds Favourite Airline. Over The Last Four Or Five Years They Amalgamated 3 Sections Into

[Robert5656]

One where we were all trained in the various roles as controllers coordinators and allocators moving around on a rolling basis each day. Now they want to split it up again by amalgamating the controllers and coordinators position and seperating the allocators to a different part of the business with added face to face customer service duties. There will be a reduction of pay by around 80 pounds per week which is protected for 4 years. They are trying to sort out the selection process by union consultation which is fine. There are 24 people for 24 jobs 12 in each area the controller role maintaining the current pay rate. My question is as they have suggested that there is no guarantee of the current staff obtaining one of these roles if they do not meet the criteria where if this happens will be forced onto Career transition for 6 months and then forced into what they are calling VR. I say this is not VR as they will be making staff who have carried out these roles for years Redundant from the company and bringing in new cheaper labour on new contracts into positions where they will have to be fully trained from scratch to be able to carry out the job. Surely this will be Constructive dismissal as a position that is 70 percent the original job with a bit added on should be given to the original 24 employees unless they personally opt for VR. Regards and hope you can clarify this situation

[EDDIE51]

The Union rep is the person to ask, they are the ones being consulted by the company. You can't expect someone on here to know your companys personnel management history.

[Hymie]

In my experience, where a company makes such changes that ultimately results in a small number of staff being made redundant – the company offers enhanced severance terms (more money), which allows the company to claim voluntary redundancies.

Affected staff could opt to refuse the enhanced severance terms (VR), and they would be made compulsorily redundant – without the benefit of the enhanced severance pay out.

[BilSuth]

As Eddie suggests, you should see the union person, as they should be au fait with all the industrial relations tricks and devices in one guise or another. The union will know whether there is any legal redress in such situations but my guess would be that employees usually settle reluctantly for retraining or some sideways move that keeps you in a job. Constructive dismissal is a moral victory but doesn't pay the bills.

[Peter Pedant]

yes basically they are allowed to do this
UK employment law allows a company to restructure
which isnt really surprising
( otherwise as someone commented we would still have a wooden ship building industry - and Ximbabwe an economic beacon to us all has a law that makes it unlawful to fire someone )

They have clearly followed all the rules ( union involvement in deciding who stays who goes is a ACAS requirement and so on)

There is a huge body of case law on constructive dismissal -
which is largely unused as 2% cases involve it
( either you have a two percent chance of winning a case in constructive dismissal or 2% of employment cases involve constructive dismissal - gambling on a two percent chance of anythingis bad news)

[Prudie]

Hymie is correct. People are made redundant through restructures all the time. You are offered enhanced VR first and if you refuse you get compulsory with less of a package. And the TU will know the rules.

[Prudie]

Meant to add constructive dismissal is when they get rid of you personally and then fill your post with someone else doing the same job. That's my understanding anyway.

[murraymints]

very very few constructive dismissal case win their case at tribunal..

[Peter Pedant]

yup 2% MM if you er read my post

I think that is why they have mixed and matched the job spec so that an argument that they have fired s/o and put another in the same job will fail