Unfair Dismissal?

[Myriad2112]

Not sure where I stand here, I'm about to be made redundant but here's the thing.... I was employed on the factory floor as a machine operator. A few months AFTER I was taken the company employed two other operators and two years later I was moved upstairs to work on websites (something I had a small amount of experience in). Now the work has run dry I'm getting the golden handshake. Should I not have been moved back to the job that I was originally employed to do ? Please help me legal people

[factor-fiction]

Sometimes these things are too difficult to unpick. On what basis did you take up the website job- promotion, secondment? What were the terms of the move? How long were you in the website role?

[ojread2]

How long have you been employed by them?

[boxtops]

Was your contract of employment changed when you moved upstairs and took the other job? Is there still work downstairs?

[Myriad2112]

Thanks Factor, I was just asked If I minded doing it and felt like i should say yes. No extra money, no terms just a year of clicking.

[Myriad2112]

Boxtops, Interestingly I have never seen a contract let alone signed one. There is no longer enough work for three people though.

[Graham-W]

There has been no such thing as "first in-last out" for a long time. Probably since Maggie.
The job is made redundant, not the worker, so if they don't need a website designer any more, the website designer has to go.
Sorry.

[ojread2]

You do have a contract though

If there is no longer work as a web site person, then you have no job unfortunately

[Postdog]

Redundancy is for the job, not the person. If you accepted a new job and that didn't work out, even though your old job still exists being done by someone else, then there's nothing you can do. They can't get rid of one of them just so you have a job.

They could argue they promoted you, so hardly unfair treatment. If anything it could be constructive dismissal, but very hard to prove I should think.

[Myriad2112]

OK thanks for letting me know Oj, not sure what you mean about a contract though, surely i would have to sign it for it to be a contract?

[Myriad2112]

Thankyou Postdog, everone is saying the same however I didn't recieve any more money, does that still count as a promotion?

[ladybirder]

If you have worked for them, and they have paid you, then a contract exists between you, albeit an implicit one. They are at fault for not providing you with a written one though.

[Myriad2112]

I understand ladybirder, thanks

[buildersmate]

The 'promotion' idea mentioned by Postdog is not relevant (in determining if you were dismissed unfairly). Unfortunately as you changed your role and it is this job that is being declared redundant, the dismissal seems likely to be 'fair' in a legal sense.

[tonywiltshire]

Good advice, as usual from BM.

Regarding the contract you became entitled to statutory rights upon entering into an employment contract without any need for the details of these rights being written into the contract.

As I understand the position your job has gone due to a downturn in orders and your employer is unable to offer you an alternative position, your employer is not required to offer you the job of another employee. It sounds like a genuine redundancy if it is your job, which has become redundant. Try to negotiate the terms with your employer, as statutory redundancy payments are not very generous.

[cathfromsaron]

does your firm have a re-deployment policy?

if not, you may be out of luck! can you prove you are NOT last in first out, too?

[Myriad2112]

Thanks BM and TW,
Cath its just a little tinpot company and there are no policys, I can prove it yes, I was the second person to work there. I don't even like the place but there's not much around at the moment. I shall just go with the flow and see what happens.