Possible redundancy letter

mattw12345

mattw12345

mattw12345

Associate
Joined
25 Aug 2024
Posts
14
Location
UK
Hello all,
I sadly received an email on 1630 from my company telling me my job was at threat and that I had a meeting to discuss on Tuesday at 10am. Which literally leaves me no time to prepare or seek professional advice. Is this common to receive such short notice? I've attached the email below. I find it pretty distressing to read as I've been at the company two years and have contributed hugely to creating new applications for the business. It's so cold, there's no acknowledgement of my contributions, no sense of empathy as to how this might be making me feel and nothing about the kind of support they would offer. Is it reasonable to bring this up in the meeting and ask questions, such as, was the letter signed off by the company, or was it direct from my boss? It is out of odds with the company ethos for sure. And also asking the reasons why I have been given so little notice. The email says I can bring professional support, but there is literally no way I could get this given I got it last thing on Friday and it's a bank holiday weekend.
Any thoughts appreciated.

I am writing to advise you that you are required to attend a meeting on [date and time]. This meeting will be held virtually. You will receive a separate email with details of how to join the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by [a manager]. Another member of staff will also be present as a note-taker.

At the meeting, we will discuss upcoming changes at the company. You should be aware that the outcome of the meeting could be up to and including the termination of your employment.

You have the statutory right to be accompanied at the meeting by either a work colleague or a trade union official of your choice. Your companion will be permitted to address the meeting and confer with you during the meeting. Please let me know if you are going to be accompanied and the name of the person by [a reasonable time before the meeting].

Please confirm that you are able to attend by [confirmation deadline]. You should take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting. Failure to attend without good reason could result in the meeting being held, and a decision being taken on your ongoing employment, in your absence.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about the contents of this letter.
 
kindai said:
That sounds more like a potential disciplinary/complaint/performance meeting rather than a redundancy one...
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I messaged the manager who will be taking the meeting. I said:
I would like to know if this due to an allegation of breach of contract and if so what that is so that I have a chance to prepare for this if that is the case.
The reply was:
It is not due to a breach of contract Matt. I will talk you through in the meeting.
 
Literally a few weeks under 2 years. Which I wonder whether they're trying to rush it through potentially. If it was 2 years I know I would be able to get 1 weeks redundancy pay. I don't know if there are other things I would also benefit from.
 
I've had redundancy like this before. They plan it so you have no opportunity to talk to your colleagues, wouldn't be surprised if you get canned in the meeting and have your access immediately removed. Companies jerk you around right before the 2 years period because that's the threshold for having the right of legal recourse if they're unfair about it. Doesn't hurt to take a union rep along if you have one, might help you in some way. But basically it's new job time.
 
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mattw12345 said:
Literally a few weeks under 2 years. Which I wonder whether they're trying to rush it through potentially. If it was 2 years I know I would be able to get 1 weeks redundancy pay. I don't know if there are other things I would also benefit from.
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That was my suspicion, someone has clocked you're sub 2 years and figured it'd be easier to do whatever they're wanting to do before you hit that milestone
 
throwaway4372 said:
I've had redundancy like this before. They plan it so you have no opportunity to talk to your colleagues, wouldn't be surprised if you get canned in the meeting and have your access immediately removed. Companies jerk you around right before the 2 years period because that's the threshold for having the right of legal recourse if they're unfair about it. Doesn't hurt to take a union rep along if you have one, might help you in some way. But basically it's new job time.
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Yeah. I'm trying not to take it personally as I'm a software engineer. They probably think the job is pretty much done (which it isn't) and now they massively downsize the team.
 
Can they literally dismiss me there and then and that's it I have no job from Tuesday?
The language sounds like it could be a restructuring, but it is very vague:

At the meeting, we will discuss upcoming changes at the company. You should be aware that the outcome of the meeting could be up to and including the termination of your employment.
 
mattw12345 said:
Okay. Feels so brutal.
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Yeeea but, it's business.

Don't take it personally, also take a lesson never to get personally involved at any company, any sense of loyalty etc.

With the exception....maybe.... If you work for a very small firm, and it's makes a difference and it's appreciated.

I hear this like "big push today guys" or similar **** supposed to motivate people.

I don't take **** from my employer and I stand up for myself, but at the end of the days it's business, it's a job.
 
mattw12345 said:
Is it worth trying to push for support with getting a new job and wether they'll offer any redundancy pay to help?
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There's no harm in asking, especially if this is a redundancy.

I'd recommend that you write down all of your thoughts way before the meeting and make them quickly accessible to you, but keep in mind that you may have limited time in the meeting, so prioritise how you use it (e.g. if you're being made redundant, there's unlikely to be anything to be gained by arguing the point, because the decision will have already been made).
 
Tetras said:
There's no harm in asking, especially if this is a redundancy.

I'd recommend that you write down all of your thoughts way before the meeting and make them quickly accessible to you, but keep in mind that you may have limited time in the meeting, so prioritise how you use it (e.g. if you're being made redundant, there's unlikely to be anything to be gained by arguing the point, because the decision will have already been made).
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So equally no point investing too much emotional energy in it given it could already be a forgone conclusion.
 
mattw12345 said:
Yeah. I'm trying not to take it personally as I'm a software engineer. They probably think the job is pretty much done (which it isn't) and now they massively downsize the team.
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I'm a dev too, when people do this to you they don't care one bit about all the technical stuff you do which you think is important, they're shooting themselves in the foot probably but they won't listen to reason, they've already decided. Unfortunately this teaches you to care less about future projects.

mattw12345 said:
Can they literally dismiss me there and then and that's it I have no job from Tuesday?
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Yes they can. Check your contract, it might say they need to give you notice (like how you probably have to give them 3 months notice if you decided to leave, they might have to give you notice also) in which case they should be paying you for that notice period even if they don't make you work it.

I've been though these things too many times, getting really tired of the industry (I'd rather have a job for life like back in the day), and it just happened to me again so I'm job hunting now. I find it helps to think of how pro sportspeople deal with being traded, they might not want the change but it's part of the job and happens regularly and they're expected to handle it like a pro. Make sure you understand what you're getting paid and when, so everyone's clear, including pension contributions. Try to get contact info of people who are willing to be your references, you'll need them in your job hunt.
 
mattw12345 said:
So equally no point investing too much emotional energy in it given it could already be a forgone conclusion.
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Yup, if they are not upfront then I'd try to clarify early on what you can realistically get out of this meeting, because then you can prioritise what questions you ask.

Usually these decisions are taken way above your line manager and there's nothing you can do about it.

You might like to watch videos like these just to calm yourself a bit and work through the emotions :)


 
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