h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Our entire department has/is being made redundant. Some had to leave in february, some at the end of march and the rest of us at the end of June. Most people have been quite philosophical about it, but we were all angry at the way the company lied to us about how it would happen. We had been told that we would all be made redundant in february, but that some people would be asked to stay on for a few more months with incentive pay. So many of us started looking for jobs, interviews etc. Then at our redundancy interview we were told that our jobs would actually be redundant until april/july. This made us feel "trapped" here since if we left before then we would get no redundancy pay or incentive pay - many people had to back out of interviews/agencies which is annoying and gives a bad impression. The last few months here have really dragged and I can't wait for the end of June. So my advice would be don't make any decisions until you have your redundancy date in writing. I won't mention the name of the company I work for in case it's against the house rules....but I think I'll just go and update my homepage now

Sorry about the typo above, I meant
"wouldn't actually be redundant until april/july"

If you were told you were going to be made redundant in February, then surely your notice was given. It cannot be withdrawn without your consent. Notice doesn't need to be written.

DMT

If you think that your being made redundant is unfair and possibly illegal, you should, first of all, write a clear letter to the firm noting your concerns and seeking clarification of the reasons for/circumstances of your dismissal. Under English law, the firm will (generally) have a legal obligation to respond within 14 days. Failure of the employer to respond should prompt you to complain to an industrial tribunal.

And keep copies of ALL your correspondence, and notes from meetings.

Hi DMT - thanks for the replies.
We all felt bitter about it when it happened - we had a group of representatives who did complain about it, and letters were written etc. But all the company did was deny what they had said. I beleive the representatives even wrote to the CEO telling him how we had been treated but he didn't even have the decency to reply at all.