Currently in Consultation

Hi,

I am currently employed by a large firm and have completed 23 years of service.

I received a letter last week to advise me that my job role is at risk, I have completed the consultation and have a further consultation next week.

There are 3 people in the same job role as me and they have also received the same letter etc. We have been advised by the company that 1 position will be made redundant and it will be through a selection criteria between 2 of us as one of my colleagues is pregnant so she has been made exempt.

I have 2 possible issues and would be really grateful for some on advice on where I stand:

One part of the selection criteria is on technical competencies and lists internal qualifications achieved. When I started this position 2.5 years ago I was told that I would be sent on these internal courses, approx 9 months into my new job role I was told that these qualifications aren't really needed. So my question is can they now use this criteria - the other person has the qualifications?

My other issue is that it seems that the company has made the pregnant woman exempt so that they can avoid any risk of being accused of discrimination. I feel it has now put me in an unfair situation as on the point system it would have been quite close.

I have already raised the first issue with them and they said that it isnt just about the past its what they require going forward.

Any advice would be great

Thanks

I think that your first point is relatively fair and if this is the deciding difference between the two scores (since it is only one criteria, it may not be) then it should be appealed, and it may give you grounds to claim that the process was unfair - but it isn't particularly strong on its own.. Obviously, it would be helpful if you had written evidence that you were told that the courses were not required. I accept the employers argument that their current view is about the future, but presumably you would, if you had not been told that you didn't need the courses, have gone and done them? However, bear in mind - we don't know that the other person wasn't told the same thing and went anyway - in which case you do have a level playing field if the starting point was the same, and the difference was based on choices, you having decided not to go and him having decided to go.

In terms of your female colleague, I believe there is every chance that the employer is acting lawfully. It is very difficult to dismiss someone on redundancy grounds if someone is pregnant, but depending on relevant dates, it may actually be impossible! If the termination would occur during her maternity leave, then she actually can't be made redundant - they have to keep her in her job or offer a suitable alternative (in other words - they have to put her at the top of the list for the remaining jobs). I appreciate that from your perspective this doesn't seem fair, but in law it would certainly hold up, and the law on this exists preceisly because many employers attempt to make women "redundant" for no other reason than the fact that they are pregnant - and unfortunately, despite the law, still manage to do so.