Is this redundancy?

My employer is claiming that I am at risk of redundancy (they are acting by the book in relation to consultation and the process), however in my consultation meeting, my boss admitted that my post hasn't ceased or diminished etc as such but that because I am not hitting or exceeding my targets they want to get rid of me as they cannot see any return for their investment. *He agreed that they have no problem with how I do my job and if I had been performing better in reaching my targets then I would not be at risk. *I am the only person in my particular office (but not the firm) doing my area of work (we all do the same type of job, just different specialisations) so there is no selection pool. I have a 6 month contractual notice period and I am told that if I am found to be redundant, I would be expected to work that notice period in good faith to my clients and should my performance improve, they may give me my job back. Is that dismissal by redundancy or dismissal due to performance dressed up as redundancy?

I will add as a caveat that the allegations as to performance are true looking at the figures but not true on the facts. *When I took the job, 18 months ago, they represented that they had certain contacts (untrue) and teams to assist (untrue) and would invest and give me the support to help me build a team and my client base (untrue). They changed their minds about investment shortly afterwards when they realised what it entailed (as it was a new market for them) and have slowly but surely taken away any chances of me achieving my targets in comparison to the colleague in another office doing the same job where the same level of investment is not required as the market is already established. *I think they have tried to get me to resign by marginalising me (taking away my team, taking me off tender docs as a member of the team and generally not including me) and when I just stuck at it (despite being demoralised as hell) they have decided to take me down the redundancy route. *

Bizarrely enough, the announcement as to redundancy came shortly after I brought in the biggest amount of work/client I ever had done before and which could keep me busy for a long time. *They say that as I have now brought in this work I can stay for 6 months to do it and if I get some more of a similar nature and they think it's enough then I can possibly keep my job. Given their past conduct, I am not sure they actually mean this and are using it as a carrot to get me to do this lucrative work for 6 months in order to get the fees and keep the client as a client of the firm. They know the client would not stay with them if I left shortly as the relationship is with me.

If they make me redundant I am somewhat up the creek - my billing record is not brilliant due to the fact they would not help or support me in developing my team etc to meet targets no matter how i asked for support, made suggestions and requests. I have been generally outraged at their duplicity which they now deny. *I am a professional having been at a large city practice who was invited to a smaller provisional firm which was/is trying to break the London market. *They completely misrepresented the position and what they would do to support me. It was a coup for them to get somebody from a city firm and I foolishly agreed to take a paycut with a bonus reliant on my billing. *A lack of billing has completely curtailed my earnings and my future earning potential has been considerably reduced as my role is based on billing figures and a potential employer would not be impressed.

Sorry for the the last couple of paras, *I just wanted to put my lack of performance in context. *

I just want to know in a short answer, is it a redundancy situation if they make me work my notice period with the caveat that they may take me back if my performance improves? *

Very many thanks

No this clearly isn't redundancy at all - but which would you rather have on your reference: "dismissed for faliure to perform" or "redundant"? I know which I would prefer. They are taking the easy way out, and appear to be being rather transparant about it. But I am not sure that any alternative is viable for you. You cannot prove a verbal conversation, and even if you could - do you really want the prospect of a public tribunal in which you are claiming unfair selection for redundancy (which may be hard to prove even with this conversation) in which your alleged failure to perform is argued? You are lucky to have a long notice period - find another job during it.

Many thanks. My employers have suddenly written to me saying that they have no criticism of my performance, despite having previously asked me, once "at risk", to set out a business case as to my expected contributions going forward in support of my role continuing. If my role is determined to be redundant, can they forbid me to tell my clients the situation and that i am working my notice period? This is a job where the clients have engaged me via a personal relationship and they would not be happy if one day I just left without having given them adequate notice or let them know what was going on. These clients would be my market as and when I find a new job so it wouldn't be helpful to provide a shoddy service and not keep them in the loop, however I do not want to be dismissed during my notice for disobeying my employer. They have already forbidden me from letting clients know that I am at risk. Thanks again.

If your employer has given you such an instruction you will almost certainly be dismissed if you disobey it. They are their clients - not yours - and you must be very careful here. Quite apart from the risk of dismissal in disobeying the instruction, even if you have no restrictive covenenant, poaching your employers customers is something you could be sued for!

Many thanks. I have no intention of poaching however if the reason I am being made redundant is that the role no longer exists and I am the only one who does the work, I cannot imagine the clients hanging around where there is no relevant expertise. Thank you for confirming the position re not telling clients. Whilst I can understand not being allowed to speak about my employer for fear of dismissal, I did not realise that they could stop me from talking about myself or my own personal position and dismiss me for the same, even if I am an employee!

This is not your "personal position" - whilst you are in work and talking to their clients, it is "the employment relationship". That relationship is between the employer and you and has no relevance to the clients business with the company. Just because you are the only person who does that work now does not mean that the work will not exist after you leave - the work could be re-allocated to other employees.