can a director of a limited company be made redundant

Hi could someone please advise me

I am a director of a jewellery manufactures which is a limited company with two other equal partners each having 33% shares, which was given to us two years ago by the former owners,
yes i know that only ads up to 99% the 1% i think is held by our accountant. We are all listed at companies house as two directors and one secetary with no employees. we are all employed by the company on PAYE,due to the dicline in orders and a falling out with the other two partners i am looking to get out so i need to know if the other two can make me redundant so i can get JSA and get help in retraining.the problem lies with the monies which is owed to the bank on the overdraft which we each have personally garanteed what is the best way for me to get out with no debts. thanks

Hi Karlos

There has been a recent Court of Appeal case on this very issue, albeit in the context of a company becoming insolvent and the directors/employees seeking a statutory redundancy payment from the state.

From the limited information you have provided, it does seem to me that you would be entitled to a redundancy payment. The key point is, are you an employee? If you work in the business, if it is a genuine business, if you receive wages and are on PAYE, then it is likely that you are. The fact that you are also not the controlling shareholder would point towards you being a genuine employee also.

Your fellow directors may, no doubt, be concerned about liability for unfair dismissal if they were to make you redundant. If you have had a falling out you may want to consider approaching them with a view to agreeing a pay off under a compromise agreement. you could, for instance, suggest that they pay you the equivalent of a redundancy payment, perhaps plus pay in lieu of notice and in return you would sign a compromise agreement which would stop you being able to bring a tribunal claim. The only additional cost involved would be in respect of your legal advice - for the agreement to be valid you would need to receive specific legal advice and your adviser's details would need to be included in the agreement. The cost, which is normally covered by the employer, would probably be in the order of £250 to £500, depending on location, etc.

Hope that helps.

Pete