Hello, would you be able to help? I've got a long query.
I’ve been working for 6 years as a contractor for a client for that has outsourced its services to my company. A year ago I was at risk of redundancy but was offered an alternative role which I found interesting yet not suitable. I wasn't given any trial period, nor a letter of contract amendment and was told my role was on secondment. 6 months letter after chasing management a letter was issued confirming my new role. in the following 6 months on this role my client restructured the whole department, dissolving the team of 5 I worked for into 3 new teams, resulting in two of the team members being made redundant, and the other 2 left relocated within new teams. I was told to handover all my responsibilities to the new teams and take on some of the duties originally done by one of the persons that got made redundant, without having any knowledge nor training. After bringing this to my company line manager's attention I was told to wait till the client was ready to discuss my role. After waiting with nothing to do for over 3 months my line manager has now agreed my role is at risk of redundancy. However, a new role has been offered to me, which is, in paper, 75% the same as the one they are now making redundant (the job spec is 50% exactly the same and the other 50% has been re-worded based on the previous role yet implying increased responsibilities previously carried out both by colleagues working for the outsourcing company and clients, both on a lower and higher status to mine) and the skills required are 100% exactly the same.
It now appears that my client has suddenly realized that it would be best to have all this outsourced, and to this end they have offered a single management role to my company to take care of everything that has been handled by 4 different teams (3 teams with my client and 1 other onsite with the outsourcing company).
Some of these new role increased responsibilities are currently being performed by contracting colleagues at lower status and some other responsibilities by clients at a higher level.
The outsourcing company I work for have offered me the role as suitable, yet the are keeping the same job title I had before and the same pay, rejecting the offer made by the client requesting a manager.
Considering my company has no experience nor any evidence of a suitable alternative redeployment plan to a similar role, I have rejected the offer as deem it unsuitable based on this role being detrimental to my career, and also on the following:
1. My company has a contract with my client to do one thing only, and these offered responsibilities are outside the scope of that contract
2. My company's global proposition doesn't include or have anything to do with the role on offer, I am to date the only person within the whole 12k employees my company has globally, that does this job, therefore re-deployment is considerably difficult not to mention impossible.
3. Accepting this role means I have to consider a demotion if I were to move or resignation, which my manager has increasingly encouraged me to do.
4. I have been applying for jobs internally within my company for the past year with no success, mainly due to having spent over a year now doing something irrelevant to my company's public proposition. (by doing such a one off role I am putting myself at risk of not being employable anymore)
5. Over the past year, and during the initial 6 months I did over 40hours overtime each month due to the huge volumes of work I had to do by myself
6. This new alleged suitable role they are offering me mentions “no changes to the workload” but since they are offering a combination of demotion and additional work previously done by the clients (Bankers, and I’m not one) I don’t’ know how they can deem suitable a role that clearly exploits their so well regarded staff. How am I going to be able to perform properly if with half I was already struggling and doing a huge amount of overtime
7. The new role mentions no changes to my working hours, I was offered to work initially 8-4 shift, but very early on it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to just do those, so I was asked to start at 9am and work till I was done, and have done so for a year now. The offer for this new alleged suitable role is 8-4, so I guess that is a change to my working hours.
8. My line manager has mentioned the new role requires absence cover, which she claims, anyone in the team can do (I work alone separate from the rest of the team of 20+ staff). So she’s essentially admitting my role is a demotion, since anyone and everyone can do it, therefore my status is nul and void, or am I wrong in assuming this?
My line manager has now asked me to put in writing my reasons why I reject the offer yet is pushing me to accept the role.
So what are my real options, I wish to volunteer for redundancy yet my line manager tells me if I don't accept the role I loose my rights to statutory redundancy pay.
Can you let me know if I can claim the alleged suitable role is detrimental to my career and therefore can legally reject it without loosing my redundancy rights?
Thank you very much for your time.