Redundancy, discrimination and unfair dismissal
You have been employed by the same company for over twenty years, working your way upwards to a senior position on the management team. You believe you have dedicated your ‘best working years’ to the company and are shocked to have just been called to a meeting by the newly appointed managing director and told that your role is at risk of redundancy. The company is looking to restructure and rebrand itself as part of the process. You are concerned that the new MD perceives you as ‘old school’ and that your age will count against you.You are concerned that if your employment is terminated in the next six months, you will miss out on a potentially valuable Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP).
What can I do to reduce the risk of redundancy selection or enhance my position?
We would investigate to see if this was a genuine redundancy or just an excuse to get you out. Whilst redundancy is a potentially fair reason for terminating a person’s employment, it might be possible to challenge the grounds for your redundancy selection and it can be helpful to scrutinise the selection process to identify any suggestion of procedural unfairness.
We can help you prepare for the consultation and selection process and help you to establish whether you have been subject to discrimination on the basis of age. In the event you are selected for redundancy, we could help you challenge the decision if it is unfair and negotiate a favourable severance package. The LTIP has not yet vested and depending on the terms of the scheme, it is possible that you will lose your entitlement to LTIP benefit when your employment terminates. This is a point which we would take into account in conducting negotiations.