Firm relocating, what are the companies obligations?
Discussion
A close relative of mine has a senior role as a management accountant in a med-large commercial company in London, She has been told that her firm is relocating from London to near Manchester in the new year and that if she wanted it, she could have the same job, but 200+ miles away from her family, friends and roots, she has children of various ages settled at secondary school in various stages of taking exams, etc, and a husband who has a solid carreeer in London. So regrettably she had do decline their offer.
However between now and the eventual date, they have offered her a reasonable sum of money on top of her salary to stay on until Jan in order that she can oversee the management of the changeover of various financial systems, staff conversion training, etc. Which she has agreed to do. She has been a very loyal employee to this company for 20 years of her life, and has always gone the extra mile whenever the need has arisen in all that time. In short, she has been a 1st class worker par excellence, which is widely acknowledged throughout her company.
But here’s the rub… she’s in her early 40s now and is not relishing the stark reality of being out of work after January, but in the meantime, due to the request of her company that she still gives 101% of her energy and time to this relocation project, which involves regular weekly commutes to Manchester, she is going to be hard-pressed to find the time to go job hunting, arrange interviews, etc and generally focus on her career going forward.
So I suggested to her that given her senior status and exemplary work record, the least the company could do would be to engage proper executive employment agency/headhunters to find her a new job in the New Year. What do people think of this?, apart from statutory redundancy, is the company obliged to help her in any way, given that through no fault of her own, and as much as she would like to, she simply cannot move the family, et al 200 miles up the M1.
However between now and the eventual date, they have offered her a reasonable sum of money on top of her salary to stay on until Jan in order that she can oversee the management of the changeover of various financial systems, staff conversion training, etc. Which she has agreed to do. She has been a very loyal employee to this company for 20 years of her life, and has always gone the extra mile whenever the need has arisen in all that time. In short, she has been a 1st class worker par excellence, which is widely acknowledged throughout her company.
But here’s the rub… she’s in her early 40s now and is not relishing the stark reality of being out of work after January, but in the meantime, due to the request of her company that she still gives 101% of her energy and time to this relocation project, which involves regular weekly commutes to Manchester, she is going to be hard-pressed to find the time to go job hunting, arrange interviews, etc and generally focus on her career going forward.
So I suggested to her that given her senior status and exemplary work record, the least the company could do would be to engage proper executive employment agency/headhunters to find her a new job in the New Year. What do people think of this?, apart from statutory redundancy, is the company obliged to help her in any way, given that through no fault of her own, and as much as she would like to, she simply cannot move the family, et al 200 miles up the M1.
It may sound harsh but the company are not obligated to do anything. They have relocated and offered her a position with extra bit of money. I know a firm who relocated from Stockport to Telford which is around 70 odd miles offered the staff jobs with a bit extra, needless to say i dont think any took them up on their offer.
It is sad especially since she has worked hard and been loyal for twenty years, maybe she could negotiate a bit more money out of them until things are sorted to soften the blow.
maybe she can ask the question, If she is such an assett and helping them out then would they risk p***ing her off?
It is sad especially since she has worked hard and been loyal for twenty years, maybe she could negotiate a bit more money out of them until things are sorted to soften the blow.
maybe she can ask the question, If she is such an assett and helping them out then would they risk p***ing her off?
Are there other people who are in the same position as your relative i.e. that will be out of work after the relocation? The reason I am asking is that the more people that are effected, the more chance there is of the company getting in outside consultants, etc to help people find jobs, etc. You'd be surprised how many people don't know how to look for another job, write a CV, etc.
However, I think she'd be better off making her own arrangements, making contacts with employment agencies now to try to secure a job come the new year. She could speak to her boss to ask whether they would be 'happy' for her to take reasonable time off for interviews, etc although the fact that they are paying her more to help with the relocation may make this more difficult.
Hope she gets on ok.
However, I think she'd be better off making her own arrangements, making contacts with employment agencies now to try to secure a job come the new year. She could speak to her boss to ask whether they would be 'happy' for her to take reasonable time off for interviews, etc although the fact that they are paying her more to help with the relocation may make this more difficult.
Hope she gets on ok.
In redudnancy situations the company is obliged to give 'reasonable' time off for job hunting, CV prep, interviewing etc. The definition of 'reasonable' is not defined. If it were me I would request half a day off at least per week within the last 3 months perhaps or more flexibility to work from home/late etc.
Presumably she is getting made redundant ?
From - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/E...
"If you don't have a mobility clause in your contract, and the relocation is more than a short distance, you can decide not to move. In this case, your employer may make you redundant."
I would have thought that 20 years redundancy plus whatever extra she is being paid to commute would be enough to allow her a couple of months off in Jan/Feb to find a new job.
From - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/E...
"If you don't have a mobility clause in your contract, and the relocation is more than a short distance, you can decide not to move. In this case, your employer may make you redundant."
I would have thought that 20 years redundancy plus whatever extra she is being paid to commute would be enough to allow her a couple of months off in Jan/Feb to find a new job.
Edited by zippy3x on Wednesday 12th August 14:15
With 20 years service in a well paid position, I'd imagine her redundancy payment would be massive. I haven't looked at employment law since I graduated last year, but from memory I think her redundancy payment is likely to be 2 weeks salary per year. So that would likely help to cushion the blow a little....
TomJS said:
With 20 years service in a well paid position, I'd imagine her redundancy payment would be massive. I haven't looked at employment law since I graduated last year, but from memory I think her redundancy payment is likely to be 2 weeks salary per year. So that would likely help to cushion the blow a little....
.......capped at about £350 per week!!smartie said:
TomJS said:
With 20 years service in a well paid position, I'd imagine her redundancy payment would be massive. I haven't looked at employment law since I graduated last year, but from memory I think her redundancy payment is likely to be 2 weeks salary per year. So that would likely help to cushion the blow a little....
.......capped at about £350 per week!!Statutory redundancy is 0.5 x 1 weeks salary for every year under the age of 22
1 x 1 weeks salary for every year when aged between 22 and 40
1.5 x 1 weeks salary for every year when aged over 40
But the weeks salary is capped at £350 a week
So if she's aged 45 with 20 years she will get £7,700. Of course this is statutory, the company could pay more.
1 x 1 weeks salary for every year when aged between 22 and 40
1.5 x 1 weeks salary for every year when aged over 40
But the weeks salary is capped at £350 a week
So if she's aged 45 with 20 years she will get £7,700. Of course this is statutory, the company could pay more.
When my last employer announced that they'd be relocating, I was offered a retainer to help them with te move and with training for new engineers at the new site.
My then boss arranged a conference call between him and the 3 staff that he wanted to help with the move. I started the ball rolling by thanking him for his offer, but it was not enough to possibly put a strain on my relationship with my girlfriend. He doubled his offer imediately.
The team also requested to work our 36 hour working week Monday to Wednesday, which also included (from memory) 4 hours travel. So 3 shifts of 12 hours, which included the journey, was very useful for seeking new employment, but just as important I got to spend a lot of time at home.
The £15/night limit on food and drink was scrapped for our team
so it was 3 course meals every night.
In other words, if she accepted their first offer, she may have made an mistake.
Having said that, my current employer is likely to relocate next summer and I know for sure that I couldn't request anything like I did last time.
I will see how the market is nearer the time, but I think I will be gone before then as I would have only been here for 4 full years.
Check out the acas website. I'm sure employers have to give reasonable time for interviews as already said before. Sometimes, interviews have to be done on a specific day (open day for instance) so her employer will need to be flexible.
It's not all about the company. Not any more anyway.
My then boss arranged a conference call between him and the 3 staff that he wanted to help with the move. I started the ball rolling by thanking him for his offer, but it was not enough to possibly put a strain on my relationship with my girlfriend. He doubled his offer imediately.
The team also requested to work our 36 hour working week Monday to Wednesday, which also included (from memory) 4 hours travel. So 3 shifts of 12 hours, which included the journey, was very useful for seeking new employment, but just as important I got to spend a lot of time at home.
The £15/night limit on food and drink was scrapped for our team
so it was 3 course meals every night.In other words, if she accepted their first offer, she may have made an mistake.
Having said that, my current employer is likely to relocate next summer and I know for sure that I couldn't request anything like I did last time.
I will see how the market is nearer the time, but I think I will be gone before then as I would have only been here for 4 full years.
Check out the acas website. I'm sure employers have to give reasonable time for interviews as already said before. Sometimes, interviews have to be done on a specific day (open day for instance) so her employer will need to be flexible.
It's not all about the company. Not any more anyway.
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