Q: I'm an operations manager, currently on maternity leave. The MD told a colleague on Monday that there's no longer a job for her. He's asked me to write the formal letter but I really don’t know what to put in it. Can you help?
Aug 25 2009
Answered by: Peter Done Ask a question
You are currently on maternity leave so you would not normally be asked to carry out this work. But if you are happy to carry out this work as part of your ten ‘keeping in touch days’ then you will need to get further clarification as to exactly what happened.
The first thing to check is whether or not your MD actually told your colleague that she was being dismissed, or if he was putting her at risk of redundancy. You need to find out if this was the start of a redundancy consultation process or the end of it. Hopefully, your MD has not just raised this issue out of the blue without any consultation meetings. If there have been no consultation meetings, then you will need to find out what caused the sudden need for redundancy.
If this discussion was your MD putting your colleague on notice that she is at risk of redundancy, then you need to confirm that in writing in the letter, setting out what the circumstances are and when and what the discussion is about. You will also need to include clear information about the consultation process. Make sure that all the procedures are being followed. Set out when the next meeting will be and make it clear that if the consultation is unable to identify any alternatives to redundancy, then her post is at risk of redundancy. If no alternative positions can be found, then she personally is at risk of redundancy. Make sure the letter sets out your colleague's right to be accompanied at these meetings.
If this discussion was after the consultation meetings, then you need to write setting out that the company have been consulting in respect of redundancy but unfortunately, despite the various consultation meetings (the dates of which you should include) it has not been possible to identify any alternatives to redundancy. As a result the company unfortunately has to give notice that she is being dismissed on grounds of redundancy. If a redundancy calculation has not already been provided, then it will need to be included with the letter, either on a separate sheet or included in the body of the letter. Set out her right to appeal against this decision.
If your MD has carried out no consultation whatsoever, then you would be best to advise him that he could well be dismissing her unfairly and should reconsider whether this is the course of action he wants to take, as it could result in him facing a claim at the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal.
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