The Telegraph writes that all 16,000 employees of Everything Everywhere, the mobile phone company created by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, were told last month whether or not their jobs were safe at mass meetings across the country.
Up to 1,200 middle managers and back office staff who could lose their jobs by the end of the Christmas holidays were shown a red light and told they were "at risk". Other staff saw the light go yellow, which meant they must re-apply for their existing job.
Some 30% of these roes face dismissal.
Michael Burd, head of employment at law firm Lewis Silken, said he had "never heard" of such a public way of breaking news to employees in his 26 years as a lawyer. He said every employee who was shown a red light and loses their job after the consultation is likely to be able to file a claim for unfair dismissal.
Quite.
There are two central flaws with the approach of the Company.
1 It is not leglly compliant and invites a claim due to a fundamentally flawed consultation process. The staff showed red lights could allege the dismissal has been predetermined and/or constructive dismissal.
2 More damagingly, the lack of communication skills and respect for dignity from the constructors of the programme is evident. This will act as fuel for the fire for any potential litigants. Any redundancy programme has to balance being firm with being fair. This is neither.
Nevertheless this is far from being the worst redundancy programme ever made. Like many lawyers, we have seen worse.
The worst redundancy programmes have the following attributes.
1 They make no attempt to be legally compliant. The management do not bother engaging in any form of consultation. Sometimes, staff are just walked out of the door.
2 They overtly attempt to humilate the employees. The management make no attempt to sugarcoat the process. Anger is displayed against the employees.
3 The management is arrogant. It can do no wrong. This is not self-serving and acts as a feeding ground for the Tribunal. The negotiations become inflamed.
Justin Patten, Employment Solicitor