So you have either received a letter or email from Human Resources (HR) to attend a meeting, the topic of which you know nothing about.
If you followed the earlier advice you will have written asking for the details of the topic, but most companies do not reply to this email, so you will probably already have a very good indication of what the meeting is going to be about.
In most countries, however, within the invitation to the meeting you will probably have been advised of your rights to bring someone else to the meeting. Ensure you do.
Attending these meetings where you suspect that the topic is going to be redundancy can be stressful and having someone else there can be very calming and reassuring. They should also be able to take notes on your behalf, allowing you to concentrate fully on the topic of the meeting.
Redundancy Consultation Meeting One
Listen very carefully to see whether you are the only person concerned, or part of any group of employees affected. Different rules/options may apply dependent upon this *.
Ensure notes are taken. If you are taking the notes yourself and the meeting is swamping you or going at too fast a pace, ask the person hosting the meeting to slow down to allow you to catch up.
At the very least the following should be mentioned either :- in any presentation/paperwork, discussion
- The reason for the redundancies being made
- The number of planned redundancies **
- The redundancy selection process
- The method of calculation of any proposed redundancy payment (assuming your employment meets the legal criteria within your country)
The Redundancy Consultation process has now officially started and has to follow certain timeframes/rules/legislation *.
At the end of the meeting ask any questions you need to, as many as you see fit. Ensure you have answers to the 4 points above. You may not get answers right away, ensure the host of the meeting writes them down and ask for answers within 7 days, in writing.
The meeting has ended, you are feeling low, angry, frustrated. However now is the time to check that you have been given all the correct information.
- Notification that your role is now officially at Risk of Redundancy
- Redundancy Package on Offer
- Details about any alternative employment positions that may exist
After the meeting itself has finished the HR representative may well ask you to stay, and continue explaining in a confidential manner the detail. They should explain the legality of continuing the meeting to you, and that it would possibly be a “protected conversation”.
If you bought the eBook you will already had the opportunity to read up on this, if not basically a protected conversation in redundancy situations is to allow employers to enter into off-the-record conversations with a view to agreeing the exit of an employee.
This may be a good option, if offered, depending on your own circumstances and depending on the number of employees as earlier.
* Check in the Support, Country tab for the organisations that can help with the country specific legislation at the time of the meeting with HR.
** In the United Kingdom if the planned redundancies 20 or more, then this is referred to as Collective Redundancy and usually include a representative (Union Rep. etc)
Redundancy Facts is a UK based organisation and welcomes any input for country specific support.