I need to put my staff on protected notice as our funding is due to run out at the end of March 2009. Do you have templates or information?

If an employee has a fixed term contract and the organisation finds itself in the position of folding before the contract date, is the employee treated as being at risk of redundancy and/or are they entitled to be paid for whatever remains of their contract?

I have recently made an employee redundant and I'm now being questioned about the process I have followed.

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(the action taken by this questioner is explained in the 'answer' section to this Q&A)

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Please can you pick through the above and let me know if I have not complied in anyway with the 'redundancy process'. Many thanks in anticipation.

Can we make a post redundant (and make the appropriate redundancy payment) and then re-employ the post holder under a new contact of employment in the near future?

I am a charity trustee. We employ one person in connection with a post that was funded by a three-year grant that ended on 31 December 2007. We have continued to employ this person since then on an ad hoc basis, and on a reduced income, to work on small projects. We have told the employee that his rights to the statutory redundancy payment (as at 31 December 2007) are not affected by his willingness to continue working for the charity.

We are hoping to secure future income that may enable us to employ this person going forwards. However, this future income is uncertain. One option the trustees are considering is to make this person’s post redundant, on the basis that the work associated with the post ended on 31 December 2007, even though he has continued to work with us since then. His work in 2008 is in connection with specific activities that will end soon. I would like to know if it would be legitimate to make him redundant now, and maybe re-employ him in the coming months if we then have arrangements in place that will secure a future income stream. We are not expecting any objection from the employee. Our primary concern is with regard to the tax rules on redundancy payments.

I hope this is not a duplicate but having gone through many of the questions can't find one that quite covers mine: I have been employed by the same employer on two different 1 year fixed term contracts - Jan 2005 extended to Apr 2006 then funding ran out and was made redundant.

I claimed jobseekers allowance and was re-employed by them in Oct 2006 on another year's contract and still working for them but have been issued with notice that unless more funding is forthcoming, I will be redundant again at the end of this month.

This means that I have been employed by them for 34 of the last 40 months and, having read the BERR guidance, I can't decide whether or not that qualifies as continuous employment or not - can you help please?

I am a charity trustee. We are looking at possible redundancies following a sharp downturn in funding. All of our contracts of employment, signed by employees, provide for one month's notice if we (the employer) wish to terminate the contract of employment.

If we make an employee redundant, I believe that we have to terminate the contract of employment as well as dealing with the redundancy issues. With regard to the notice period, if an employee has been with us for five plus years, are we required by law to give notice of one week for each year of continuous employment? Or does the notice period of one month in the written and signed contract of employment apply?

Dear Sir or Madam

I am concerned with the wording from a letter from our Committee (the last paragraph!) that is supposed to explain possible redundancy to all staff if it cannot attain further funding.

The company has surplus money, though decreasing. I believe I have had at least 3 similar letters in the past and am still working here after 5 years.

Q1 Can you word this last paragraph better?

At the time of writing COMPANY does not have any firm commitment of funding from external sources for the coming year. You can rest assured that we will be doing all we can to remedy this to ensure that COMPANY survives and prospers. In the meantime, I regret to inform you that we cannot continue with your employment after the DATE.

Q2 Taking the above further. For any staff that have been employed more than 1 year will they lose continuous employment if then issued with new contracts to a company that has now become Ltd? Many thanks

Dear Sir/ Madam, In a situation where a charitable company wants to organise a re-structure of all staff i.e. all staff would have to re-apply for their jobs - what is the correct process for planning this? Those that are unsuccessful would have to be paid redundancy? Would all job descriptions have to be changed as part of re-organisation? Any advice appreciated.

I am on a fixed term contract due to expire on 31st March unless further funding is found, so face the possibility of being made redundant. I have been on rolling fixed term contracts since March 2003 so I think I am entitled to a redundancy payment.

However my question is particularly to do with pregnancy and maternity pay. I am due to have a baby on 21st June. If I am still employed I intend to start maternity leave at the end of May. My employer also offers more beneficial payment terms than the statutory maternity pay allowance.

If my contract ends in March would I still be able to claim the maternity pay from my employer (as I think I would have been "employed by the same employer without a break for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due" - details from directgov website), or would I have to settle for claiming Maternity Allowance instead as I would be currently unemployed?

I think my employer would think that as my contract and funding has ended they would not have to pay me, but I thought I read somewhere that they can claim the money back from the inland revenue (it is a small staff on the payroll). I hope this makes sense and you are able to give me some guidance.

Because of reduced income our charity is considering making staff redundant and/or reducing staff hours to reduce expenditure.

1. I am confused at the amount of redundancy payable. I understand the maximum payment tax free is £30,000 but have read that the maximum weekly amount allowable is £330 from February 2008? We have staff whose weekly pay is higher than this, can the organisation base its calculation on this higher figure? The Trustees would like to do this in recognition of the dedication staff have shown to the organisation through difficult times and the trustees have a Delegated redundancy Fund based on the full weekly rate.

2. What would the situation be regarding offering staff reduced hours. I understand that they would not be obliged to accept and could ask for redundancy, but this would not prevent them from reapplying for the new post. Am I correct?

3. If staff hours were reduced to reduce costs to enable the organisation to be gradually closed and the staff then made redundant on what on what weekly rate would redundancy be based, the original weekly rate or the new reduced rate?

4. What would be the situation if the Trustees spent the charities delegated Redundancy Fund and did not have sufficient to pay redundancy pay to all staff?