Industrial Law Question

[sammmo]

In short. Our company is making part of our workforce redundant. They are paying an enhanced payment. Which is good but limiting the amount of years to a maximum of 20 yrs anyone with over 20 yrs service will still only get 20 yrs paid. Obviously if they have service over the age of 41 this will be 1.5 yrs service per yr but they are saying they can only pay up to 20yrs. There are over 200 of us loosing our jobs and less than 10 people with 20+ service one man has 37 yrs service only 20 being used in the calculation. Is there a law saying they cannot pay more.

[factor-fiction]

No, assuming they are paying more than the statutory minimum

[New Judge]

Which is:

0.5 week’s pay for each full year worked when you’re under 22
1 week’s pay for each full year worked when you’re between 22 and 41
1.5 week’s pay for each full year worked when you’re 41 or older

Weekly pay is capped at £464 pw and the number of years is capped at 20. This makes the maximum statutory redundancy pay £13,920 (for someone who has done 20 years or more after age 41 and who was earning £464 or more per week). Redundancy payments up to £30k are tax free.

[sammmo]

They are paying over the statutory minimum. The company had a turnover of over a billion pounds last year. They are taking work to china and India so as to make more profits. It just seems unfair the people with say 30yrs service will get about the same as people wit 20 yrs service . If people with less than 20 yrs service gets all there service taken into account in the calculation why don't people with more than 20 yrs service have all there service used in the calculation. It seem like discrimination to me.

[New Judge]

Life's a bit unfair sometimes, sammmo.

Many companies adjust their redundancy payments to target the people they want to lose. Sometimes they pay more to younger people, sometimes the other way round. I suppose you should be grateful that they are paying more than the minimum they can get away with.

[sammmo]

According to our hr dept there is a law stopping them paying more than 20 yrs

[New Judge]

No there is not. They can pay what they want. In one of the companies I worked for their most generous redundancy scheme was one month's salary for every year worked up to a maximum of 30 years with no cap on salary. The legislation relates to the minimum they must pay.

[sammmo]

Thanks new judge that's what I wanted to hear.

[Peter Pedant]

as so often happens sammmo - (well it happened where I worked ) the HR department dont tell the truth and no there is no law that says they must

They have to be referring to the fact that the statutory minimum is capped at 20 y

If you are unionised you should be looking into the question of whether their rules unfairly discriminates against the aged ( which you are saying it does ). In Englahd, you may have a case - butit is something a union should fight.