Employment Contract Problem

mickydi

This is quite a long post ... sorry... but any advice would be appreciated. My friend is working in a small organisation. She started there about 3/4 years ago in one role (partially employed/funded by the org & partially by an external Gov agency ... working in the building) About a year or so later she successfully applied for another position ... fully employed and funded by the org. She was on a fixed term contract that she was happy with. The contract was due for renewal about 8/9 months ago but wasn't produced, when she was eventually shown the contract about 4mths ago there were changes that left her feeling very uneasy .... that her hours could be reduced etc without warning or consultation (effectively that she could be put on a day or couple of hours a week & have to work that or resign... it meant that she would not be entitled to redundancy etc...I'm not fully sure of exact wording. It has been said informally to a colleague of hers that the redundancy issue is one of the reasons for the change) She spoke to a solicitor briefly who advised her that the new terms were 'ridiculous' & advised her to request a meeting with her employers. She did this by formal email to the Chairman but heard nothing, although she is aware that the issue was disussed by him at a board meeting & he felt that the contract should be ammended. Since then he has retired and his role taken over by someone else. At a recent directors meeting the issued was raised re why she hadn't signed the contract & her concerns were highlighted by her line manager who supports them .. basically the new chairman said that she should consider herself lucky to have a job!! A message was sent verbally to her to write again to the board. Meanwhile a colleague has resigned & it is now proposed by the board to emalgamate the two positions although they bear absolutely no resemblance to each other & just wouldn't work ... work management are not in favour. Before she had a chance to re issue her request for a meeting the Chairman has complained to her manager that it has not been forthcoming (despite the fact that it was made formally 3months ago to his predecessor)My friend is very unhappy & concerned, she feels very strongly that her job is at risk ... she is a very dedicated employee regularly working in her own time etc all of which is acknowledged by her manager who is embarrassed re the position. Basically she needs to know whether what they propose is legal ... what are her rights in this issue?

Mrs OBumble

Go see a solicitor. This is wayyy too complicated to even offer advice on here!

mickydi

Thanks .. you're probably right. It's a nightmare & she is really stressed at the minute. If anyone can recommend someone in Dublin re employment issues please PM me & I'll pass on the info