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HR Redundancy

Kate Sanderson

Hi.  I'm currently working as Head of HR in a software company that employs 100 people.  It is UK based but has a US parent company.  I'm a stand alone generalist and my role covers all aspects that you would expect of a generalist as well as Payroll, benefits, Data Compliance, Fleet Management, H&S and buildings maintenance.

Having been promoted to the job title 'Head' 6 months ago and given 2 payrises since, I have now been told that due to economic circumstances, the company can no longer afford the role of Head of HR and my job is at risk of redundancy.

I have my first consultation meeting on Friday.  The main issue I'm struggling with is understanding how they can justify the loss of my role.  Short of asking me to take a significant pay cut, then if I leave they will have to find other coping mechanisms because the work will not go away.  Obviously they can't replace me, doing all the same work, but would they be justified in handing over my workload en-mass to an outsourced service, to training others internally to pick up aspects of my function?

I'm just seeking to understand what they can reasonably do here because  I'm not aware of a company that has done away with HR altogether when it is not closing.

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  • Hi Kate

    Really sorry to hear this, it sounds very bizarre when you've recently had a promotion and pay rises!

    I was made redundant from a stand alone role which sounds similar to yours, and they basically handed all the HR etc workload over to line managers and centralised the payroll part. Any major HR issues were to be handled by the Company Secretary, who was already doing this for other companies in the group.

    As with my experience, I can't see that what they are doing is realistically going to save any money and it certainly won't improve service levels!

    Hope things work out OK for you in the end.

    Ishbel
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  • Hi Kate

    Really sorry to hear this, it sounds very bizarre when you've recently had a promotion and pay rises!

    I was made redundant from a stand alone role which sounds similar to yours, and they basically handed all the HR etc workload over to line managers and centralised the payroll part. Any major HR issues were to be handled by the Company Secretary, who was already doing this for other companies in the group.

    As with my experience, I can't see that what they are doing is realistically going to save any money and it certainly won't improve service levels!

    Hope things work out OK for you in the end.

    Ishbel
Children
  • in reply to Ishbel
    Thanks Ishbel. Sorry you've had to go through it too! I built the role up from nothing so feel very personally invested in the ongoing welfare of the organisation - though I suspect I'll get over it!
  • in reply to Kate Sanderson
    Thanks Kate. I had been with the company for 19 years, and spent 12 years as HR Manager so it was a real thought putting myself out there and looking for another job.

    I used part of my redundancy money to put myself through a CIPD course, and that plus the time I've spent on the Community has (I think!) made me a more able HR professional and given me greater confidence.

    In a weird way it also helped when I've been dealing with any redundancy consultations since then, as I can remember how it felt and that you don't actually take very much in after they've said that your job is at risk...

    If they do go ahead with this, I hope there's something great waiting for you around the corner - I was very fortunate in that I got the first job I applied for, and with the part time hours I was looking for!

    Good Luck :)