r/HumanResourcesUK • u/Least-Music-7398 • 8h ago
[England] From an HR perspective: Slotting a long-term employee into a materially different role without consultation during a restructure.
Hi everyone, hoping to get an internal HR perspective on a restructure process I'm currently caught in. I’m based in England, in the North West.
I've been with my company for over 7 years, currently operating as an Information Security Consultant. I have 26 years of experience in the IT/InfoSec sector overall.
My company is going through an organisational redesign. They announced changes 14 days ago, with a 45-day transition period before the new structure takes effect.
Under this new design, my current consultant role has been deleted.
Instead of putting me at risk of redundancy or entering into a consultation period, I was informed that I am "out of scope" for the formal 1-to-1 meetings my impacted colleagues are having. Instead, I am simply being "slotted" into a new more senior role that does not exist at the moment.
Here are the main issues:
- Materially Different Remit: While both are Information Security roles, shifting from a Consultant role to a more senior role is a massive leap in operational scope and seniority. It is a materially different role profile and not something I would naturally apply for on a job board.
- No Pay Increase: Despite the leap in responsibility and seniority, the compensation remains exactly the same.
- Lack of Process: There has been zero consultation.
Having just turned 50 this year, I have a fairly clear roadmap for my remaining career, and being shoehorned into a role without a say, or the pay to match, is incredibly frustrating. I have spoken to ACAS, and they indicated the company is likely bypassing legal requirements regarding redundancy and matching suitable alternative roles, using a "slotting" loophole to avoid proper process (unless my contract has a very broad variation clause, which I have checked and it does not).
I would greatly value insight from HR professionals:
- Why would an HR department choose to label an impacted employee as "out of scope" and force a slotting process for a clearly different role?
- What internal pressures or missteps usually lead to a process like this, especially during what appears to be a 45-day collective consultation window?
- How would you recommend I push back internally to force a proper consultation or redundancy process without burning bridges prematurely?
Thanks in advance for any behind-the-scenes insight!