Misunderstood Layoff
tonia
38 Posts
:help:
Good morning forum!
In December, our company decided to layoff the office clerk (otherwise known as the front desk person) as she spent a good amount of time reading magazines, chatting and the management team stated there was not enough work to keep her employed. They all agreed to become responsible for their own administrative needs.
History on the office clerk shows she was given corrective action. After 3 years of employment, it was proven she could not handle the job. Over her time of employment, she had tasks taken from her as they were not done correctly, argued about and when given goals, she simply ignored them.
Now, the staff are hopping up and down they need help and decided to hire a "receptionist" at a lower payscale and switch duties around. Therefore, creating another job.
My question is... should they have offered the old office clerk this position, even though it's a different job description and a lower payscale? What is our liability exposure to being sued?
Good morning forum!
In December, our company decided to layoff the office clerk (otherwise known as the front desk person) as she spent a good amount of time reading magazines, chatting and the management team stated there was not enough work to keep her employed. They all agreed to become responsible for their own administrative needs.
History on the office clerk shows she was given corrective action. After 3 years of employment, it was proven she could not handle the job. Over her time of employment, she had tasks taken from her as they were not done correctly, argued about and when given goals, she simply ignored them.
Now, the staff are hopping up and down they need help and decided to hire a "receptionist" at a lower payscale and switch duties around. Therefore, creating another job.
My question is... should they have offered the old office clerk this position, even though it's a different job description and a lower payscale? What is our liability exposure to being sued?
Comments
Do you have a CBA or policy that addresses call backs after lay off?
I am not sure what she would sue you for, but the less the new position looks like the old, the better off you are. .
Sonny is right though. The best way to avoid lawsuits is to address employee issues as they happen, and document it. Trying to soften the blow by calling it something else leaves you vulnerable to lawsuits.