‘I was made redundant after three months but someone else filled my role. What can I do?’

I was offered a job in a marketing agency while on maternity leave. I joined and was let go after three months.It happened two weeks after I had a meeting with a senior manager because I didn’t appreciate the way she spoke to me. It was tense thereafter, to say the least.The reason I was given for being let go was redundancy, but I have learned they hired someone else for my position three months after I officially left. I also had a review a few days before the redundancy, and it was very positive.READ MOREThey told me the accounts I was working on no longer had the level of work they had anticipated.They said I could consider working on another account they had not yet won but made it seem unappealing, saying it would involve travelling a great distance by train every week and it would be intense. This was not an option for me with a young child.I agreed to finish up immediately instead. I have a bad feeling about it all, and I’m not looking for compensation, but is there anything I can do about this? Should I let them know my feelings? If the reader’s role was “truly redundant”, this would indicate a “very disorganised” employer, says Michelle Halloran, independent HR consultant and workplace investigator of Halloran HR Resolutions.“It seems quite odd; it’s a very peculiar decision after only three months that a role is redundant. That sounds very strange to me. “At best, it doesn’t sound very well organised and doesn’t demonstrate a lot of foresight on the part of the employer,” she says.[ A charity made me redundant and hired someone else. Does this sound right?Opens in new window ]While it could have been “sloppy planning”, it might be more justifiable if the company suddenly lost an account or client, and the timing was “just really bad luck” for the reader, she says.Noting it is the role that is made redundant and not the employee, Halloran says if the reader’s redundancy was linked to her interaction with a senior manager, this would not be a valid justification for redundancy.The offer of another role, described as “unappealing” by the reader, does not seem to have been a reasonable alternative, Halloran says.Given she has a young child, Halloran says it does not appear to have been offered in good faith.However, the main issue is how early in her employment the redundancy came.With only three months’ service, the reader was not entitled to any redundancy payment, Halloran says, “so it wasn’t like they were doing her a favour by making the role redundant from a financial perspective”.Workers require at least two years’ service for statutory entitlements.If the role was filled by another recruit, as said by the reader, this suggests the role was not redundant, Halloran says, and was therefore not a valid redundancy.Should that be the case, she says the reader could make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission.Given she was employed for three months, the reader does not meet the 12-month threshold for unfair dismissal, Halloran says, but could make a complaint under the Industrial Relations Act, alleging she was unfairly selected for redundancy.“That’s contingent on this having happened in the recent past. Six months is the usual time frame,” she says.[ My redundancy was fraught with error. Can I seek compensation?Opens in new window ]In terms of potential financial compensation, Halloran is unsure if the reader “stands to gain much”, noting that compensation is typically linked to loss of earnings.“If she’s back in a job again, then she’s unlikely to get much compensation because she only worked for them for three months,” she says.Regardless, a ruling in the reader’s favour could cause the employer to “think twice about doing the same thing again”, she says.Halloran adds there would be “no harm” in the reader raising concerns with the employer, even to “benefit future employees”.If you have work-related questions, from how to deal with burnout to running your own business, The Irish Times Work Q&A column is here to help. You can use the form below to submit your question. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less and include a phone number. Your name and contact details will be confidential and only be used for verification purposes. Any details about your employer will also be anonymised.