Someone I know was made redundant from a Charity he worked at because their accountant told them they did not have to pay VAT on business activities- because they are facing a huge VAT liability they made this guy redundant- despite over two years of working with them and being a good worker.
This sems a little unfair on him as he has a mortgage and two small children. This may be more of a legal question than a accountant but does he have a case to sue either the charity or accountant?
A redundancy can only happen if there is a reduction in workload to mean insufficient work for that person. If that is the case then the other events are irrelevant, as long as they have followed the letter of the law in terms of redundancy. It doesn't matter how long he's worked there or how good a worker he has been. A genuine redundancy doesn't take account of things like that as the work wouldn't be there for someone whether they'd been there a day, a month, a year or a decade and were a good, bad or indifferent worker.
Your friend needs to speak to an Employment Law solicitor and give all the facts for them to assess whether he has a claim against the charity. He definitely does not have a claim against the accountant as it is not the accountant that has made him redundant. However if the charity have not followed employment law then he could have a case for unfair dismissal and it's possible that the charity could then sue the accountant. (I have a client who sued her previous bookkeeper successfully for not advising when she should have become VAT registered)
I believe that action needs to be started within six months but the actual case can continue for a lot longer.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
