Employee seeking advice: UK redundancy — being told to complete ~3 months of work in 3 weeks, reference pressure and no prioritisation.
I’m going through redundancy at a small
company in Manchester (no HR present). Worked there for less than 2 years.
I’ve been formally told my role is redundant due to financial constraints and a shift in business direction. 4 other people are also being let go.
No consultation period. No Gardening leave or PILON choice given.
During my notice period (1 month now around 3 weeks left), I’ve been given an insurmountable volume of work that is not realistically achievable in the timeframe and was only assigned now.
The workload is equivalent to ~3 months of work at normal capacity. Also this is work that isn’t even ready to be picked up by me yet as it still needs to be done by other department before my function can start.
I raised this with my manager and explained it cannot be completed within the notice period.
His response was essentially: “Unfortunately you don’t have three months, so it needs to happen now.”
I’ve also been told via email that everything must be completed before I leave, with no prioritisation or reduction in scope.
Additional context:
The work I’ve been assigned is for a part of the business that is being reduced / phased out as part of the restructuring that led to my redundancy.
Prior to redundancy, I had a strong working relationship with management, was consistently praised, and regularly over-delivered.
Separately, in conversation about this , I was told something along the lines of “don’t ruin the relationship now,” which felt like pressure connected to how I handle the notice period.
This situation has had a significant impact on my mental health due to the workload pressure and uncertainty around expectations during an already difficult redundancy process.
My concern is that I’m being expected to deliver full scope output for work that exceeds the notice period capacity, while also feeling indirect pressure around references if expectations are not met.
My questions:
In England, can an employer reasonably insist on full completion of work that exceeds the realistic capacity of the notice period?
What are my rights if the workload is not achievable despite working in good faith?
How should I respond in a way that protects references but also acknowledges the time constraint?
I want to stay professional, but the expectations don’t seem aligned with the actual time available.