Unfair Retrenchment???

[78wendy78]

How large is the company?
13 employees
Has "last in - first out" been applied?

Does "last in, first out" apply to the last employee appointed, no matter what her position? Or does it have to be a similar position as mine (as they claim that "... your position has become redundant as a result of the fact that the firm can possibly do away with this position and be more cost effective" and "It is anticipated that your responsibilities could be absorbed by the rest of the firm's administrative staff, as well as its professional staff.")
An administrative lady was appointed after me, but she was also made our Office Manager (despite the fact that I took over most of the responsibilities of our previous Office Manager who went on maternity leave and never returned).
They have been trying to get me out of there for some time now by treating me different than the other employees and they have been making things unbearable for me. I would go so far as to say that they are discriminating against me.
They have been claiming since late last year that the firm is not doing as well as it used to. Although I don't have access to the firm's bank statements, I believe it is not true and that creating the impression that the firm is not doing so well was all part of their plan to get rid of me.
Certain employees still received 13th cheques in December (I was obviously not one of them). And just this past Friday the firm bought lunch for all of them. And in November / December 2016 they also offered an existing employee's spouse a position at our other branch.

Thanks for your help! I appreciate it!

[Dave A]

Does "last in, first out" apply to the last employee appointed, no matter what her position? Or does it have to be a similar position as ...

Ordinarily the decision is how many people to trim in each category or occupation, and then you'd apply last in first out in each of those categories.

An administrative lady was appointed after me, but she was also made our Office Manager (despite the fact that I took over most of the responsibilities of our previous Office Manager who went on maternity leave and never returned).

That is actually a different issue unless it only just happened.
If you were carrying the responsibilities for a while, were you offered an opportunity to apply for the post?
Is the appointee actually more qualified to be office manager than you are (either by qualification or previous experience)?

For the rest - ok for all of it really, the devil is in the detail.
You may have a case to argue, or perhaps not.

It really does take an intimate knowledge of all the facts.

[78wendy78]

Thanks for your reply, Dave. No, I was not offered an opportunity to apply for the position. Neither was the other lady. She was simply appointed.