Worry of redundancy

Emp_Fab

I've gone through four such periods in my career, but somehow managed to escape unscathed each time.  This time I think I'm for the chop.  Officially, the 'R' word has not been mentioned, but work in my patch has been drying up over the past couple of years and I've discovered today that my company has lost a large chunk of work they had left in Wales, so there will be even less to do.

I can't envisage any company paying people to stay at home doing very little for very long, so I think I'm becoming more and more surplus to requirements - which can mean only one thing.  I'm bricking it because I'm 53.  Where the hell am I going to find another job that pays £30k+ at 53 - in Wales.  I was feeling happy yesterday as my late mum's house sale is finally going through and I will be able to pay off my debts at last.  Now I'm worrying at the thought that I'm not actually going to have a small pot of money to do some nice things I've always wanted - visit a couple of places etc, but that I may end up having to use up all of my inheritance on surviving instead.

Who else has / is facing redundancy and how do / did you deal with the worry ?

Garthy

I'm in the same boat, and have been since 2004 and survived three rounds of it so far. The first was brutal and I thought my goose was cooked, 120 of us in the room and we were told that only 8 were needed. I was sick in my mouth as we hadn't seen this coming as automation was replacing skilled & manual labour. Since then it's been dwindling work so the writing has been on the wall for 4 years but this time I'm so fucked. I'm trying to deal with it by learning new skills and new qualifications but the job market is saturated with expectations of education to degree level unless you want to pull pints at the dog or stacking shelves. All those people pissing and moaning about their student debts- try applying for a job without your 'worthless' degree.

munckee

Was made redundant before mortgage and kids so was pretty relaxed about it, my company got bought last year so who knows what stability there is now.  All you can do is expect the inevitable and prepare for it by sorting your finances as best you can and looking for other jobs.

Worrying though will make no difference to the outcome and is a waste of your energy.  You need your energy to get the best outcome you can.  If there are lots in the same boat get a good quality cv out there first, approach companies who have similar roles and sound them out don't wait for a vacancy.

I know its easy to say don't worry but it helps nothing.

usedtobe

Not meaning to be a dick, but £30k+ a year, living in Wales, and you’ve got debts???
 I hope you either keep your job, or find something suitable, btw! It must be scary as.. Not been there, myself, but known plenty, coming from a coal and steel area. Remember coal and steel, anyone..?

p90fool

I know it sounds crazy, but don't worry about it, life is too short. 

I was made redundant three times in nine years, and currently earn £5ph less than I did in 1988. 

I'm 53, have no savings, still have 10 years left on my mortgage, my parents have nothing and I have no real pension plan, but you know what? Fuck it, just learn to have a good time again. 

When I had a 'proper' career I used to occasionally look at people doing what I regarded as menial jobs on a part time basis and wonder whether I could do something like that if my world came crashing down, and concluded that I couldn't. 

I was so wrong, I have a stress free life pottering around for a few hours a week, do a few gigs, sell a few bits on eBay and am generally happier than I've ever been. 

I set my sights a little lower in terms of toys, I have the coolest Royal Enfields instead of the coolest Harleys, I run Jet City amps instead of Marshall, but most important of all, I no longer lie awake at night worrying about losing it all, because I already have and you know what? It didn't hurt a bit. 

I sincerely hope it doesn't happen to you, but I'd it does just mentally regroup and carry on, you're a resourceful man. 

"When one door closes another one opens. I had a Vauxhall Astra like that once." - Alexei Sayle. 

thumpingrug

Aged 51 and I was made redundant last October after 20 years, managed to get another job very quickly but 12k less per year and no security.  Used some of the redundancy to reduce the mortgage and clear some finance and with careful budgeting find we are just about breaking even.  Still have a  bit of the redundancy payment left for emergency or a holiday (desperately resisted urge to spend on a Helix).  Its been hard and very stressful at the time but seems ok now.   I have little in way of pension so will probably have to work for the next 20 years, then die.  It seems the simplest plan.

jellyroll

p90fool said:

I know it sounds crazy, but don't worry about it, life is too short. 

I was made redundant three times in nine years, and currently earn £5ph less than I did in 1988. 

I'm 53, have no savings, still have 10 years left on my mortgage, my parents have nothing and I have no real pension plan, but you know what? Fuck it, just learn to have a good time again. 

When I had a 'proper' career I used to occasionally look at people doing what I regarded as menial jobs on a part time basis and wonder whether I could do something like that if my world came crashing down, and concluded that I couldn't. 

I was so wrong, I have a stress free life pottering around for a few hours a week, do a few gigs, sell a few bits on eBay and am generally happier than I've ever been. 

I set my sights a little lower in terms of toys, I have the coolest Royal Enfields instead of the coolest Harleys, I run Jet City amps instead of Marshall, but most important of all, I no longer lie awake at night worrying about losing it all, because I already have and you know what? It didn't hurt a bit. 

I sincerely hope it doesn't happen to you, but I'd it does just mentally regroup and carry on, you're a resourceful man. 

"When one door closes another one opens. I had a Vauxhall Astra like that once." - Alexei Sayle. 

1000 wisdoms. 

FreddieVanHalen

p90fool said:

I know it sounds crazy, but don't worry about it, life is too short. 

Fuck it, just learn to have a good time again.  

Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to do :-)

I wish I'd allowed myself to be happier when things around me were tough.

Being anxious and miserable didn't change anything, might even have made me harder to be around and thus more likely to be put on the list!

Good advice p90, and good luck and sympathy to anyone "at risk."

HAL9000

I was made redundant about seven years ago from a well-paid but stressful IT job. I now work as a driver earning a third of what I used to and, like @p90fool I am now living a more stress-free life, have more family time, and am happier than when I was earning more. Ok, some things have had to go. Holidays are in the UK and Europe rather than the other side of the world. We now have one car instead of two. Admittedly we were fortunate enough to have paid off the mortgage and the kids have flown the nest so our outgoings have reduced, but redundancy in many ways has actually been a blessing. 

EricTheWeary

Hmm, I’m not sure I did deal with the worry of it very well. In part because my employer very much expected it’s pound of flesh whilst I was working my notice and I didn’t have time or energy to get started on looking for something else ( or really that much idea of how to do it). In retrospect I should have just gone off sick and started applying for stuff.

I think my age ( I got made redundant just before my 52nd birthday) didn’t help but I don’t know if it was really a hindrance or not to getting work. My brother in law got made redundant at 55, put on gardening leave and had another job to go to by the time his notice was up. He was quite stressed but just put that into looking for work. Had he been unsuccessful I suspect it might have made him quite ill, but he wasn’t and the redundancy money later got spent on cars. 

Perhaps a bit in contrast to what has been said above one of the things that didn’t work for me was trying to get lower paid, hopefully less stressful, work. The problem with jobs that anyone can do is that anyone can apply for them and I really got nowhere with it. I did better applying for stuff I’m qualified to do ( well, not quite that simple but roughly speaking).  I’m on a lower grade and less money now and no longer a manager but do I miss managing seventeen people and their constant whinging? No, I don’t at all. Actually, I’m amazed now that I stuck at it so long. Being made redundant meant I’ve had a financial buffer so on balance even though I was unemployed for a while I’m not financially worse off in the short term. 

I was faced with the possibility of redundancy for quite a long time and although actually having it wasn’t great the good thing is that there is a point when you realise the worry of it happening has gone and you are just getting on with another chapter ( even if it’s the chapter titled Watching the Wright Stuff in your Underpants). 

CarpeDiem

I'd suggest looking at what work is available locally that you could do, even if it's temporary/contract. If nothing is available locally, consider how far you would be prepared to commute or perhaps work away from home. This should give you a better idea of your options. I wouldn't worry about your age; whilst this may limit full time positions, if you've got experience/skills that are in demand, it's more a question of how far you'll have to travel. The jobs market is quite buoyant at the moment. If you do get made redundant, try to use as much as possible to cover debts. It's also worth working out how much you need to live on, as you may need to budget for less. As others have said, you may end up with less stress at the end of it.

Neill

I sort of made myself redundant when I was in my mid forties.  I had a secure job, lots of money, big house, pretty much what most folk dream of and I jacked it all in with no idea what I was going to do next.  And before you say at least my wife was earning, she did the same thing.  Crazy as it sounds, I wanted to see what else there was to life and, to be honest, I wanted to see if I could start at the bottom and do something for myself.  We had a small amount in savings but even after selling the house and buying a much smaller one we still had a mortgage to pay. 

To pay the bills my wife went out doing cleaning jobs while the first thing I had to do was make something of the semi derelict house we had bought - the only thing we could afford.  I discovered not only could I do a lot of the jobs I thought beyond me  - plumbing, carpentry, bricklaying etc. but what terrific people a lot of tradesmen are.  This was pre internet/youtube remember, there were none of these DIY vids about in those days, and I had to ask around for advice which almost without exception was given freely. 
 
I did what @P90fool did for a while, did all sorts of odd jobs, and then started up a business, and my wife went in with a friend who wanted to do the same thing.  For a while we lived like  paupers, everything was ploughed back in, but it was all ours and now we're reaping the benefits.  The main thing is I'm much happier than I would have been had I stuck in the same job for 40 years.  The main issue at the outset was what I saw as a loss of dignity, but in retrospect that was a healthy process to go through as well.  

It may sound a bit trite, but you really do have to look at this sort of thing as a positive, most people despair that they have no "transferable skills" and that they can't possibly live off less money than they were earning.  Both these assumptions are untrue. 

Lestratcaster

Not quite as old as everyone else but I lost my job in 2007 as an office assistant in a college. I didn't panic though and sought out my options. In the same year I went to a music institute and turned out with a degree 4 years later. Now I'm running my own private tuition business which is going well enough to stand on my own two feet. Still not quite where I want to be yet, but I'm happy where I am. In fact I wasn't happy where I was some 10 years ago despite earning regular income. What I'm making now is good though so need to build on that for further opportunities.

ChrisRG

I currently between jobs at the moment due to redundancy. At the beginning of December I had ‘the meeting’ where I was told that due to restructuring, my role was at risk of redundancy. The consultantion period started straight away and they put me on gardening leave. I left my laptop, passes etc behind and left the office there and then. Felt like I was being sacked. Massive slap in the face. 

So, in the run up to Christmas, I was facing the inevitable redundancy at a time where recruitment pretty much dries up. 

I work in London as an IT Manager and at the moment, I’ve still not got a new job having spent the last 2 months looking. I was officially made redundant on 4th January and got my final payment last week. I was with the company 5 years and they paid the minimum they could but I should be able to last a couple of months but then things start to get a bit twitchy. My partner earns good money however it’s still a massive worry going down to one salary when you’re used to 2. 

Aside from the obvious cash flow issues, being made redundant has massively knocked my confidence.  Much more than I expected it would. I guess you just need to try to not take it personally and crack on. 

Searching for a new job in London seems to be pretty much a full time job in itself. 

I wish anyone facing redundancy the best of luck finding a new job and hope you find something soon. 

axisus

I was made redundant twice when it didn't really matter, still living with my parents. I've been in my current job for 28 years and faced 3 big threats of redundancy, all of which blew over. I feel a bit vulnerable now as I have lost responsibilities but still get paid a hefty wedge. Fortunately my boss is an amazing defender, I think he'd hate it if I left, and likewise I would hate it if he left. I have 2 grown up sons and 2 younger daughters, all who will be dependant on me for some years so I do need to keep employment going.

thermionic

I got made redundant twice in 5 years. First time I was called in one morning and told to leave in 15 minutes or security would be called. The second time myself and a colleague flew out to San Fransisco to be told the UK office was being closed down. I was very generous with adding tips to the company credit card that week. The worst part was was they insisted I come in every day during my notice period and the fuckers even gave me a project to finish by my last day! No, I tell a lie, the worst part is that they employed my colleague on a contract for several years afterwards... I was out of work for ages and had to change career and start again on a graduate salary at the age of 45 - less than half of what I was earning before. 5 years later and I’m on about 80% of what I was earning 10 years ago - don’t even talk to me about inflation!

I have a grudging admiration to these “redundancy was the best thing that ever happened to me” stories, but for me, it sucked. Both times. Things are finally looking good for me now, but it was several years of watching my hard-earned savings depleted and general misery. Anybody experiencing this has my complete sympathy.

ICBM

My wife is going through something similar. 30 years in a large financial institution (institution seems somewhat apt sometimes...) and has survived several rounds of downsizing so far, but may now be running out of road.

She's not terrified, surprisingly... but I am! If she loses hers I might have to go and get a real job instead of just pottering about fixing amps and being a part-time mail-order packing boy. The youngest kid goes to high school this summer too, so there's no *reason* I have to stay at home any more.

ToneControl

Emp_Fab said:

I've gone through four such periods in my career, but somehow managed to escape unscathed each time.  This time I think I'm for the chop.  Officially, the 'R' word has not been mentioned, but work in my patch has been drying up over the past couple of years and I've discovered today that my company has lost a large chunk of work they had left in Wales, so there will be even less to do.

I can't envisage any company paying people to stay at home doing very little for very long, so I think I'm becoming more and more surplus to requirements - which can mean only one thing.  I'm bricking it because I'm 53.  Where the hell am I going to find another job that pays £30k+ at 53 - in Wales.  I was feeling happy yesterday as my late mum's house sale is finally going through and I will be able to pay off my debts at last.  Now I'm worrying at the thought that I'm not actually going to have a small pot of money to do some nice things I've always wanted - visit a couple of places etc, but that I may end up having to use up all of my inheritance on surviving instead.

Who else has / is facing redundancy and how do / did you deal with the worry ?

my advice is to do the maths, either it will confirm your worries, or show them to be overblown

if you would get a payout - how much, would it be a tax-free one?
Could you buy a house with that and your inheritance?
then what would your income need to be to maintain the same lifestyle?

DrCornelius

I walked out of a hellish job aged 41 with a few months savings, a small mortgage , a wife and a couple of kids.

While I looked for work I volunteered at a few charities and at a young offenders support organisation to keep myself busy and keep my self esteem up. Doing that really opened my eyes and when one of the charities offered me a job and a big pay cut I jumped at it. 8 years on and I'm still there and still enjoying it, more so than any other job I've had. My Mrs has had to up her hours a bit and we've cut back here and there but on the whole it's been really positive getting off the treadmill.  

EricTheWeary

ToneControl said:

Emp_Fab said:

I've gone through four such periods in my career, but somehow managed to escape unscathed each time.  This time I think I'm for the chop.  Officially, the 'R' word has not been mentioned, but work in my patch has been drying up over the past couple of years and I've discovered today that my company has lost a large chunk of work they had left in Wales, so there will be even less to do.

I can't envisage any company paying people to stay at home doing very little for very long, so I think I'm becoming more and more surplus to requirements - which can mean only one thing.  I'm bricking it because I'm 53.  Where the hell am I going to find another job that pays £30k+ at 53 - in Wales.  I was feeling happy yesterday as my late mum's house sale is finally going through and I will be able to pay off my debts at last.  Now I'm worrying at the thought that I'm not actually going to have a small pot of money to do some nice things I've always wanted - visit a couple of places etc, but that I may end up having to use up all of my inheritance on surviving instead.

Who else has / is facing redundancy and how do / did you deal with the worry ?

my advice is to do the maths, either it will confirm your worries, or show them to be overblown

if you would get a payout - how much, would it be a tax-free one?
Could you buy a house with that and your inheritance?
then what would your income need to be to maintain the same lifestyle?

IIRC redundancy payments are tax free up to £30k. 

Emp_Fab

usedtobe said:

Not meaning to be a dick, but £30k+ a year, living in Wales, and you’ve got debts???

Thanks for your other comments, but this bit was a bit dickish.  You have no idea of my history or financial circumstances.  I haven't always earned £30k+ and my debts are from over the past decade.  

@EricTheWeary ;

if you would get a payout - how much, would it be a tax-free one?
Could you buy a house with that and your inheritance?
then what would your income need to be to maintain the same lifestyle?

My redundancy payout would almost certainly be the legal minimum - a quick fag-packet calculation puts it at around £10K.
No - my inheritance is pretty small - I'll end up with around £40K after I've paid off my debts.  So £50k isn't going to get me much !
I don't have a 'lifestyle' as such.  I don't buy anything, take 1 x week European package holiday a year and the rest goes on food, rent, council tax, utilities and debt repayment.  Paying off my debt will make a big difference as I'm currently spending £350 a month paying that.