Worry of redundancy

Deadman

I've never been in this situation so can't offer any advice but just wanted to wish you luck Emp.

lustycourtier

Happened twice. Last time in October mid House purchase. Had to pull out, Lost lot of money, but found new job after a few leisurely weeks off, got new job and then House still hadn’t resold so now buying it again for less. So has turned out ok, but it’s rarely a good thing. Hate my new job too, but it’s easier to find a new one without the pressure of ‘needing’ to find one. 

EricTheWeary

Emp_Fab said:

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.

That was @ToneControl ‘s question rather than mine. However, I guess you could at least think that £50k is a sizeable buffer. So, if you got a job that was £10k per annum less than you are on now you wouldn’t be any worse offf for five years. So, any better than that and you’re winning.  
FWIW both my parents in law passsed away within the last few years and the value of a semi detached in Birmingham whittled down to about £20k between three children by nursing home fees. 

Again, I dealt with it all quite badly. I should have passed on trying to manage my work and show any loyalty to the organisation that employed me. I should have sought good advice ASAP. I should have started applying for stuff, sorting out my qualifications, getting a proper CV ( I say that although I’ve never got a job through a CV in my life) ASAP too. Not only because it’s practical but because it gives focus ( more focus than watching every NAMM2017 video anyway). The job centre were actually quite helpful ( despite the sight grimness of it). You have to sign up to their job search site and they helped me sort out my professional registration ( they paid the £180). 

I suspect the worry of it at the moment may well be worse than the actual event ( if it happens). 
 

TTony

I'll not bore you with my various experiences.

One tip.

Think about what skills you have (rather than in terms of "job" titles) and what you enjoy doing.  Then think about how you can use those skills to earn some money doing something you enjoy?

The traditional "job" with a 30yr career path is increasingly a thing of the past.

DiscoStu

I got made redundant in 2016 after 20 years with the company. I was working in a niche field so similar work is near to non-existent round my way so was left wondering what the hell do I do in my 40s being back at square one?
I had been earning £30-40k and after some negotiation via my employment lawyer I got more of a payout than initially offered. I signed on for 3 months and got Jobseekers Allowance. Then a job ad came up for a franchise selling and fitting Hillarys Blinds so I invested some of my redundancy money in that and for the last year I have been self employed. The money isn't nearly what I was on but I did make profit in year 1 and year 2 should be much healthier so somewhere in the £25-30k area (with scope to grow that even more) working from home and being my own boss.
It was worrying for sure but not the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

My bro-in-law lost his job as a bank manager 6 months ago. He's in his 50s and worked for the same bank his whole life. He's now working behind a bar at his local football club and seems pretty happy.

Roland

Emp. I’ve been there twice. The first time I was made redundant at 47, the second time it was just a process we had to go through.

The advice I can give is to act as though it’s going to happen. Review your finances and cut your immediate spending. Think about the type of job and lifestyle that you would want to move to. A lot of people who get made redundant in their late 50s decide to find something which bridges the gap until their pension kicks in. Maybe with part time or 9-5 work. They soon realise that they don’t need as much money as they thought. Work clothes, sandwiches, coffee, and commuting costs add up to quite a bit. They also realise how much more they enjoy life without the pressures of a higher paying job.

If you are made redundant then, from that moment, your work becomes looking for a new job. Running out the old job is a side show. Remember that your (ex) employer’s aim is to get you out with minimum cost, minimum disruption, and minimum risk of their process going wrong and creating a wrongful dismissal case. Then and there in the interview is the time to ask “what do you need from me during the notice period?”. Often it’s just tidying up, which lets you get on with the more important task of preparing for your next role.

darthed1981

DiscoStu said:

My bro-in-law lost his job as a bank manager 6 months ago. He's in his 50s and worked for the same bank his whole life. He's now working behind a bar at his local football club and seems pretty happy.

First an apology, I went to hit quote and I hit f**king LOL - I really apologise it was a complete accident.

Onto what I was actually going to write...

A chap at our work had been with the business about 40 years, but he had gotten too expensive to be acceptable to the business on the contracts at which he worked, so he became a bit of a target for a very bullying line manager.

One day, he had enough and walked out, no payment, no nothing.  He had however paid off his mortgage and had minimal costs compared to his younger days, so he got a job driving a van around.

A colleague of mine saw him a few months later said he looked about 10 years younger.

I think we all underestimate sometimes the price in stress for higher earning jobs as we get older.

Good luck to everyone in the thread

TTony

@darthed1981 ;

if you LOL it again, it'll remove the in-error LOL.

darthed1981

TTony said:

@darthed1981 ;

if you LOL it again, it'll remove the in-error LOL.

Thanks, done.

Didn't want to go click mad and double lol or some other thing!

chillidoggy

Pay as much of your debts off prior to any potential redundancy, then start a laminate flooring business.

Phil_aka_Pip

Emp_Fab said:

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

I'm on my 7th software employment. Only 1 did I leave voluntarily. 1 other I jumped before I was pushed, the other 4 I've been downsized/rationalised/site-closed out of. So these days I've got used to thinking it's the normal way to leave a job. At least they give you money to go (sometimes it's a keep-quiet payment, you can hope for that as it can make your life easier).

You have my sympathies - you won't get any from the dole office, they'll begrudge you £70 a week despite your paying umpteen times that in tax and NI for the last n years. But you should go there and claim, because even if you have so much savings that they won't give you any money, they will still pay your NI stamp, so you stand a better chance of collecting a state pension when it's time than you would if the NI people think you haven't contributed enough.

Don't let them pressurise you into taking a shit job just for the purposes of them taking you off their unemployment list. It will dirty your CV and then recruiters will assume you can't do your usual job instead of respecting you for doing anythng you need to in order to earn, in between your usual jobs. OTOH it could be just the excuse you need to take a completely different direction.

Most of all, DON'T STRESS. Ain't worth it.

DiscoStu

@darthed1981 no worries! My bro-in-law has said pretty much the same thing regarding work - he'd be happy being a postie or doing the Asda deliveries cos he's been an office slave his whole life. I'm in the situation, I worked in the same room for 20 years with mostly the same handful of people and now with my blinds business I'm out and about every day meeting new people on home visits and getting lots of coffee and biscuits!

Money really isn't everything. 

Fretwired

Happened to me twice. The second time I thought sod it and I now work for myself. Been doing it ever since. I just taught myself to new new things.

I run a small business network and see a lot of people made redundant who are forced into working for themselves. Most actually succeed. You'd be surprised what you could do.

57Deluxe

sign on and then do as many gardening, decorating, removals and guitar teaching jobs as you can....

richh

Best of luck to @Emp_Fab it is a stressful thing to be left hanging on waiting to see what happens.  I've been made redundant twice, and there is life after redundancy, often better, at least getting you out of a rut.  If things go well with a new job or starting out on your own, that can be good, but at 53 as I am now, I'd welcome more free time and less stress if possible.  Best to do your sums, and look at your direct debits / standing orders and see if you really actually still need all these.  As long as you can cover the basics, it can be surprising how much you can do for free or cheap, if need be.

Emp_Fab

Thanks for all the kind words.  Right now it's more in my head than any real rumours, but unless a miracle happens, I think the writing is, if not on the wall, then they're at least getting the pens ready.  What is really getting me down is the thought that after twenty-odd years of robbing peter to pay paul etc, I was really looking forward to enjoying a period of life where money worries weren't everpresent.  To have an extra few hundred quid coming in every month (because I will be keeping it instead of paying credit cards).  Not to have to do the regular balance-transfer juggling to keep everything at 0% etc.  I may still get that - but for a very, very brief period.  Not to mention that I can't really splash out on anything now in case it does happen.

It's not the end of the world - Six years ago today (! - exactly today, I just checked !) I had a heart attack.  If I hadn't made it that day, all of this would be irrelevant.  It's just a bit of a pisser - when you've been looking forward to something and then something else comes along to crap on your plans.

Phil_aka_Pip

Emp_Fab said:

It's just a bit of a pisser - when you've been looking forward to something and then something else comes along to crap on your plans.

Wasn't it John Lennon who said that life is what happens while you're making plans to do something else?

Teetonetal

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Wasn't it John Lennon who said that life is what happens while you're making plans to do something else?

Which is nonsense surely?

You generally can't live life being 100% spontaneous and often, planning ensures you make the most of time you do have..

What is shit is doing nothing, complaining or constantly look forward and letting the moment pass you by.

DiscoStu

You and I have both had our near misses with the Reaper, @Emp_Fab and it certainly helped me put my situation in perspective. I had no warning my redundancy was coming, I got called to a meeting in HO about developing my career which turned out to be a smokescreen for 'we've put together a package' and I didn't really have a choice but to take it.
I did what others have suggested - went home and got my finances in order before signing the paperwork. I got my handshake and was on the job hunt. 

I had fancied being my own boss for a few years but didn't know what route to take or indeed how to fund a start up business. I wouldn't have quit my job to go it solo so actually redundancy was a help as my hand was forced, plus I now had a stack of money to get set up. A year on I am feeling far more comfortable with my decision/position and looking to build on the reputation I have gained locally in my first 12 months. I live within my means and haven't had to take any more debt on to survive so I'm happy with my lot, the only obvious change is that I don't go out to the pub every weekend which really is pissing money down a drain. 

EDIT - and I still have the bulk of my redundancy left in my savings for a rainy day. Ok I'm earning less than I was but I'm not broke and now have that lump sum which I didn't have before! As outcomes go, it ain't bad.

Steffo

Got made redundant once. 2 kids, preggo wife, mortgage, the lot. Pretty stressful but managed to find a job fairly quickly, for a hefty pay cut. 
Good luck mate, at least you can get rid of the debths, that’s a big weight off your shoulders.
Stay positive.