I'll keep this brief.
I work in banking - the business I work for is being sold to an American company. I'm under a TSA agreement as part of the TUPE law which means I move with the business once it's all handed over.
Now, the big boss of our department had initially made me deal that I'll sign the TSA but not actually move because he'd find me something else within the bank.
Unfortunately, the company the business is being sold to (let's call it company A) found out and there's been a shitstorm.
Initially they were willing to give me some time to figure things out and find other roles within the bank as long as I gave them notice to replace me.
But now I'm sensing resentment and a lot of pressure from company A to move with them.
If I choose to keep trying within the bank (and at the moment, if you know what banking is like, you'll know that there are no roles there whatsoever), I'll have to give notice to company A, and be put on a redundancy list with my present employer- I'll then have 30-45 days to find a new role.
This would have all been easier if there were internal job opportunities available whereby I could have had an informal agreement with the hiring manager of a team within the bank before saying no to company A.
So now I'm thinking about the decision that I have to make. Stay with the bank and take my chances or move with company A
Keep in mind that I'm on a work permit, haven't got residency yet. So a redundancy would mean getting kicked out the country. This is why job security is more important to me than anything else.
Option 1- moving
- I've done this role for two years and I'm pretty much an expert at it. I'm a go-to contact and people give me very positive feedback for my work
- I'm familiar with all the people who are moving to company A, and it's like a small family. A very close knit community. My managers are basically nice people who I get on with largely.
- The drawbacks are that the role is pretty specialised. It's related to commodities, so it's rather niche. If I change my mind later on, it might be hard to get back into banking.
- I've already pissed a lot of people off here with my dilly dallying about whether I'm moving. Not sure if there will be backlash when I move over.
- This company isn't as big a "brand" as the bank I work for. It's a commodities trading house, and given where that market is going, I'm not sure what the future of this company might be.
Option -2 Staying and taking a chance on finding a role within the bank
- I'll have to start from scratch in a completely new team. I'll be a newbie again and have to learn everything, all the systems and specifics from scratch. I know this is lazy of me, but I hate that thought. I also love being an expert and I hate the idea of being the lowliest one in the team again.
- I get to keep the "brand" on my CV if I stay.
- Banking means redundancies every year due to costs being cut and new regulations coming in. Being the newest one in whatever team I move to, I'll be at a higher risk of redundancy next year.
- You never really know a role until you've done it, and for all you know I might hate the job I end up getting within the bank. I might hate the team I work with?!
- The bank is more experienced with sponsoring and extending work permits. So they kind of win a little there.
What shall I do?! I don't want to be stupid and take so long to make a decision that I end up with neither option and get kicked out of UK.
Please tell me what you'd do in my place.