Husband been let go from job. 1 weeks notice. Blindsided.

Royal Mail are taking on Christmas temps.
https://jobs.royalmailgroup.com/go/Christmas-Recruitment/4479401/

I think Aldi or lidl are recruiting (for the Christmas chaos)

If he's applying for jobs online tell him to follow up every application with a phone call. I was advised to do this as some jobs have literally hundreds of applicants and it gets them to at least look at yours.

You don't have a case for unfair dismissal within two years, but wrongful dismissals can be brought at any time.

You'd have to consider whether the dismissal was wrongful or not though (i.e. does it go against law or policy).

Without an employment contract they're falling back on statutory terms which, unfortunately for your DH, is 1 week.

So while they should horrible, unfortunately it does seem that they're acting within the law.

In the meantime, contact your mortgage company and ask what options you have. You may be able to take a payment holiday or reduce your payments to interest only for a while. It will cost more in the long run, but in terms of current cash flow, it will help.

Also check with entitledto as to whether you're able to get any UC top ups.

I often think in situations like this that it's happened for a reason. You've said they were a strange company to work for, so hopefully this is a sign that it will lead onto better things, with a less strange employer!

@Gluteustothemaximus40
Go to the bank and get a mortgage holiday. You can do this online with Barclays

What a horrible experience. I bet if you looked into it, this place has a history of treating people like that. Especially if its weird and small, his face obviously didn't fit. Just awful.
There are lots of seasonal jobs at this time of year- perhaps he could apply for something like that, just to get a wage coming in, whilst he applies for other jobs. Royal mail, amazon, shops, reataurants, round here they seem to be taking on pre Christmas.
Another route for a quick start, might be to go to an agency- they often start you in a day or two.
Could you ask for a mortgage holiday for a month? Is that still a thing?
It will all be ok.

It’s shit, DH changed jobs and in the first month was let go the same day as the person hiring had wanted her friend and she had been off sick when the hiring came. He left a secure job for this one and we were just sick. No one has huge savings.
The only good thing is it is the perfect time to pick up Christmas temporary jobs that are set up for that, and any future employer would rather see someone do anything than sit around for 3months, shows a better work ethic.

And before anyone jumps on me, Not All small family firms.

Small family firms are like this. Sociopaths seem to be attracted to starting up a firm, being lovely to their employees, (while extracting ott amounts of effort from them) then dropping on them from a great height.
Awful for you now OP, but he's better off out of it in the long run.
💐

OK so this is really shit for you both, OP, and I totally get it, cos I've been there. If I were you and DH here's what I'd do:

1. Immediately put in a claim for Universal Credit

2. Sit and go through bills, what do you pay vs what do you NEED to pay (for example, if you're paying £150 on your gas and electric but you're in credit, ask for the credit to be refunded to you)

3. Ring mortgage company if you have a mortgage, explain the situation, ask what your options are. I was made redundant with barely any pay, and I was given a 6 month payment holiday, which saved my life

4. Drop down things like food shopping to the bare minimum, if you can. Go through cupboards, make a meal plan with the food you have in. Aim to use up things before replacing, as much as you can, so if you've got 6 tins of soup, that's 6 lunches you don't need to buy this week

5. If you have some money you can spare for a couple of weeks, and you/DH don't have any addictive personality issues, look at Matched Betting. It's tax free earnings, and as long as you're following step by step from Outplayed or Oddsmonkey, which tells you what to do, you will make a few hundred pounds quickly. Definitely research this properly and read up etc before starting to make sure you're comfortable with it though

Happens a lot. Talk to your mortgage people see if they can arrange a freeze on payments say fir 3 months as they might not want to do longer. Any DD payments call provider to arrange a different plan short term. The most important thing is to maintain contact with your creditors. Hopefully a temp job now whilst looking for employment will get you through this.

A contract would have made no difference, as currently you can be let go for no reason at all in the first two years.

And I bet it is budget related, seen so many articles on the news websites saying that each employee is now costing the business over 1k a year more for NI and increased wages

Good luck with the job hunt

You can get UC for six months if you have more than 2 years recent national insurance contributions. This is regardless of household income, it becomes means tested after that. He needs to sign on and say he has been let go. You then at least get some money and your national insurance contributions covered whilst he job hunts. It absolutely sucks but it sounds like a less than great company in the first place.

Something very similar happened to me only I’d been in the job for 20 years. I found a new job within a couple of weeks which as it turned out was vastly better than my previous one. It was in a different area and one I’d never thought I’d end up in but I love it and it’s more money too! I’m sure your husband will pick up something. Remember where one door closes another one opens.

I agree with pp join employment agencies and get temp work to bridge the gap.

It's a shitty, shitty way to be treated OP and it's the mark of a poor employer, so he really is better off.
Lot's of great advice from other posters and I would add get your husband to treat getting a job, as "his job", for the time being. By that I mean, let it take his time and energy from 9-5pm but after that, down tools refocus on something else.
Easier said than done when you're both worried, but he'll just feel worse still frantically searching at 11pm at night. He can start fresh the next morning and it's reassuring to feel one has a plan at a time of uncertainty.
You both sound like grafters, so I'm sure it will just a matter of time! Good luck!!

Sorry to hear this.

yes it’s legal unless he can prove he was dismissed for an automatically unfair reason or discriminated against

he should have had a contract but it would not necessarily have stopped this from being the outcome.

fingers crossed he’ll get something else soon.

Until the government changes the law employees have almost no legal rights for the first 2 years of employment.

Temp agencies are probably the quickest way to find something.

I'm sorry it's come as a shock, it's unusual ever to work without a contract so he mustn't do that again, but he could still be let go for any reason within 2 years. Emplpyment protection only applies for longer term employees, because some people turn out not to be any good at a particular role. Can he go back to a previous employer? Or contact old managers and colleagues who have moved on and might be able to get him in? If he's in his 40s then he must have over 20 years worth of employment contacts to call upon.

Go on to Turn2us and do a benefits check to see if you are eligible for Universal Credit. If you are, even if it’s a low amount, do that today as there’s a built in 5 week wait for money. Tell your mortgage lender and ask for a payment holiday - they will usually agree with this. This gives you some breathing space. If you are likely to find it difficult to cover any other bills let them know - better for you to approach them before they send out the red letters.

Yes make sure he asks for any holiday pay and get on the phone to ACAS. Was it cash in hand or paid by bank?

Once all clear I’d be leaving as many public reviews as possible. Trustpilot, Google, Facebook, anywhere they are listed.

This happened to me at a family run business. I think they can be really clicky, it's awful.

He can also I sister they pay him 7 days holiday if he hasn't taken any - might help a bit

Can you sell something unimportant like an expensive watch or a personal number plate to generate cash to get breathing space

gotta love mumsnet there you go OP go sell that personalised number plate that’s taking up space on your car.

Hopefully this will be a blessing in disguise for you, do look for temporary Christmas work and it might even work out for something longer term. It will also get the crappy horrible people job off the top of his CV. be honest, if he has any stats that prove his sales use them and say that he prefers a gentle, professional approach and these were the results but he was at odds with the hard sell ethos of the company.