To make people redundant before Christmas?

[Beforeorafterchristmas]

Hello,

I have a bit of a conundrum and wondering what people would prefer in their situation. I have to lay off ALL my staff (8 in total) because the business is just not profitable anymore. I can maybe last 1-2 more months but then the money is gone. So, I need to tell everyone that they’re going to be made redundant... I’m absolutely gutted and I want to minimise the impact on everyone as much as possible.

So, do I tell everyone now?
OR tell everyone as soon as we come back from Christmas break on 2nd January, closing down on the 31st January?

I feel like if I was an employee I’d want to know ASAP so I could start looking for another job... but is it just going to ruin everyone’s Christmas?

I feel so sick, I’m at a loss! What do you think is the right thing to do?

You need to tell them

It’s not fair that they will overspend at Christmas with no job to return to.

Let them look for work. Offer to let them have time off for interviews and give good references etc

AHH sorry to hear that OP. Tell them now so they don't overspend!

Tell them now. More time the better to plan financially.

ASAP so people don't over stretch themselves at Christmas.

Horrible for them and you.

Sooner the better. People spend a lot at Christmas, so telling them they're redundant afterwards when they have credit card debts to pay isn't ideal. Better they know now so that they can take action to reduce spending and start looking for new jobs sooner.

Tell everyone now because then they can rein in Christmas spending.
It would be awful to hear on 2nd Jan having just splurged on Christmas.

Sooner rather than later I’d say.

And sorry to hear this for your sake. That can’t be easy.

Tell them now. Might ruin Christmas, but better to know now and budget accordingly than find out after Christmas when they may have spent a lot in anticipation of still having a job.

I’d want to know ASAP.
What’s the contract re redundancy pay?

I’d tell them now so they can plan for a reduced budget Christmas (if they’re sensible).

You need to tell them now so they can start job hunting immediately. They may be able to pick up Christmas temp jobs now that could be made permanent after Xmas. Whereas if they are only starting to look for jobs in January all those jobs will be gone.

Please tell them now.

Sooner is better. It'll hurt either way, but at least your staff won't have just spent heavily on Christmas with plans to pay off debts with Jan & Feb's wages.

If it was me I would wait til January and close on the 31st, if you can afford to do that. Can you afford to pay redundancy packages if you do this?

Do people know this is on the cards? Can you tell people that things are not going well and they need to look for jobs but you'll keep going as long as you can?

I've kind on contradicted myself a bit but what a horrible position to be in.

The sooner they know the sooner they can start looking for a new job and make appropriate spending plans.

Is it going to be a complete shock to them or do they know business is struggling?

Tell them now. This is information that they have a right to know at the earliest time possible, for all sorts of reasons. They could easily reduce their Christmas spending now, for example. Yes, it will impact on their Christmas. But the alternative is for them to have an expensive Christmas which they can't afford, without knowing that they can't afford it.

No, PP's are right - people may overspend at Christmas thinking they have a reliable salary. Sooner the better then.

I'd want to know now so I could start looking for a job asap. Be clear with them about their redundancy rights when you let them know.

You need to tell them ASAP. Yes it will ruin their Christmas, but maybe it will stop them from making financial commitments or overspending on Christmas which could ruin the next 12 months +.

There is never a good time for this. Tell them now, so they can cut down on excessive christmas spending. It will be upsetting, but better that than a big credit card bill in Jauary, with no job to pay for it.

Awful situation but presumably they will have an idea anyway. A business doesn't go from profitable in September to closing at Christmas.

I have been through this so I sympathise immensely. I gave my staff as much time as I could so I wouldn’t put it off another day. The more time they have to plan their next step, the better. My staff were lovely, supportive and sympathetic as they knew how much it hurt me to have to close my business down after how hard we had all worked. It felt like a bereavement but a couple of them put in their all with me until the bitter end. I hope you have such nice staff as I did and that they don’t make you feel too bad as it sounds like you have tried your best too.

Definitely tell them now. Gives them more time to look for a new job and to be careful with Christmas spending.

If I found out my boss knew I was going to out of a job at the end of January but didn't tell me now so "not to ruin Christmas", I would be furious. These are adults who can deal with bad news also at this time of year. Don't infantilize them.

Thank you everyone. It’s a fairly new company and so none of the staff have worked the two years for redundancy payments as such, but I’ll be taking on the debt of at least 2 weeks redundancy pay for everyone when the business closes. I’m a sole trader so it’ll be coming out of equity in my home.
We were fairly profitable but a huge contract sunk that has cost me a massive chunk of money (with a well known retailer who has recently gone bust). I have a feeling they know the situation because of that but maybe not to the extent that it’s going to crash the business.
I’m going to tell them next week and give them more time to prepare.
Thank you again everyone.