How can I get my Voluntary Redundancy request accepted?

[JstAnotherVoice]

Hi, I could really use some advice if anyone can help.
I work for a pretty large organisation. My department are currently inviting expressions of interest in Voluntary Redundancy and I have just expressed interest. I’m pretty desperate to leave and I’m wondering - Is there anything I can do to make it more likely that they will accept me? (they have rejected me previously).

I’m pretty late to apply as the window opened last September / October, and a lot of people who were accepted then have already left (mostly the grade above me). But I wasn’t sure I wanted to go at that time (and didn’t want to harm my chances on other potential job openings).

Now however I am certain. There has been no permanent promotion from my grade in my department for 8 years now. In this time I have competed for (and won) three separate promotions to a higher grade, all on fixed term contracts, but all have lead to nothing.
I can see no chance of progression where I am as management’s aim is to reduce people in the grade above me and just offer people like me a change in job title that is called a “promotion” but is the same grade that I’m on.
If I were ten years younger I might see that as worth taking but I am in my early 40s and there is just nowhere to go without leaving.
The constant applying for short term promotion opportunities is also starting to take a toll on my mental health - I’m a naturally positive person and I have loved my work for years, but I find my work environment humiliating now.
Recently I went for another short term promotion and just couldn’t make myself turn up to the interview. I had something like a panic attack as I was preparing.

I feel really urgently that it’s time for me to leave.

I applied to voluntary redundancy five years ago for the same reason. I was told I was too valuable to let go as they had to think about serving the needs of the business.

They gave me a list of how great I was but the fact remains the at there have been no permanent promotion opportunities since.

(Even though not long after this I went for a fixed term promotion that looked like it might become permanent, even though it was awful timing for my personal life as my father and a grandparent had just died and I was caring for two young children… the experience was awful for although my work was good, and my line manager never once checked in on my as to how I was handling my grief).

Is there anything I can do now to make to them look more favourably on letting me go this time? Or any way I can try to force their hand? I know that with voluntary redundancy you have no right to be accepted but I feel they have treated me so poorly over the years (over 10) that I would hate to leave with nothing.

I haven’t yet communicated my reasons for applying for voluntary redundancy to my bosses, just briefly to my very understanding manager.

I would appreciate any advice on next steps. Thanks!

So when I tired to volunteer myself, they decided to score us all instead (via that skills matrix thing) and I never got to go. As far as i'm aware that's how it works.

Things may be different this time, they may have different numbers to acheive and will need to be less picky.

I hope it all works out for you. Being in a job you don't like is very tough.

I think all you can do is seek to have honest conversations with whoever the decision maker is. If it is left to scoring and you’ve been a good performer, have a long tenure etc. (which sounds to be the case), you let won’t make the threshold. As PP says the reason they are inviting VR applications also makes a difference. If a pure cost cutting exercise with a financial target you may have more chance if not enough others haven’t come forward.

In the conversations with management I would think hard about how you frame the conversation. If you say you are unhappy, want a different opportunity etc. they may gamble on you resigning soon anyway. Ie they make the saving without the severance package cost!

Stop being so good at your job? 😀 VR is often used to get rid of people who don’t add value to the business.

The first time it happened at my old place (a University), you had to make a case as to how the work would be covered by other roles. My report tried but didn't get it.

The second time was just for cost cutting and you didn't need to do anything other than express interest. I took that one as I was expensive so they accepted it. She tried again, but as they needed her role level, didn't get it again.

In my experience VR is generally used to get rid of the bloat. Those that are in middle management positions that are probably duplicated across the business and won't be missed. They will be looking for people with under five years service generally as they will be saving half a year's salary (depending on the terms.) when I worked at a large firm we got one month for every years service, plus extra if over 40. Noone over 40 was ever accepted as they were too expensive to payoff.

Mine was a year, hence biting their hand off. Middle management was bang on though. They didn't allow the lower grades to apply so were definitely trimming the expensive people. I didn't want to apply for the new roles at that level, so took it.

I think a carefully framed conversation like this is probably the only thing I can do. Will give it a shot.

Thanks everyone for all your replies!

Rejecting your application 5 years ago isn't necessarily an indicator they'll reject it again this time.

Are they calling it Voluntary Redundancy or Voluntary Severance? The former means they have to follow the rules of redundancy, eg applicant's role has to be redundant and won't be replaced. Severance means they can accept any applications they want, doesn't matter if the role is still needed in some form, so there's more chance of them accepting anyone in a bid to reduce staffing overall.

Focus on how your workload can be absorbed elsewhere in the organisation. Or how parts of it could be eliminated, although I'd worry that might backfire if they reject you now but hold it over you in future at a time when you don't want to leave.

Exactly what happened at our place. Gutted, I could have done so much with that money.

If you don’t get accepted for VR consider looking for another role elsewhere and leaving anyway.

it always baffles me the number of people who stay in roles with no progression or where their mental health is suffering because they don’t want to leave without a redundancy payment. Sure, a free lump sum is nice if you can get it (particularly if you think it will be easy to get another role) but was it worth staying somewhere for 5 years when you could have been paid a better salary and been happier working somewhere else? Would you in fact have been financially better off had you resigned for a new role at the increased level at some point in the last 5 years?

In my experience they use VR to get rid of the lowest performers, along with a slight bias as to whose VR package will be cheaper . Once you make it too clear you are looking to leave it can put you at a disadvantage, because they hope you will leave of your own accord later without it costing them anything . In fact I would say in the immediate aftermath of being told I was too important to let go many years ago , my job was made more difficult for a while , which I felt was almost a push to encourage any of us that didn’t get the VR to leave without a package.

I wish you luck with your application though.

Well I’m sorry you’re baffled but no I wouldn’t be better off if I’d left five years ago. I had very good reasons to stay.

I do now plan to leave even if I don’t get any money to leave with as I agree that anything that affects mental health needs to be prioritised and acted on.

I would question the tone of your whole response though - I think you should reread it and question whether you think it sounds helpful or critical.
And also, if you were right that I should have left five years ago, do you think that your post was likely to make me feel better or worse?

There is some helpful advice in there somewhere, but it’s buried in a lot of unnecessary criticism.

Personally if you are that unhappy I would start job hunting anyway, see the VR as a bonus if you get it but not the deciding factor.

Good luck.

I'm not sure its baffling. New jobs don't always work out. The job market is slow. A pot of money goes a long way supporting you through the change.

I would not mention that you are ambitious and looking for promotion opportunities as they will assume you will leave soon anyway and they will save the redundancy payment. As a PP said, sadly it's the under performing staff who will be earmarked. Put yourself forward but it's not an interview, don't emphasise how engaged and good you are in your current role.