Voluntary severance

[giantpurplepeopleeater3]

Has anyone ever taken it? Enjoy role but offered 9m pay to leave. Could secure another role, maybe at slightly lower salary or could try hand at contracting. Are there any downsides im not seeing?

9 month sounds like a good package. How many months of grace would that give you to look for another role? The first £30k is tax free but, depending on your salary, you might find you get hammered by tax on the remainder.

Check with employer what is tax free (potentially it's is maximum of £30k, but not if pay in.lieu of notice). Don't believe a random poster on mumsnet.

How old are you ? Once you approach your 50s it is much harder to find a new role

Also if your work is losing roles - is this something that affects your whole industry- how flexible can you be to shift sectors / take a much lower paid role

I am 40 this year - by mid 50s I want to be semi retired / a lady of leisure as I have a kid with severe disabilities and once they leave school it will be a problem trying to find decent services for them. I think I could get something elsewhere as I work a role that is usually always in demand. I am also worried about what the conditions will look like for survivors in terms of workload. I am also absolutely knackered and could do with some extended time off. I think I will apply and see where the chips fall.

I took it, was lucky to get a year's salary. Yes, I was hammered on the tax on the bit after 30k, but have just claimed it back as I didn't work in the rest of that financial year. They process it pretty quickly online (after phoning them and finding out they'd been sending mail about it to my old employers, idiots).

Oh wow and I guess you have no regrets?

None whatsoever, it has turned into a shitshow (university). I do need to look for a job now, but the year of decompression has been good. And as i was professional and support, there are transferable skills, allegedly. I feel mentally better, have been sleeping better and it helps to have a friend who took the same scheme not to far away so we've been spending time together having fun. I assessed the maths re how long I thought I had, but totally forgot the tax return, another friend put me onto that...

Also, I'm 47, if that helps, not some 20 something!

DH took severance last year, he got a years pay and just chucked most of it in his pension so didn’t pay tax as he is older. He then took his pension. A friend of mine aged 46 has just taken severance she got a years salary and has just secured the first job she applied for, she was the highest grade of admin staff in a University and this is a lower salary and not a managerial position but she is delighted and has had just an 10 week employment gap.

@murasaki DH was also in higher education, he was a head of dept, we know loads of people that have taken severance in the last 2 years.

How funny i also work in this sector. Great to hear positive stories of this working out for people. Hat will go into the ring and let see what happens.

Good luck!

Let us know how you get on. I didn't go for the first scheme, by the time the second came out I'd realised that by the third one which was inevitably going to happen occurred, the terms would be worse. So if they're good terms go for it. They will pay up to 500 pounds for a lawyer of your choice to look it over ( you have to do this).

I’ve taken VS a couple of times. Both times it gave me some breathing space to do some studying, take a break, etc. Then I got my nose back to the grind stone, lol, and got another job. I’d recommend it if it suits your circumstances.