Help - Redundancy due to insolvency

[wonkylegs]

Very suddenly and unexpectedly redundant as the company I work for has now gone... Found out on Monday, lost job yesterday... In shock & at a loss at what to do with myself.
I've worked there a really long time & everybody was like family. It wasn't just a job either it was my professional career and part of who I am. Unfortunately it's a part of the economy that's seen mass redundancies and we're in the NE which has even less work than everywhere else, I only know of companies making redundancies not hiring.
Tbh I feel literally lost this morning. Any tips on what the hell I do now?

For a start you need to find out whether you will get paid this month, whether you will get redundancy money, whether your pension and any other entitlements will be honoured. They may not be and you need to know.

Contact the administrator by phone and then in writing and register your claim for what you are owed.

Then you need to start looking for work. If you are well respected in your industry then othe rfirms may be interested in you. Get writing and contacting everyone you know. Every day that goes by your value to another firm drops. Things like your client contacts will be what another firm is interested in.

Be prepared to move to another area. I know the NE well. It has a very thin economy.

Went through redundancy paperwork yesterday with insolvency practitioner. We can only get what we can get through the government scheme, company has nothing left. Filled that in yesterday and claim should go off today. I spoke to a variety of other professionals yesterday and have some meetings set up for the next week or so.
Can't currently move out of region due to DHs job (+DS's school, although this obviously isn't set in stone) but as I do have experience in a rare subspecialty I may be able to get some remote consultancy work.
I've never not had a job so getting up this morning past getting DS ready for school feels alien... I think my plan for this morning is to make a list of everything I must do, not cry & start prioritising.
Thanks I think I have a vague idea and that helps, it's just such alien territory and it's happened so suddenly I'm terrified I'm going to forget to do something.

My FIL lost his job in the NE in similar circumstances in the 1970s. He got offfered a job very quickly in the South East with the same firm. He turned it down as DW was at school, his mother lived nearby, etc, etc.

DW always said that if he had taken a job in the South East their lives would have been entirely different. FIL was out of work for a long time and then ended up taking a dead end job in the council.

I do urge you to think outside the box on this - DS will settle into another school quicker than you think, DH might well get a better job if he moves. Consider even working away from home during the week. If you get a job do take it even if it is not NE based.

Really FIL always regretted not moving and then becoming trapped. Your specialism sounds very unique and also very secure if you can get back into employment.

Thanks I will take heed of that.

Hi,
The same happened to me a couple of years ago, I was 36 weeks pregnant and the shock was terrible.
You probably need to be a bit gentle on yourself, not to be over dramatic but it's like a bereavement when you love your job. I spent about a week just sat in the backyard with a shocked look on my face ( it was mid summer, I wouldn't try it now!)
Two years later I am still doing consultancy work for the companies I was working for when the business collapsed, I set up as self employed and just carried on, but I was lucky in that my DH could carry the can financially as my income is now far from regular.
Best of luck Wonky, I'm in the NE and would rather eat my feet than move to the SE as others have suggested, but it might work for you, I know I would be far better paid if I did.