Voluntary severance refused

[Lovemytablet]

Our company ran a VS scheme and I applied together with some of my colleagues. Work has not been a happy place recently. I was given strong hints that my application would be approved as our area of the business is contracting at the moment. I recently found out that my application has been turned down but my boss and the person I manage have both been successful and they have now left. I am left trying to pick up the pieces, feel very demotivated and really want to leave as well. But if I resign I hate the thought that they will be getting rid of me for free! Should I just do the minimum and hope they make me redundant at a later stage. The problem is that I have always been a committed employee and bare minimum goes against the grain. Any advice?

Well if your boss and the person you managed have both been made redundant, it seems unlikely they'll make you redundant at a later stage unless there are further serious cutbacks in your area of the business. So I'm not sure doing the bare minimum is going to help you there.

The problem with being a valuable employee is that you are not an attractive prospect for VR. You would have been given strong hints that an application would be approved, because it was known that redundancies were needed in your area, but ultimately, if three people apply and one of them fits the business needs better going forward, and is more valued/competent, then that person will be retained.

I would focus your energies on looking for something new, not on the fact that if you leave they'll be getting that for "free". It's not something they actually want, free or not!

Thanks for the reply. The package was a really good one and would have enabled me to explore other options, even not having to get an income for 18 months or so. I suppose I just need to get over the feeling that by being valued/competent I have lost out and others who have done a less good job get a nice pay-off. It also leaves me and the remaining small team in some chaos with not much support from senior management. Am I being unfairly disgruntled? Is it just the way things are and I have to get on with it?

Well I don't blame you for being disgruntled, you are human, and the feeling that less valued staff are getting a pay-out you're not getting does seem unfair, and is not uncommon as I'm sure you would imagine.

But ultimately, there's nothing you can do about it - VR is just that, voluntary on both sides, so for the sake of sanity, you are better focusing on positive steps you can take to get to where you want to be, rather than musing on unfairness, understandable though that is.

Your job is made redundant, not you - if you do the minimum, they should manage you out, so no pay-off

I was in a company years ago that kept making rounds of redundancies every year or so, those of us that didn't go just got stuck in a really negative rut of staying for that elusive package (which was a good one). My career definitely stalled because of this and the atmosphere was very negative. Eventually I got another job and left, the whole place ended up closing 6 months later so I would have got the package, but I'm glad I went when I did, so my advice would be to get out job hunting too, don't stay and fester.