Redundancy

[Creamcrackersandricecakes]

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts, as DH is tying himself in knots over this!
To summarise:
DH has been with his company just over 8 years. Rumours of redundancies have been flying around for a while, and he's now received an email saying he 'may' be eligible for voluntary redundancy, (his manager will confirm). The email helpfully included a calculator, so you can see how much you are likely to get. DH's redundancy would be around £13k.

On paper, it seems like a no brainer - he doesn't enjoy the job any more and finds it hugely stressful. He's on medication for high blood pressure and anxiety. The lump sum would certainly help us out in clearing a few debts. BUT, DH is 58. He's petrified that if he leaves, he won't get another job.

Also on his mind is the worry that if he doesn't go for the voluntary redundancy, then he could be made compulsorily redundant in the next round of cuts, with a much lower pay out.

What would you do? His job is in the transport industry. His skills in other areas are limited, (although he's not proud and would happily work anywhere if it paid enough to cover the bills).
Thanks in advance - any views welcome!

Why would the payout be reduced if compulsory v voluntary? That’s highly unusual. It’s normal a calculation using salary and length of service.

The other thing to consider is whether any of your insurances (redundancy/mortgage) would pay out on a voluntary redundancy. When I used to work with severance they didn’t used to - but may have changed by now.

Hi!

A couple of thoughts...

Be clear if voluntary redundancy is enhanced and if so to what degree. Sometimes the package is the same for voluntary or compulsory but asking people to volunteer is usually a normal first step in mitigating compulsory redundancies.

Secondly, could your husband start exploring jobs now whilst still employed to see if he has any immediate success? I know many people who time their redundancy well so they leave one job and move straight into another with the payout. If your husband was to find a role, he could also ask his current company to leave without servicing notice as part of a voluntary package. At least then he will have a clear idea of what is feasible out there.

Essentially, I would check out the details of the package and simultaneously explore voluntary redundancy and new roles. He can flag his interest in voluntary redundancy but won't have to commit for a while yet.

Thank you for replying. His voluntary payout would be quite a few thousand more than statutory redundancy pay. He assumed that the compulsory redundancies might only be offered statutory? Of course, no one knows yet.
We don't have a mortgage, (private renting), and all his insurances are through his work, so presume there wouldn't be any extra payments there.

@milkshakeandchips5 - those who are eligible have less than a month to express their interest, so not long at all unfortunately. I agree with you about looking around for other opportunities; he's currently in panic mode which isn't helping.

That would be highly unusual! Was he given a copy of the companies severance policy? If not he’s entitled to ask for a copy. No harm in understanding all his options before moving forward.

@Yellow85 - I'll make sure he's got that, thank you.

Does he get a company pension and if so is it enough to survive on and does it pay out at 60 ? If so then he’d just need to survive on dss money for a couple of years if he couldn’t get another job.

It would appear that there are lots of jobs around just now. Mostly hospitality and hgv driving. Does he have any transferable skills and he could try a different career like one of those? It may also help his health.

I don’t think anyone could say what he should die without knowing your financial situation, but just make sure he has all the info available to him before making a choice. Also worth asking whether notice is expected/negotiable or if they are planning on paying PILON instead. That would help him understand what getting a new job would impact. Although I’m yet to find a compromise at that’s not fully flexible when a person under redundancy gets a new role.

Good luck!

This happened to my OH last month. Although a different industry, the company he worked for has been trimming their employees down over the last 12 months, as my OH had been there so long (about 8 years, from when the company was first started) when he asked about whether or not he was being kept, he was offered voluntary redundancy which was 15k. But like your husband, he was disheartened with working there (various reasons) commute was at least an hr each way, and due to the trimming down of staff, there was no guarantee that he'd have a job anyway 2/3 or 6 months down the line. So after working out the statutory redundancy was about 4K if they got rid of him down the line, he took the 15k offered. He didn't want the worry from month to month of whether or not he'd have a job, and with that pay off, he is got a few months breathing space to find something else.
Debts were paid off straight away, we've got all our outgoings as low as possible, so although we're going to have to watch the pennies, for now, it will be the right decision for him (& us)

The only thing which was a slight worry was waiting to get the payment, due to the paperwork that needing signing etc & knowing how his ex boss can be an arsehole, he wouldn't have put it past him to try & get out of paying it.. luckily there was an employment solicitor involved from the start to make sure that didn't happen

@Elieza - yes, he could easily do delivery driving or something, he did that for a while when he was younger. Not sure about hgv - he'd need to train. Unfortunately we couldn't afford for him to be out of work until his pension kicks in - renting in the SE, (even in the cheapest place we could find!), is pretty pricey. Council tax is extortionate too
Thank you @Yellow85 - I'm going to get him to find out all the things you mentioned.
@Helga55 - thanks for your message; that's exactly what we're worried about re the discrepancy between the two redundancy amounts. Glad to hear it all worked out for you.
Despite my tendency to want to rush in and 'rescue' him, I think I need to make sure he has all the facts and then let him make the decision. Last thing I want is to encourage him into a disaster!

There are benefits calculators online so you could fiddle about with things and see what he could be entitled to while looking for other work?

Worth checking his pension too. Depending on the scheme he may get access to pension from time or redundancy (usually over 50). My DF got 2 redundancy options, one lower with access to full pension and one higher with access to a reduced pension.

Thanks so much everyone - lots to think about and to get checking!