Thoughts on this situation please, please, please

[eeewahwoowah]

I found out last week that the project I have worked on for 5 years now will not be funded beyond the end of his financial year. This was unexpected as we had been assured by our funder that this would not happen. Whilst it is a blow it is also a huge relief as the last five years have been a constant battle for various reasons to long to go into.

So my fixed term employment contract ends on 31 March and I have started looking for alternative employment. I simply cannot hang on until the end of this contract and start looking for a job then as I have bills to pay and a mortgage to service. If I find another job before the end of March I will be handing my notice in and leaving.

The problem I have is this. I have been leading on the organisation of an event which is due to take place in early March. If I leave before then there is nobody to pick up the work I am doing and the event will fold. I would like therefore to wrap it up now before the plans become any more advanced and lots of people end up wasting their time and money. It is a conference/exhibition event. I have several speakers lined up, all of whom will be travelling considerable distances and taking time out of extremely busy schedules to join the event. Exhibitors will soon need to be invoiced and I would need to commit to a fair amount of spending in early January for things such as catering, venue hire, delegate packs/gifts, AV and staging and so on. I cannot in all conscience do this when I know that I am looking to leave and yet there is a slim chance that I might not find a job before my contract ends in March in which case the whole thing could go ahead.

I am really torn and not sure how to play it. My instinct is to wrap it up and focus on all the things that need to be done to wind the whole project down (not just this event but all the other activities we have on too) to sort out the billing, the grant claims and a lot of other admin stuff. On the other hand I feel it would be very sad for this event to fold and feel I should persevere until I find another job but then there really would be nobody to pick up my side of things when I go and the event would fold anyway.

If anybody reading this has any thoughts on how to play it I would really like to hear them. My dilemma is not helped by the fact that my colleagues within the project, think we should just carry on as normal. Their attitude makes me feel that I am wrong to suggest pulling the event.

Any thoughts?

how disappointing - tis the way of the voluntary sector unfortunately

surely your boss knows that if you have a fixed term contract then you will be seeking alternative employment, as do your colleagues?

your commitment to your job is apparent from your post, so i can see how you would be so upset

why couldn't your colleagues pick up on your work or share the load between them if they are also working on the project?

I would -

Finish the project. You have been working there for 5 years, finish on a high note and a successful project will be a plus for new jobs.
Stay until 31st March, otherwise (presumably) you may not get your redundancy money.
Start applying for jobs in January. By the time you have been for interviews/second interviews/waited for an offer/handed in your notice, it won't be far off 31st March anyway, and any decent new employer will be happy to extend the start date so you can finish a project and get your redundancy money. Your commitment to existing projects and clients is a plus and you're not talking months here, really, it will only be weeks.

Unless I'm missing something that's what I'd do.

thanks for replies.

Ruby, I have no boss! It's hard to explain quickly so I will spare you the gory details. There's me and three others, all of us on the same level and salary. My three colleagues are in the same boat and are looking for new jobs. I don't see how I can hand over to any one of them given that they have all got their CV's out their with agencies and will go as soon as they can.

FTONY- I am not entitled to redundancy pay unfortunately.

You are. You've been there 5 years yes? Directgov. You only need 2 years service for redundancy pay. Fixed term contract is irrelevant if that's your concern.

tricky one - i think Flowery's advice is salient - by the time you have got through Xmas, interviews, notice etc then you will be practically in March

tricky one - i think Flowery's advice is salient - by the time you have got through Xmas, interviews, notice etc then you will be practically in March

My current contract was only for a year unfortunately which I believe rules out the possibility of redundancy. The one before that also a year. The one before that was for three years - same job but paid by a different organisation. It is a ridiculous state of affairs, too byzantine to bore you with and the only reason I have put up with it for 5 years is because I feel very strongly about the work I do. Unfortunately, the people with the money don't feel that way so it's goodnight Vienna.

Agree with what flowery says.

A lot of companies wont have completed budgets until end of Jan so they may not bother recruiting until then anyway. Seeing it out to the end will only reflect well on y our CV.

By the time you start applying for jobs in Jan, interviews, waiting for them to get back to you etc etc will be at least mid feb before you get an offer (being optimistic) and then you tell them that you are available in 6 weeks when your project has finished as you would like to see this event through till the end. As most people have a months notice to give, 6 weeks is no more, and thats assuming that you get interviews for suitable jobs straight away when you start applying

You are right, I need to persevere with it. I am feeling muddleheaded about the whole thing and can't see the wood for the trees.

Agree with others - stick with it, make the event a success and if you get job offers you can negotiate on start date - won't be much before the end of March anyway, and most employers would understand if you had to give notice etc.

The next few months sound like fun for you!

Did you break your service? If not 5 one year contracts and one 5 year contract are the same. Otherwise everyone would give out new contracts each year to avoid any responsibilities!

Even the 3 years for a different organisation. If you were doing the same job (presumably for the same funder?) but the organisation you were technically employed by happened to change, I would think you would be entitled to TUPE and continuity of employment. Did this not happen?

If I am misunderstanding something please tell me but I can't think of a reason you wouldn't be entitled to redundancy pay which for 5 years would be a fairly significant chunk of money.

"Rights already acquired

15: When an employee has completed the minimum period of continuous employment needed to qualify for any of the rights in the table, he or she keeps those rights."

Found this quote here

What flowery said - looks to me like you are entitled to redundancy.

flowery/doggiesayswoof - thanks for that information. I will raise it tomorrow at a meeting I have with the funders.

Please do - and it's something to raise with your employers as well, not just the funders.
I don't want to come across bossy but I would hate to see you lose out. I have spent a large chunk of my working life in the voluntary sector and sadly have seen too many people put up with all sorts of unbelieveable crap without making a fuss because they 'love [insert name of charity] so much' and 'wouldn't want [insert name of charity] to be dragged through a tribunal/grievance/whatever'. It makes me when people's dedication and commitment are taken advantage of like that.

Rant over