Redundancy

[Timspam]

Hi all.

Does anybody have experience of the following?

Was made redundant this week, so this week I was earning money next week zero. My notice period is one month.

We are waiting for some reference numbers from the liquidators, the company is closing, my question is, on top of my redundancy, I've been there many years surely they owe me or should pay me a months wage, just as my contract states and indeed if I got another job I would give them a months notice so they could find a replacement.

Very confused it's all been very sudden with poor communication.

Thanks to anyone in advance who can shed some light my direction.

Happy Easter Sunday to all.

There are various payments that are due.

Pay in lieu of notice (statutory notice pay).
Holiday pay - for holiday built up but not taken.
Statutory redundancy pay.
Unpaid wages, overtime, commission.

These should be listed on the payslip as some are taxable and some are not.

If the liquidator cannot get the money together to pay, then you may be able to apply to Government for payment.

www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent

I would communicate with the liquidator regarding what you feel you are owed, making reference to wording from your employment contract.

I am sorry for your situation. Redundancy is horrible.

Others will no doubt be able to advise you more accurately but my recollection is that you should be paid/work your contractual notice period (this is taxable) plus an amount for each year of service (this is tax free up to £30k).

If you Google 'statutory redundancy' that should take you to the Gov.uk website. There is also a calculator.

As you mention the company is being liquidated it is statutory redundancy which you have the right to. This is the minimum you should be paid.

Thank you very much for the advice, it's never happened to me before so I expect a bit more information and guidance and notice from my employer and don't want to miss out on anything. Right job hunting it is then .....

Good luck with the jobhunting

You goto work and all seems normal. Next day you go to work and the door is locked and there is a sign.

I think it is the suddenness of it that hits people hard. Redundancy is similar, though there is often some advance warning on that. In an insolvency, for many staff there is no warning at all.

Login to your company pension scheme, and screenshot details. You may find that payments have not been made to the scheme for a while. If payments are missing, add them to the list of things you want the liquidator to resolve.

The liquidator is there to obtain as much money back to creditors as they can. There is a pecking order - see Insolvency Act 1986. You will likely find that you are in more than one category in the payment hierarchy. As an employee, some of your payments will be as a Preferential Creditor (wages, holiday pay) but some will be as an Unsecured Creditor (notice pay, redundancy pay).

Your feelings over the next few days, weeks, maybe months will be up and down a lot. You may go through stages of grief. It is a sudden, unexpected, event with a major impact on your life. If you have Income Protection insurance, let your insurer know even if the policy has a long deferred period, as they may have a mental health helpline that you can access - it is in the insurers interest that you get work as soon as possible as it reduces the claim on the insurance. If you do not have Income Protection insurance, look at what other insurance provides helplines. If you are feeling down, talk to someone.

Get busy looking for other income. Since 2017 I have been made redundant three times, none were a liquidation but none had much of a warning.

Thank you Nannynivk.

I really appreciate your time.

I was actually on holiday this week so it came completely out of the blue, consequently not exactly been best holiday ever.

I have been pretty much as you've described, I've gone from feeling quite upbeat and thinking I may end up somewhere better for me or it's a chance to doing something new to complete fear with a mortgage and a family what if this what if that.

Anyway I'm going to enjoy the Easter Werkend then get going !

Thanks again.

Be aware that redundancy pay is capped, so dependant on what your salary is, it may not be like for like salary/redundancy pay.

Statutory redundancy pay
You’ll normally be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you’re an employeee_ and you’ve been working for your current employer for 2 years or more.
You’ll get:
• half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22
• one week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41
• one and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older
Length of service is capped at 20 years.
Your weekly pay is the average you earned per week over the 12 weeks before the day you got your redundancy notice.
If you were paid less than usual because you were ‘on furlough’ because of coronavirus, your statutory redundancy pay is based on what you would have earned normally.
If you were made redundant on or after 6 April 2022, your weekly pay is capped at £571 and the maximum statutory redundancy pay you can get is £17,130.

I had an employer tell me that I was being made redundant (only employee so no advance consultation) the day before I went on holiday. They thought it was better telling me before, rather than when I got back. I then worked the notice period. Knowing that you need to look for a new job when you go on holiday is not great.

Being told the company is insolvent whilst you are on holiday, spoils your holiday. Timing is what it is though, events occur that result in the insolvency. Nothing you can do, and very likely nothing you have done in the past has caused the situation. Try to enjoy the rest of your holiday as best you can.

Good advice

but I would say, from experience and talking about others experiences, that the redundancies that come after months of uncertainty are horrible too. You don’t know if you’ll be loosing your job, or safe, or when etc etc. the stress can go on and on for weeks if not months.

just as horrible

Thanks everyone that's some helpful practical advice and also kind words.

I think to take each day as it comes rather than piling the whole world on my head is the best thing for now.

Horrible however it happens.

Have you found that it changed how you view work? I now have three part time employments plus I do some self employed work. So I am not relying on one employer. I wonder if others are like me, or if people go on to have another employer providing all their income.

Hi.

Yes i agree, I think it's time for a change of my mindset. I worked over ten years for a Company and really gave my all every last ounce of energy and that went bust. I've had a few other bumpy situations all out of my control and now this.

I think either as you are doing, that could be a good solution if I can create such a situation then my eggs aren't all in one basket, also I've always tried to fix every problem at work and taken work home mentally and worried about things and it has got me here again so I think all that pressure on myself simply isn't a good deal anymore, it's time to change that and just let stuff be ?

are you in a union? what do they say?

Might not be relevant to your situation but if 20 or more employees at one location were made redundant then collective consultation with a minimum period should have taken place. Obviously when companies are insolvent this is unlikely to happen but you can make a claim for a protective award which may mean you can claim additional monies from the RPS to cover the missing consultation period. Not something that is talked about a lot in the redundancy conversation! Was in the same position as you 3 years ago after being with same company 12 years.

I can't add much to what you've already been told, but on this point, unfortunately, you wouldn't really expect anything different. The moment the liquidators are called in they take over managing all the employers responsibilties so it is them that is responsible for fulfilling the requirements for information etc. But they won't actually know anything yet, so it takes time to get their ducks in a row - remember that for them this is a job amongst many, so it isn't that they don't care, just that this one situation isn't the only thing on their radar and it takes time. The employer will almost certainly have been trying to get out from having to do this, so they wouldn't tell people because as soon as the word that they are struggling gets out, then it's a done deal - customers will walk, and so will staff. Hopefully they have been responsible and not driven the company over the edge, so there will still be assets to pay you, but if not the liquidators will give you all the information you need to make a claim.

One thing I will just ask is whether you have actually been made redundant - i.e. you have been told that your employment has been terminated. Or have you been given notice of redundancy? The two things aren't the same thing. The reason I ask is because you will be entitled to at least 10 weeks notice if you have worked there for 10 years and if you have been given notice of redundancy only, you need to watch out for losing redundancy entitlement if you obtain other employment within that period. You need to clarify what the situation is and if you get another job you may need to give counter-notice to start it before your 10 weeks ends - counter-notice protects your redundancy payment and pay up to the date you leave is that is sooner. Do not simply take another job starting "as soon as" until you are 100% certain (in writing preferably) that it will not affect your right to redundancy notice / pay.

Thank you everyone.

No Union I'm afraid it's only a smaller company and we had no consultations whatsoever.

We have just had an email saying with immediate effect, no notice so I'm not redundant on May 15th for example, I was employed last week unemployed this week.

Thank you for the advice I need to study this so I don't lose out on any aspect, obviously every pound matters at the moment!

You can join a union even if you don't have a recognised union in your workplace. At times like this their advice and knowledge can be vital.

Join one now, it won't help for this time, but in future.

I have similar going on. Not nice.