Been asked to mutually part ways

[Milennialworkinprogress]

Company has said either go on a performance plan (which is hard to complete) or mutually part ways after 3 years.

Was never communicated that my performance was in question so it's taken me by shock and was delivered in a meeting with no warning.

What should I do? I don't want to stay, but I want to make sure I leave with the best possible compensation.
I have 3 months notice.

Accept the severance, anything else is stupidity ime.

as part of it agree wording of your reference
They should also pay for all or part of your employment lawyer theyll pay you out your 3 months but most or all will be tax free (its tax free up to 30k)

Separately i promise you this isnit out of the blue.. there were signs multiple signs a d you missed them. listen closely to their feedback and reflect... it may be you are not suited to the industry (ive seen it myself) or more fundamental issues

Can you afford an employment lawyer? That would be a good place to start.

Your notice (or pay in lieu) will be fully taxable due to the rules on post-employment notice pay. But they can make a tax free ex gratia payment on top. As a fair capability process would take 3-6 months, that’s usually the starting point for the negotiation (on top of your 3 months notice). But a lawyer can usually help to bolster your position.

Speak to ACAS. I have just been in this position. I would have been mad to not take the severance. They should take you through an ACAS process anyway. I did not want to go through a PIP.

Don't just accept what your employer is saying. You have employment rights and there are perfomance management/ disciplinary processes that don't seem to have been followed eg verbal/written warnings etc. Ring ACAS for proper advice in the first instance. Even if you do decide to just cut your losses and leave, don't just take their first offer, do some research and negotiate hard. And start looking for a new job now. Good luck.

What terms have they offered you?

Terms so far are garden leave on the 3 month notice and 1 month tax free pay

Thanks I'll call acas in the morning

Do

I deal with this quite a lot recently
Assuming you did nothing wrong it'll be a cost cutting exercise. The company will just be seeing where they can remove cost so try to see this very objectively.

The company will want you off their balance sheet as soon as possible. They won't want to go through a pip etc. But this gives you a tiny bit of leverage.

You should be able to negotiate a certain amount of legal help (£500 to £1k) as part of the settlement agreement. Then you can get help to review your contract, look at the cost of any benefits owed like pensions, shares, bonus owed etc.

Then get a sum and try to add on one month due to the 'shock'.

They would generally rather pay you that than get into a long wrangle.

Oh and stipulate a non negative reference letter that you sign off on.

Don't drag it out and be ridiculously polite.

Good luck.

Take it, dust yourself down and start reflecting on past 12 months at work. Then think about next role but give yourself a month off

This is pretty standard you
might get a 2nd month but if you go back looking for 6 months on top of garden leave you’ll be wasting your time

I was given exact same thing. I got one more additional month added to it. I have just come out of it and awaiting my final settlement pay.

If they ask you to leave at the end of the performance plan you'll be on gardening leave for your notice period anyway I assume, they're hardly going to ask you to work it. So they're essentially only offering you one month's pay but a PIP would take longer than that to administer. I'd seek advice but I think 3 months plus 3 months gardening leave would be more in the ballpark. They will end up paying you for that anyway but if you go now it's less work for your manager.

That’s a very arbitrary number,

@Janieforever it's based on experience of what's been offered to 2 colleagues on a 3 month notice period in a similar situation. But that's why I said seek advice.

And it's also based on timings of a PIP then written warning then final warning

Negotiate up. I used to do this from the employer side and the opening offer would be apx 1/3 of the max we could go to.

Employees who took tye first or second offer were missing out on thousands!

I have sent you a PM.

Thanks everyone.
Turns out 2 other members of the team have been treated the same so I got in touch to find out how they negotiated.

Both advised getting a solicitor to handle it as it got very stressful.

I've now got one to represent me as my anxiety is through the roof and my employer is chasing me to make a decision.

Thanks everyone 😊

Hi everyone thanks for your help.
Just wanted to say we settled. It gives me pay for about 5 months so thank you.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this bit but given you've all had some experiences, I wanted to ask if it's normal to feel like I've failed?

I want to enjoy this time but I'm plagued with feelings of failure. I've been applying for jobs and got rejections so now my worry is I'll never get one. I had one interview where they liked me but I wasn't quite right for the role.
I don't know how to feel better and see this rationally.

Another worry is that I really wanted to expand my family, we were trying for 5 months and nothing worked. I have a 4 year old and feel like I've failed him too because of the now age gap if one ever arrives.

I don't know. I thought at this point in my life I should have my head together and be grateful but, as 35 have I just messed up too much?

Well done on negotiating 5 months. That doesn't sound like failure to me. Don't take rejections personally, it's tough out there, use each as a learning experience.

Ooh following with interest. Im in the same position, and want to go. I thought I should accept the PIP, play along for a month or so and then they normally say oh we tried it isnt working, heres 3m pay. Company is in crisis and I'm I think at last count 24th person they are trying to get out since March.

Are we saying I should not accept the PIP and ask for severance? Ive been there a month under 5 years, have had 5 annual perf reviews, 4 meeting expectations and 1 exceeding expecatations (not last one). Im a member of a non affiliated union. No written warnings though they are now (verbally, on the phone) making up loads of rubbish like 'anonymous complaints', 'seem disengaged' 'not responding to emails fast enough' 'sometimes don't put camera on' etc.

Its all bullshit and I'm happy to go but am not leaving without a pay off, what's the best way to handle this?

Well done OP for negotiating up.

You are not a failure and it sounds like this is the best possible outcome in this situation.

I keep hoping that my job will also offer me a settlement like yours...

It is obvious they don't want me there but instead of making it clear and negotiating an exit like adults they are just slowly trying to make me quit by freezing me out of meetings and decisions and allowing other people to take on my responsibilities.

Seriously, you will be fine and will move on to better things.

@AIstolemylunch what was the offer they gave you? Was it just a PIP?

With me they offered a PIP or a settlement in the same breath. You shouldn't be leaving without being paid regardless so what was the offer?

Is the settlement seen as redundancy or you leaving? How does that affect going onto JSA and tax on the severance payment?

I've been made redundant and the 30k tax free really helped extend the buffer time between jobs.