Would you apply for redundancy in these circumstances?

[MaybeIamJealous]

It was announced yesterday that there are to be some redundancies in my workplace. I have been there a long time and my redundancy pay would likely work out as approx 2.5 years take home pay. DH wants me to go for it.

I am torn as I am perimenopausal and also have health issues. As it is, I only work part time because of these issues. I don't think I would find a new job that easily.

On the other hand, I am overworked and underpaid. I've only stuck it with this job as long as I have because of my health and the fear of not being able to find another job.

I could probably make the redundancy payment stretch to 4-5 years of my expenses with careful budgeting and a few cutbacks, bringing me to 55-ish. I don't think my health issues would automatically qualify me for disability benefits, but I could look further into this.

DH also seems to think, after a year or two of not working, I may recover and be able to take up full time employment again but I worry I won't and he'll resent paying for everything, having to make sacrifices, when I can no longer contribute to the household expenses, and also that it would impact on future plans (DC's choice of university, our retirement pot etc).

I've spent the night tossing and turning over this. My brain is fried. For now the company is asking for volunteers and the terms are reasonable. I worry that enforced redundancies could follow and maybe the terms wouldn't be as good.

I'd love some advice. Thanks.

Just to add if you put at least some of your lump sum payment straight into your pension pot it will protect it from income tax that you may have to pay on redundancy awards over 30k. (depending on your own company's redundancy condtions.)
Worth checking out, anyway.

You need to be aware that anything over £30k will be taxed, likely at 40%. So you would need to build that into your plans for how long you can make it last.

I took redundancy quite a few years ago and would have paid 40 pct tax on anything over 40k (the tax-free amount allowed at that time) so I ploughed pretty much all of the rest of it into my pension.

My goodness, with your health I would grab that with both hands and run off into the distance

It's a generous package and you can't put a price on your health. Use the time to recuperate and rest and see how you feel about other roles once you've had a proper rest.

Bite their hand off.
You could always take on something low key / low stress whilst you get your health sorted. You’re also eligible for non-means tested JSA if you’ve paid NIC over the last couple of years, so get that application in on day 1 so you still collect your NI Stamp for state pension.

I’d take it. It’s normal to stress about getting another job but most people will get one without much bother

I would take it. The job sounds stressful and could well be hindering your health like you say x

Take the money and run! 2.5 years pay is amazing! Nothing is certain and your job could disappear in the next 12 months with less favourable terms. Or your health could deteriorate so that you can’t do the job anymore. Take it, rest up, recouperate, enjoy life. There will be other opportunities. You’ve worked hard (in a job and as a mum), it’s ok to take this time to not work and even retire early if that’s a possibility. Xx

If you are claiming child benefit your NI might be covered depending on age of DC IIRC. I didn't claim JSA as I wanted a total break (I took DC out of childcare apart from the 15 free hours as it was then) and not to have to jobhunt from the off but it is worth considering.

What kind of health issues,maybe the money can go to private investigations,and get you back on your feet again. Hrt,do you need b12 injections,thyroid,not trying to be nosy but was in a similar situation,but it was autoimmune for me,and maybe stress related,these are things to look into.A remote job sitting down and working from home perhaps.Good luck in whatever you decide.

Thanks again for all the supportive messages. I'm pretty much 99% sure I'm going to go for it now. It's a big step but I do think I've run out of road here anyway.

To answer a few questions, it's an office job that I do from home now anyway. Full time salary is about 37k and I do a little over half hours, so I earn 20k. Oh, also, I should probably mention that I'm in Ireland so that's in Euros, and doesn't go far really. DH is a higher earner than me (about 60k) so he pays more than I do of the household expenses. I must have a better look at the tax situation on redundancy here.

We are lucky to own our house outright but it's in need of some work. Not just decorating, although it could badly do with a lick of paint now. We repaired the roof last year but the windows need doing too. Other jobs can probably be put off, like the plan to do the driveway and get new gates (last ones were wooden and rotting). And then the rest is probably cosmetic - I'd love new internal doors etc but that's not a need.

Healthwise, I have private health insurance through work, which is an expense I had forgotten about. I don't have a formal diagnosis of what is wrong with me. I still attend a lot of clinics and appointments. My symptoms seem to be more or less consistent but my test results aren't. So I'm currently anaemic and in need of iron and B12, but 6 months ago this wasn't the case. The job, in fairness, has been very flexible around my hours etc. And I know in theory I could get another office job (unless everyone is outsourcing it to Eastern Europe and India). My biggest issue is with not knowing what is wrong with me and whether things will improve,. Even if I had a diagnosis I could let any prospective employers know, but instead it's a very vague "I live with chronic pain and feel like I'm going to collapse at any moment".

I would take the money as 2.5 years worth of wages is amazing!

Once off I would dedicate time to recovery but also skilling up so that you can find something else perhaps 6 months to a year later.

The job doesn’t sound great anyway so might be a blessing in disguise.

To be honest, the job isn't great. It hasn't been for a long time. I should have left years ago when I was younger and healthy and had more self confidence. I'm quite introverted and find it difficult to sell myself in interviews. I've only had 3 proper jobs as an adult and only actually quit one of those. I would probably still be in my first job if they didn't close down (I got a small redundancy package then. Only a few thousand but I was young and had no mortgage, kids etc). I had my next job lined up for when that ended but it was awful. I lasted just over 2 years. Then I got this one. I'm there over 20 years. I thought I'd probably stay until retirement if I'm honest.

I had to make the same decision in the past and I took it.

In hindsight, it wasn't the right thing to do. After a few years off work (living off DH's salary and redundancy), it got to the stage where I felt obliged to go back to work. I never found anything that paid as well or had any of the benefits such as family health insurance, bonuses, a high number of annual leave days.

Now I am happy with what I am doing now. I work part-time and it suits me and family life but I look at my old job and know that I am now earning a fifth of my previous full time salary without any of the additional benefits.

Oh no @SleepingtonI had just pretty much made up my mind. I guess I'm not highly paid anyway, so not much room for a paycut. My children are older/in school, and I'm 50 though, so I think I have to make this decision knowing that I will never earn big bucks. Bonuses are something else I forgot about. It's generally between 5% and 10%, so, although great to get, aren't enough to afford a luxurious lifestyle. We do get a gift at Christmas too of €250 one4all gift cards.

I don't want to muddy the waters, but DH has been headhunted for a new job. It would mean an increase of about €15k for him, so it would mostly cancel out my lost pay. But I don't think he wants to take it. And I worry he'll feel the pressure to take it if I leave.

I really do need to have a proper chat with him. He's out tonight, but will try grab half an hour with him in the morning.

Think about your pension too.

That is another part I completely put my head in the sand about. At my old job (and I was there as long as you are at yours), the employer paid my pension but I could have paid a lot more into it. I wasn't thinking about pensions at the time but I know that, now in my 50s, I would be paying more into it. Instead I have a very small pension pot, not helped by taking a number of years off work.

DH had a high enough salary (110K) but during the years I was off, he was made redundant. He got a big redundancy package but he ended up going back to a lower paid job with less benefits too so we are quite a bit worse off overall. We'd have liked to move house but my redundancy means that will never happen.

But everyone's circumstances are different. I am just telling you about the financial downsides of my situation BUT I did not tell you about how much weight I felt lift off my shoulders when I left that job. I didn't tell you how grateful I was to have spent my kid's primary school years dropping and picking them up from school. I didn't tell you how stressed the job had made me, how little confidence I had and how I crept out of that office on my last day, without saying goodbye to anyone because I was completely broken from it.

I would take it. It’s a golden opportunity to reset your life, after, it sounds like, quite a few years of struggle.

Your family sound really supportive, you’ll find ways to make things happen for each other and the children if they are important.

In your situation OP I would probably take the redundancy and concentrate on improving my health. But just be mindful if your health doesn't improve sufficiently you may not find a job to meet your needs again.

Part time, better paying, non-physical jobs are hard to come by so many people hang on to theirs for that reason. So there is a real chance you won't find another job that suits your health needs in the future.

It sounds good short term but realistically you need to support yourself for another 15 years. Getting back into the workforce at 55 will be difficult.

I would not risk becoming dependent.

What about your pension? You can't make up for lost time when it comes to saving and investing.

DH has been no help whatsoever. He says the decision is up to me and says I'm "the numbers person in the relationship" so if I think we'll be fine for money, we'll be fine!!! I've no idea why he thinks I'm the numbers person.

I have thought about my pension too, but I'm currently only contributing the bare minimum - less than €100 a month with the company doing similar. If I work part time until retirement, allowing for growth on less than €2k a year, it's still not going to be much of a pension pot. It's unfortunately a contribution based pension scheme, not service etc.

I'm very confused.

I’d go for it. I left my job without a plan tbh, worried I’d never get work.
I now earn similarly in a job that I can work flexibly in that I never knew existed. I’m so glad I didn’t give in to the fear

I think I will try to see someone like a financial advisor this week. I think we can access something through the work EAP scheme. I know work will ultimately end up giving some advice to the people being made redundant - they have said as much - but I don't really want to let them know I'm considering applying for it until I have to.

I took redundancy in very similar circumstances, no regrets at all.
Ive had 7 weeks off which has been lovely , I start a new job part time in a supermarket next week so can't comment yet , but if I don't like it I will leave & look for something else .
I also got approx 2 years money , that's loads of time to be choosy about what you take

Best of luck @bugalugs45 .I hope it works out for you.

I think I could definitely do with time out of work to see if my health improves. I don't really mind what type of work I do afterwards, although I have only ever done office work. It's the concern that I don't get better but could have managed in this job for another decade or more (assuming the job continues to exist!) and instead I'm left unable to find something that works around my restrictions.