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.

I think you should take the redundancy. Being anxious about getting a certain amount of office work done each day can cause a strain. I said initially to talk to recruiters. Please ignore my earlier advice as I didn't realise how much you were affected. Maybe you could try to get a disability payment? It is not means tested. Take care, x

All those symptoms can be Menopause @MaybeIamJealous
I had severe joint pain, literally excruciating, unable to move pain.
Tinnitus, vertigo and fell over constantly.
Gone within a few days of HRT
You're 50ish?
Could be Long Covid but could be Peri/ Meno

Vertigo/ Tinnitus is now being recognised as a symptom .

I did think menopause might be a factor but hrt made no difference. If anything it made me feel worse. I've tried it twice (2 different types) for 3 months at a time and no improvement. First time I did notice some improvement in my sleep, but my headaches etc were worse. 2nd time around my headaches were bad again but nothing in comparison with the breast pain. It was so bad I was crying myself to sleep at night. When I went back to the gp she took me off it again as "some people don't do well with hormones". I kinda knew that though. I eventually gave up trying to find a hormonal contraceptive after my 6th go of the pill. GP now on at me to try the mirena coil for bleeding, but I'm reluctant to use anything hormonal that I can't just stop immediately if it gets really bad.

In saying that, maybe I should see if I could tolerate a lower dose of the hrt at first. I think I was started on a relatively high dose because I had such strong symptoms.

Sounds like GP put you on too high a dose.
Did you try patches?
Found them the best and all my symptoms resolved on a small dose

Yes, I had evorel patches and estrodot patches along with ultrogestan. It's been a while since I was on them.

I still think it would be unwise to go for redundancy.
Imagine you don't recover, how will you ever get back to working and it will impact your pension.
I hate to seem doom and gloom but many marriages break down and how would you manage until 67?
Your job is PT any way so how would giving it up mean you don't suffer from pain, vertigo and tinnitus.

Your list of health challenges sounds really difficult, OP, and you have my sympathy.

But honestly, being unhealthy and poor is worse than being unhealthy and employed. That money won't last as long as you think it will, something could happen to your marraige, or some other calamity strike. At 52 you theoretically have 10 or 15 more years in a normal working life. Unless you are so ill that you qualify for benefits, you probably should keep struggling along.

Years ago I worked with a man who admittedly didn't take good care of himself. He was diabetic and in his 50s lost both feet to below the knee, to amputation. His kidneys failed and he had to do some sort of DIY dialysis six times a day to keep alive. (I'm not sure how it worked but he had a port in his abdomen and he had to drain a sterile fluid into his body, then drain it out; I guess that captured the toxins.)

He was a newspaper reporter in a busy newsroom. Late 50s. Every day he wheeled in a little suitcase and put the bags of fluid on a heating pad; as need be he would go into a conference room and do the procedure. He also had not-very-good prosthetic feet. He used two canes to walk.

He did not demur from regular assignments. It would break my heart to see him assigned to go to an airport, or outdoor event, or emergency site, or whatever the case may be, to do his reporting, heading out slowly, and then get back to the newsroom and write up his story. (One day a young reporter whined and griped because he was assigned to go afield to get a story; he had a blister on his foot. I lost it and said "Joel HAS no feet and he manages to do his job without any griping at all. Get going or give me your resignation now!" )

Whenever I feel hard done by I think of Joel. He died in his early 60s of complications from diabetes, a very valiant man. Never once complained. I asked him why and he shrugged and said "You play the hand you are dealt."

Yeah, I think I'm swinging now towards not putting myself forward for it and hoping (a) I'm not managed out in the next couple of years, and (b) no mandatory redundancies for the foreseeable, or at least none with worse terms.

I don't have a problem working as such. It's just very difficult to manage it. But I also realise I'm pretty much unemployable unless my health improves and there's no guarantee that it will.

My gp did actually offer to sign me off work a while back and I could have had illness benefit, but I didn't want to leave work in the lurch.

Since your health update I think you're probably wise to stay put. If you don't actually know what's wrong yet then it's much more of a leap of faith thinking your health will improve if you're not at work.

One thing to be aware of is people's mental health is often worse if they want to be working but are not able to, whatever the reason.
If your physical health doesn't improve and therefore you cannot get back into the workplace you may well find your mental health is worse as you won't have the distraction and sense of purpose from being at work.

Have you been referred to a pain management programme?
Is there an option to reduce your hours? Maybe if you were working a couple of hours less a day the pain wouldn't build as much.

The issue with working less hours is that I inevitably end up working more than I'm contracted to. I am paid to work 4 hours a day, and lately I am pretty much staying to that, but I've been feeling terrible for the past couple of months (possibly due to the anaemia). Before that I was often working 5-6 hour days in order to get the work done. I think it will be chaos when there are fewer people. Granted, they are outsourcing some of the work, but for the first few months I expect I will be doing more hours again, and I'll be damned if I'm doing almost full time hours for close to half the pay. It's a vicious circle. Too much work, not enough manpower, but someone up high has decided to let people go and hire cheaper replacements in another country.

OP I used to work 80% and I was damned if I was doing extra hours for free. Stick to your paid hours. If it doesn't get done, tough.

Where I work almost everyone does extra hours. When I was full time (37 hours) I did at least 40 every week without fail. No paid overtime. I've been stupid to stay here as long as I have. Opportunities did come up in the last few years that I wouldn't have been able to go for previously (due to needing to commute in part to Dublin etc) but with them being hybrid jobs a healthy me could potentially have applied for them. Of course it clashed with my health issues and so I'm still where I am. Same dead end job for life.

@MaybeIamJealous

It's very noble of you to have not wanted to leave work in the lurch in the past but can you honestly say you have received the same level of consideration?
I was a civil servant until 18 months ago, for ovet 30 years. In that time I've had some great jobs, some awful jobs, some great line managers, some awful line managers. One thing I did learn is that no one is indispensable. You move on, you are replaced and forgotton
Personally I wouldn't turn down a decent financial package if it meant I could take the time to get well

I'm still undecided. Am meeting my old manager next week for coffee (he left a few years ago). I value his opinion so I'll ask him about it

Well I didn't take the redundancy at the time. Now I'm faced with enforced redundancy on worse terms. Finish up in December 😥

Why on earth didn't you take it? How bad are the terms now? I have/had awful menapause symptoms - total brain fog, anxiety and insomnia - HRT has helped somewhat but has not been a magic cure. You also need to give it more than three months. Six at least.

I am sorry @MaybeIamJealouswithout a crystal ball it’s impossible to make the right call every time.
I would say look at every aspect of your finances to see what you actually need to live on. Work on your CV and linkedin profile before applying for new roles, and go to the doctors and make sure you’re on the right medication for you.

I panicked. I was afraid I'd never get back to work again. Also thought if I could get some answers about my health issues maybe I would be in a better place to look for a new job or be able to negotiate staying on. Or if I got a prognosis of not being likely to improve I could get illness benefit from work. A former colleague had a heart attack a few years ago and went out sick until he reaches retirement age. So that means about 9 years for him on 2/3 of salary. Plus his pension continued. It seemed to make more sense to me.

Anyway, it has backfired. More people going now so more to divy the pot with. Redundancy will be capped. It's more than statutory, but about 3/4 what I would have got earlier in the year.

Granted I have had a few more months of salary earned in the meantime so it's maybe not as bad as it sounds on paper.

Thanks. I'm on some medication and have been back and forth constantly. In the l last month alone I've been to the gp, cardiologist and 2 mri scans (well first one failed as I was panicking, 2nd one I was chilled on xanax). I have an appointment with my neurologist next week. So I don't really know what else I can do. I did discuss with the gp trying hrt again in case I just need to stick with the side effects for a few months but she said she'd rather I get these tests out of the way before doing that. The cardiologist has referred me for an echo and stress test, but not sure when they will be. Hopefully before Christmas. There was 1 anomaly on my brain mri, so I'll see next week what the neurologist has to say about that.

To the OP, initially you said you were afraid your DH may resent it if he was the only earner for a long time. At least now it is taken out of your hands.Your DH would be more understanding as you did not look for redundancy.

Also you will have a few more months earnings. I know the package is less favourable but you will feel easier in your mind. If you took redundancy and the company continued for another few years, and if you struggled to find a similar role, you would be sorry you chose redundancy.

Take the redundancy no question. Use some of the money on self care to get your health tip top again. After all, what is more important. You’re too young to slow down in a safe job.