Just been made redundant

[limescale]

Lone parent.
One months notice.
Should get 2 months redundancy.
I work for a Hong Kong company, so I’m under their laws.
Need to find a new job. Sharp.
I have a 16 yo at home (26 yo as well).
My divorce 9 years ago wiped out savings. I do not have a big buffer to fall back on.
😢😢

Do you work in HK? You should be covered by the rules of the country your contract is in. If you're in the UK, that would be UK rules.

Good luck with the job hunt.

My contract is Hong Kong (I work remotely from Uk).
They are not forthcoming about our entitlement, they’ve said they will contact us this week.

I think you should focus on getting your CV and LinkedIn up-to-date and save anything you want (I had some electronic techy guides) from your laptop.

It’s been in the air for a few weeks (contractors were already laid off) so I have already updated my cv. LinkedIn is up to date.
I feel very alone.

Sorry to hear @limescale- it’s a horrible experience. Start scanning the job market forensically and identify a couple of opportunities that might work for you - something will come up. But I do understand it is a very horrible and scary experience.

I completely understand that panic. I got made redundant last year, single parent of a small child. I was extremely stressed but secured something else pretty quickly. The only thing you can do to take control is start applying for jobs hard core. Make that a full priority, you will soon start the ball rolling with potential interviews. Also look at claiming UC for any crossover between earning income.
The fear you’re feeling is totally valid, but don’t let that distract you from taking action. Hope things work out for you soon…

Thank you for your kindness. I am meant to be being professional and to carry on working, but I am all over the place. I am waiting until both sons are out of the house and will have a good, proper cry. I have told them and they can see I'm upset, but I don't want to worry DS2.
DS1 is flitting between here and Leeds at the moment as he's going off travelling (postponed from covid) and he's here until Wednesday.

I think I need a day or so to breathe and collect myself before I start emailing contacts or applying for jobs hastily (when I should prepare properly).

Cry as much as you need, definitely allow yourself time to feel what you need to feel. This is a scary position to be in, but it’s not the end. It’s just a sudden unexpected change of direction. But scary all the same.
Do you have people around you that you can vent to? Sometimes just airing your thoughts is enough to help get things into perspective and get some clarity on what you need to do…

I've talked to my sister on the phone....and told her NOT to give me a sing songy "it'll be fine". I do have lots of friends and support, but I am actively holding back telling people at the moment. The more people you tell, the more people you then need to keep updated (because they care). The friend I really wanted to see has buggered off to Cornwall on holiday (rude!).

Wise words (about the sudden change) - thank you. Writing here is good as it won't matter if I'm slightly deranged.

You don’t sound deranged at all, vent away. It’s good to offload at times like this….
And that’s understandable about not wanting to tell too many people, it’s difficult to also keep saying out loud because if you’re anything like me, it’ll trigger emotion each time!
Just thinking more about practical things, would it be worthwhile going through your outgoings to do anything you can to reduce outgoings, such as reviewing spending habits and cancelling down any unnecessary subscriptions etc? I recently had a big sudden drop of income which put the fear in me massively! But taking control by reducing outgoings to compensate for that loss, helped reduce the fear and empowered me moving forward.
The initial panic is always the worst, taking practical steps helps reduce that fear. But obviously taking time to just process it first is also important.. Especially when it’s so raw

So sorry OP. Hopefully you find something fast.

So sorry to hear this op. Just a few thoughts-
how much do you have in savings right now. From this minute onwards I would do a very detailed budgeting spreadsheet of everything that HAs to be spent and is essential in the next 3 months. Anything else at all needs to be cut or not spent. I would put myself on spending lockdown.make this very clear to sons. Even if eating pasta and rice from now on.
If you have a mortgage find out if you can take a mortgage holiday if you need to, how long it takes to take effect and if there’s any affect on credit scores etc
If essential think about if you can get a lodger to help pay the bills
think about short term work such as bar work, supermarket, nursery supply etc whilst you do other applications for your next role related to your career. Even babysitting, anything if you really need some cash coming in

Your network is your biggest resource now. Make a list of people you could contact who may be in companies you might want to work for.
i highly reccomended the book “ what color is your parachute” which has a structured way of approaching companies, for roles not advertised.

Oh it's an awful experience. I'm so sorry. It does leave you so shaken and upset even if you suspect it's coming. Definitely get upset and know it's totally normal. Sounds like you're really professional and know what you need to do which is great but do give yourself a few days to wallow and just feel shitty. It IS shitty.

Thank you all. I appreciate the kindness.
I have started to pause or cancel subscriptions that aren't essential and will do a proper clean up in the next few days.
The big expenses are mortgage and car finance (just got a new to me car last year). I do have a credit card, but nothing massive. None of my outgoings are huge. Post divorce I sorted out my debts, got this better paying job and admit that I have been spending more than saving. Nothing ridiculous, but big things that needed doing on the house after years of neglect during my unhappy marriage, and some good holidays. I admit it felt good to be in a position to do these things.
I have been in this field for many, many years and have some great contacts so I do have lots of avenues to go down.
I've toggled my work email off my phone until tomorrow morning so I'm not tempted to read it overnight.
It's been a very strange day and I feel a bit numb, but my boys have kept me distracted.
I'll have some down time now (after I've cleaned the kitchen) and hopefully will get some sleep. My manager (also laid off) is being great.

Oh...no room for a lodger, there's barely room for the people that live here!

I feel for you. This happened to me last year and so far I’ve just had a temporary contract. It’s very hard indeed. In reality it is almost reassuring that hundreds of thousands will be in the same position soon because of AI.
I am thinking of college and trying to get new non-computer and non-office-based skills. But I’m skint now and stressed. You are not alone.

We have not been replaced by AI. The company has staff in both China and Hong Kong (many working remotely). They are moving all the work to China (cheaper). I work for a scientific journal. It will likely fold. The people they have made redundant are highly qualified and experienced. They have put a much more junior member of staff in charge; she is pretty much a puppet for the senior management who are making these (financially-driven) decisions. It's pretty sad actually. When I tried to get my head down and work today I just felt desperately sad, I love my job.

do you rent or mortgage? If you rent and don’t have savings, start the process of applying for universal credit now!

Sorry to hear that op

One door closes and another one filled with great opportunities can open

Been there
It can be so shit xxxxxx

I have a mortgage.

If you work in the uk you should be covered by a uk contract through a uk entity or EOR otherwise youd be likely paying tax in 2 countries. I would make sure they have done things correctly with regard to your employment, they can't just opt out of UK law.

I just did what the HK HR advised. I am set up as self employed and pay UK tax, and complete a HK tax return each year stating I’ve paid tax in the UK.
I would not know where to start checking if this is correct.
Been lying awake crying and worrying for nearly 3 hours (the small hours stink). I’ll drop back off just as I need to get up.

I can't stop crying 😢
I've been trying to keep my head down at work, but it's so hard.
I just want to crawl into a hole and weep.
I can't spend work time looking for another job, but that's all I want to do.

I will go to running club this evening. A friend offered to come over and go for a chatty run together, but I think I want to push myself to get out there and be with people and run until my eyeballs fall out. I went to a strength class yesterday which helped.

I have lost my appetite and it doesn't take much for people to express concern (I'm naturally very slim).

Just offloading here.

Sorry to hear your news. I’m in a redundancy process too. It’s not nice. You absolutely can spend work time looking for another job. The worst has already happened - they can’t fire you again! Look after yourself, not them.