Hold my hand, got invited to HR chat UPDATE

[CrazyPenguin101]

Thank you again to all. Will update of the outcome ❤️

She’s counteroffered already, she can’t go back and ask for more a few hours later.

Sorry to hear that OP. At least you were kind of prepared, though I hoped it would be something else. Best of luck with getting a good settlement and finding suitable work in the future.

link to old one pls

I'm really sorry OP 😕❤️

Sounds awful, I feel for you. Ive heard from people it can get nasty. Fingers crossed someone takes voluntary one?

Sorry to hear this. You have had some great advice. Don’t be afraid for example to ask to keep your laptop and mobile to help you if you need it. I’ve managed to keep scrubbed/cleaned devices previously which is very handy.

The outplacement service is also invaluable for career coaching etc.

Get on LinkedIn, use your network and I’m sure you will have great conversations very quickly. There are also a lot of fractional opportunities out there and maybe worth investigating.

Best of luck.

Everyone keeps missing this. Its not for a legal battle.

You must have a lawyer for a UK settlement agreement because the law requires it.
Without a lawyer signing it off, the agreement is not valid or enforceable.

Sorry to see your update, OP. Hopefully you can wrangle more out of them with a good lawyer.

Very sorry to hear this OP. I was really hoping that it was something much more insignificant. They’ve handled this appallingly.

If you're in aunion, let them know. It saved me so much stress when I was made redundant, and they have lawyers who can review and sign the agreement.

I could have had legal costs up to £600 paid by the company. I assume the union invoiced them directly, as I never saw anything about the costs.

They've already asked for volunteers and people elsewhere have accepted it but there are 3 of us in our department who need our jobs. We have no choice but to go up against our friends.

Why was the other thread deleted?

I'm so sorry to hear this but warned you that HR were cunts.

Hmmm they've asked you to get a lawyer to explain the settlement terms - I'm assuming the settlement will involve a NDA clause, just so you can't warn future employees that they'll be canned prior to their 2 year.

I'm so sorry.

I'm not missing anything, I am well aware of how a settlement agreement works. I have initiated many many of them in my career.

I was urging caution. Previous posters have suggested shit hot lawyers. They come at a price - even for just a couple of meetings to handle a settlement agreement. The company will have an amount that they are prepared to contribute towards you getting that legal advice. Anything over that you will have to pay yourself.

To be frank, you're not in a position to get into a legal battle anyway. They have made you a good offer, which they can retract if they want to.

As @DecemberGloom explained

"It’s been deleted at OP’s request due to information that might prejudice any settlement agreement."

My bad. Previous post had few comments misunderstanding the need for a lawyer. Sorry didnt read it right, think my brain has totally switched off after days of stress

Good luck op!

I have been where you are, but after 23 years of service
a single parent of 3 and I was 53
i was TERRIFIED, I stayed in my job because of convenience, flexibility, locality, and I at the time thought it was good. I had no intention of job hunting at my age, I was cruising

job hunting was horrendous, the feeling of failure even worse. I work in tech and was up against a very young competiton who all have masters, I have a LLB only. I had pushing 40 interviews, all to the last stage but didn’t get, it’s really brutal

you have negotiated a very positive settlement, that is a big win.

Linkedin is hell, they say not to contact the recruiter direct but I did, otherwise I wouldn’t get past the AI screening

I also did to my mind cringe thing of thanking after my first interview and saying how much I enjoyed it and wanted the role

it took me 4 months but the role im now in is one of the highlights of my life, I absolutely love it, my old job was shite in comparison. I am offered masses of self development budget, and at 55 I feel excited about being ambitious and progressing. My 1st marriage was to a very abusive man with a ‘big job’ I also have an autistic son who needed me, my job was not a career
but

i genuinely think life and fate push us to what should be, try and take a few days to calm your nerves and not panic x

Crikey. That was too quick to counteroffer. Hopefully a learning for someone else.

Sorry to hear the update Op. Hope they agree to your counter offer. Good luck.

Sorry to hear this OP, I negotiated a settlement several years back when made redundant. A solicitor helped me get more, will they pay for legal advice? I would throw the trauma in for yesterday and probably the lack of sleep you had last night. Often meetings like this would be held short notice and on the day, so you have little time to worry about it :(

So about an hour of time plus VAT. Anything complex will run into much more time. (Made redundant in 2002, investment banking). So do allow @OPfor extra legal costs.

I am book marking this for comfort, inspiration & motivation. On the cusp of 53 and about to start looking for a new role. I’m so happy it worked out for you @bittertwisted- gives me hope and the impetuous to get going.

@CrazyPenguin101 I'm so sorry reading the update. I had hoped it wasn't what you thought, but of course our gut is invariably right.

As part of the settlement have they offered you a CV review or career/job hunting support or additional training? It might be worth considering what qualification might help you gain a job quickly.

Know it's not personal, you are good at your job and ask them to provide you with a reference as part of the settlement.

I hope you walk away with a fist full of £ straight into a new role.

I’m an employment lawyer. I negotiate settlement agreements every single day. £500 plus vat is fine for most settlement agreement situations. In a redundancy situation you have very little negotiating power due to a case called polkey which allows an employer to argue that even if there were errors in procedure, the compensation should be limited to a few weeks’ pay to reflect the extra time it would have taken to run an error free process. In situations where there is more of an argument we simply negotiate a higher contribution as part of the settlement. It’s rare for employees to have to contribute much themselves if they’ve followed the advice given.