Would you walk from your role for a year's salary settlement deal?

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Workplace relations have broken down, and my employer has opened up the conversation regarding a settlement agreement, with pay out and reference. I'm early 50s, been there almost two decades.

Would you take the money and run? I have a niche role, but there are other roles out there and consultancy opportunities. But as a single person with a mortgage, it is a risk!

Yes

My husband did this, albeit, it was 7 months pat. It took him 9 months to find another job, that was a part time role and he hated it. It was another 3 years before a job he liked came along.

Definitely... otherwise what else will happen? You get fired with no pay out? Personally I would love this option if I was in your shoes. I'd probably take ~1 month off, put the money in the bank to accrue interest and then get a less stressful job (for less money).

It’s also worth remembering if you did find a new role, you’d be first on the list for future redundancy and given the state of the economy, it’s not something I’d risk.

What are your pension and savings like, and how much remaining on your mortgage?

If you have a good pension (and you can start taking a reduced pension from age 58 if in LGPS), have some savings, and little to no mortgage remaining I’d be very tempted.

The first £30,000 is tax free so you’ll most likely end up with more than one years take home pay.

Would your termination be the below:
Termination payment equivalent to one year gross
Pay in Lieu of Notice (not pensionable for LGPS so also a higher net)
Pay in Lieu of Holiday (also not pensionable for LGPS)

If so then unless you have any financial difficulties I would seriously seriously consider it. You may end up having to leave anyway, just with little to no pay.

I would. If the offer is on the table then my job is not safe long term. I would take the money and run.

So many people are risk averse to the extreme! A whole year’s salary in your bank account? Breaking free from a toxic work environment? What’s not to love?

You’ll get a job of some sort but seriously enjoy a bit of freedom first.

Yes, best decision ever! The place went to hell not long after according to my old colleagues.

Lots of people mixing the settlement agreement with redundancy- a settlement agreement cannot be paid tax free the same as redundancy so that does have an impact.

As relations have broken down, I would suggest its best to take it unless you can really see a future there. However, if they've offered you a package to go, it must be because they consider you being a risk of some sort of claim...so I'd take the deal but negotiate higher.

As someone who works in HR and is on the other side of the desk, there is always approval to go higher than the first offer. Just dont be difficult about it, play the game and say you are interested in exploring this resolution for you all however have finances and future earnings to consider.

Before signing the agreement, you should get independent legal advice which the other party should pay or at least contribute towards, so take the paperwork to them and let them give you an idea of what's fair in these particular circumstances.

So what’s the alternative? If things have broken down to the point where they are offering you a settlement, it doesn’t sound particularly feasible to stay.

I took a years salary and used it to start a business.

Definitely not. I love my job!

The jobs market is horrific especially in your 50s. It’s taking a very long time to find work I’m still looking…if you think you can get work easily then yep but think carefully.

If you think you have options, I'd take it.

If it happened in my role, I'd take it because I'm in something fairly niche where they are always short of people, so I know I can get another role quite easily at the moment still. I'm 48 but the job is pretty age blind - I have colleagues doing same role between mid 20s and early 60s.

Get your CV updated and with a trusted recruiter to see how you fare. I am similar age and lost my job in November and still unemployed. Getting interviews and getting to final stages but younger cheaper people being recruited. Expect to be out of work longer than you think...

A full years salary tax free is much more than a regular year’s salary. I’d take it! You’ve got a good 18 months to find a job. That’s plenty of time, even in the current tough market. They obviously want you out so staying would just be painful for everyone involved. Mainly you! If you stay there’s always the very real chance that they’ll get rid of you another way, without the pay!

I had a tax-free settlement 🤷🏼‍♀️

I would as the payout (for me) would be enough to clear my mortgage & have a few quid left over.

I have just had to do this at nearly 48yrs. The restructure I was in was toxic and there was little trust in the leadership. The payout was a combination of PILON, voluntary and redundancy pay at twice the legal amount, next years prorated bonu and the rest of my holiday pay so significant.

However I do not have another job yet despite the restructure being announced in February and leaving at the end of April through a difficult combination of a hard market and location. What I am doing is applying for part time shop jobs. I actually have a third interview coming up for a high-end retailer whose interview process was actually harder than some corporate roles I have had. If I get it, it will add value to my CV by adding sales, KPIs and hands on customer experience. It really depends to me how much you can pivot but also if your relationship is broken working in Tesco might be more fun.

It entirely depends on your current financial position. Have you got great equity in your house, a really good pension after 20 years? If this wasn't an issue, at what age were you hoping to retire?

The simplest thing to do is to stall them while scoping out the market. You DO NOT have to work on their timetable. It's already the new financial year. If there is no interest from the market through May/June then I'd hold on because it will be dead over the summer months. In the meantime, start building a body of evidence that will support your negotiations.

I would and I did. Life’s too short to be miserable. Dont regret it - I took time off to get my head together after then went back to work.

I'd take it. If my company offers someone a settlement, they want you gone. It's not really a situation you can walk back from. IIRC these settlements are tax-free, so I'd take the money and look for something else.

I didn't take redundancy when I was offered it in my early 50s for over 2 years pay. For me, it wasn't enough to retire and pay off the mortgage and put the kids through university if I couldn't get another job. The colleagues who did take it were either child free and could move for work or had older children and so retired with a big boost to their pension (you can put up to £60K per year in a pension but can use your previous 3 years allowance as well when getting a big settlement which reduces the tax you have to pay. Only possible if you have accessible savings though).

Absolutely. If you don't take it (or negotiate a better offer as Pp have suggested) you are likely to find yourself unemployed within 6 months through a capability procedure / PIP. Don't kid yourself that will be done fairly when they've already decided they want you gone.

Exactly, better to go with as much as you can get, although I see that it would be 9 months even if it was a forced redundancy.

When it happened to me I wanted to benefit from a training scheme for people made redundant, but I wasn't able to because I'd accepted the settlement. It didn't stop me claiming unemployment, however, but the rules may have changed now.

What I don't understand is that if it's public sector, isn't it possible to transfer?