New job offer during redundancy consultations

[1sttimeboveymum]

My current employer is currently going through a redundancy consultation and I’m 98% sure I’ll be made redundant.

Since they announced the redundancies I’ve been applying for jobs and had a second interview this week. If they offer me the job next week do I tell my employer and hand in my resignation or do I wait until the 8th September (when they will start notifying individuals of redundancy) and then negotiate a slightly earlier notice period to start the new job?

i have a 2 month notice period and if I was to wait the extra 2 weeks to find out if I’m being made redundant I would either have to ask to end my employment early, ask the new employer to wait an extra 2 weeks or take annual leave from my current employer and start at the new job whilst I’m still technically employed by the old job.

ideally I want my redundancy money as have been there several years but ultimately the new job is the most important part (if im offered the role)

Take your Annual Leave.

I would try to get your redundancy pay. Have you told your new job how long your notice period is? Could you tell them it's 3 months?

Is there an option to take voluntary redundancy for an enhanced pay offer?

Unlikely to work if the employer is contacted for a reference. You would probably forfeit any redundancy pay once you hand notice in. However onboarding can take a while.

The problem is that if your current employers get a whiff that you have been offered the new job, they’d be unlikely to make you redundant- it’ll save them a fair bit of money if they don’t have to pay you out. So it’s a question of whether you can stall the new employers from taking up references etc until the redundancy decision is announced.
The notice part is less important, there’s not much they can do if you give less than your contractual notice. They’d probably be pleased to let you go early as it would mean they have to pay you less, and not deal with another disgruntled member of staff in the office. Even if they want you to stay to the end, they can’t make you.

In the first interview I said it was 2 or 3 months but that I would need to check. They didn’t ask at the second interview but if they offer me the job next week I’m not sure what notice period to go with. Is there a way for them to find out it’s 2 months if I tell them it’s 3?

No they won't be able to check this. Do you need / want the redundancy payout?

I would like it as I feel like I deserve it but if I didn’t get it I wouldn’t be that upset as I’d be lucky to have managed to get a job in my sector so quickly. It’s not a huge amount of money so wouldn’t be life changing but would be nice to add to our rainy day fund

I’ve volunteered for VR but there’s no enhanced pay deal due to the size of the company and the amount of redundancies although they did say they were happy to negotiate notice periods if we found employment elsewhere

Be honest with them? We’ve certainly waited for a new colleague so she could get a redundancy payout. We were happy to!

Wait until the 8th. If you don't get the redundancy then you can hand notice in. Will the new job have asked for references already? Your old job would be expecting people to apply for new jobs if they are worried about losing their current one. My old firm actually gave people time off to apply for other jobs it didn't go against anyone for the VER payment, it was a large and decent company though.

Firstly - will they be asking you to work your notice or will they be paying you all in lieu? Have they said? Ask during the consultation if it's not clear.

If you have volunteered I would chase this up, are they willing to confirm sooner? Frame it as trying to give reassurance to colleagues still in consultation.

If they won't confirm your VR, do NOT resign until they confirm decisoon to make you redundant because you will not get your redundancy payment.

Two weeks on top of a two month notice period is not a great deal longer for your new employer to wait, often new employees take holiday between jobs so you could easily go from one to the other.

If new employer says no, they won't wait, then suggest to old employer that they terminate your employment early by however many days of annual leave you have (don't try to start new job while technically still employed,).

If they won't, there are specific provisions in the Employment Rights Act for precisely this situation when employees want to leave early to start a new job when being asked to work their notice on redundancy. Google "serving counter notice" - in your case I would say you are serving 6 weeks notice. They can challenge this and say if you leave you won't get your redundancy pay but you could bring a tribunal claim for this and honestly at this point, I suspect they would give up rather than waste time and costs arguing about statutory redundancy pay.

If they won't agree to releasing you early, do just serve notice and start anyway even if you won't get your redundancy pay. They cannot hold you to work your notice period. Do be upfront with new employer at that point that you are willing to do that if they want you and aren't willing to wait two weeks (but then it is their call).

Years ago my friend did this. She found a new job and negotiated her notice from 3 to 2 months so she has redundancy on the Friday and the new role on the Monday.

I wouldn't walk away without the redundancy.