Hard decisions to make re redundancy. Would appreciate some input.

[trixymalixy]

My employer has announced that they are shutting the office I work in and moving all the work down south. I have some hard decisions to make about what I sould do and was looking for some unbiased opinions and maybe some points that I haven't considered.

The work is being transferred over the next 18-24 months although it is looking like my work will have gone by this time next year

I have been with the company 9 years so will be nearly 10 years by the time I am made redundant, so my redundancy payment will be quite good. At the moment I work part time 3 days a week so my redundancy will pay the mortgage for a year. i have the opportunity to go back to work full time in which case my redundancy would pay the mortgage for over 2 years.

We think we can manage on DH's salary alone if we can pay off a loan we have. If I go back to work full time the loan can be paid off with the extra salary i would get.

So I need to make a decision between:

Option 1 - Stay part time at work and wait for redundancy. Pros- I still get to spend 2 days a week with my DS. Cons - reduced redundancy payment and won't have paid off debts. Taking a risk that there will be jobs available in a year.

Option 2 - Go back to work full time and wait for redundancy. Pros - increased redundancy payout and debts paid off. Taking a risk that there will be jobs available in a year. Cons - missing out on my 2 days a week with DS

Option 3 - Find another job now. Pros - Will definitely have a job before being made redundant. Won't be competing with everyone else whi is waiting for redundancy. Cons - Will probably have to go back full time at least for a bit. Will probably have to commute to work as not many jobs in my field where I live. Won't get the redundancy money or my annual bonus.

Then there's the added complication of babies. Before the job cuts were announced we were planning to have another baby next year. We're thinking that maybe we should just go ahead with a baby as there are no guarantees that we can have another baby or how long it might take and family life comes first and we will just have to work round the job thing.

Option1 and 2 pros - will get mat pay and won't be commuting to work while pregnant. Cons - will probably be harder to find another job after being on mat leave for a year.

Option 3 pros - Will have a job to go back to and will be easier asking for part time working. Cons - doesn't look great getting pregnant after starting a new job. No mat pay. Will have long commute while pregnant.

What would you do?

Oops that's quite long.

Still it was useful for me to write it all down even if no-one gets to the end of it!!!

how old is your ds? are you currently on mat leave?

My DS is 20 months. I have been back from mat leave for 8 months now.

Another con of option 2 and 3 is finding extra childcare, but DS's old nursery always seem to have places.

no obviously your not on mat leave, doh, cos you say your working part time.

you say you could manage on your dh's salary if you paid off a loan you have. does this calculation include the fact that your redundnacy payment will pay the mortgage for a year (pt) or 2 years (ft)?

if not then you could just carry on as normal, and try for the baby, then use your redundancy payment to pay off the loan?

We think we could just about manage on DH's salary excluding the redundancy payment. Things would be pretty tight so this would be last resort.

My redundancy payment (part time) would pay off the loan, but there wouldn't be much of it left after that.

The full time option leaves us financially secure, but I would never be able to get back the time I will miss with DS. Maybe I should just look on it as I have been lucky enough to have had that luxury for a short time when most people have to work full time.

Aaagh, I'm so gutted to be having to make decisions like this, my job was just perfect

or option 4 - use your redundancy payment to set yourself up in a small part time business, which will allow to to work from home.

this is what I did (though wasnt made redundant - got a maternity payout from work after going back full time for 6 months). it did a few months to earn a living from it, so you will need to make sure you can manage while the business gets going, but 2 years down the line I am now earning more than i was by working full time in london (because i dont have nursery and train fares), but working locally and part time.

Ooh, what do you do?

oh, but option 4 wont work if you want another baby, as being self employed sucks if you want time off. :-(

well if you went back full time, it would sort you out and you'd be able to spend more time with your ds after you are made redundant, and also you wouldn't be worrying about having to find a job with your ds (and possible a small baby)

I've got a little coffee van, sell cappuccino's and the like every weekday morning 7-11 its a great little business, but it does have its downsides, like if you dont go, you dont get paid.

well, i suppose it depended on what kind of business you wanted to do. There must be lots of options out there, maybe something more home based would be better.

is there an option to up your hours but not full time?

Hi trixy just wanted to wish you luck whatever you decide (we were on the jan 07 thread together!)

I work for Bradford & Bingley so depending what happens this weekend I may be facing redundancy, like you we can just about live on dh's wage but nothing left after bills/food paid. Luckily my mum/mil let me have a couple of days a week free childcare and if thats the case fingers crossed I can find another job its so blimmin stressful isnt it

You may find it easier to find another job, after you have taken redundancy if you have been used to working full time. Part time jobs can be hard to find, or at least it narrows down the opportunities you can apply for.

My SIL gave up her job with BT with a decent payout (2 years salary), paid off their small debts, and then took a job with a supermarket - minimum wage, but works 3 evenings a week and 1 day each weekend - total of 16 hours, bringing in about £400 a month, but she is home all day with her son (aged 4), can take him to and from school everyday, and goes to work at 6pm when her DH is home. It works for them, but it obviously depends upon whether you could live on that sort of money.

Regardless of what you choose to do, it makes financial sense to pay off as much debt as you can so you have reduced your mothly outgoings. Your food bill can be reduced as we dont even spend that much ofr 4 of us! There are plenty of threads with money saving tips for reducing food bills!

Oh no eandh !! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

How are your two lovely DDs?

It's so horrible that so many of us or our DHs are going through this stress at the moment

Andy, I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will have to find a new job on a full time basis. With the way things are at the moment I may be lucky to find any job at all

Thankyou - I have been trying to work out my redundancy package if it does happen but I need to access the internal website tomorrow morning when I go in - the minimum payout would last us 3 months so take sthe pressure of a bit but I have no idea what wlse I could do I have been in banking since 19!!

DD's are fine thankyou (just got back from eurodisney!) Hope DS is okay and I'll keep everything crossed for you xx

slight thread hijack - eandh - lots of ex bank workers are becoming teachers and lecturers, as they can teach business studies, and the like! Maybe not your cup of tea, but I suspect you will have great customer service skills, which can be transeferred into many retail jobs - for which the pay is crap but may work around having kids!

Good luck to you both, and hope things work out for you both. It must be a horrible situation to be in - my DH was in a similar position about 2 years ago (all happened at the same time as his mym dying and me being pg) and they had to re-apply for their jobs, we were fortunate, but his max payout for 24 years with same company was just short of £10k - we could have lived on that for 2 years while saving in childcare, and I am the main earner in the house, but it was a horrible time.

go full time and get pregnant pretty damn quick.

you'll get full redundancy you could start your mat leave early if you missed your ds, and your rights ar protected

DS is fine thanks eandh. Bet your girls had a fab time at eurodisney.

Andy that sounds horrible

Kif, I'm swaying more to that option.

Then I panic and think Oh my God I should just get another job now.

Then I start thinking that DS is the most important thing and it's only money.

It is looking like Option 3 will be best. As DH said I may have all the time in the world to spend with DS if things carry on the way they are going with the economy