Voluntary or Compulsory???

DAVEYROBBO

My wife has been offered voluntary severance from her job within the civil service having 24 years service. The offer is approx £25k and equivalent to 3 years of tax free pay - she works part time. This would just enable us to pay off our mortgage with no direct impact on our standard of life. Without wanting to appear greedy but wanting to have all info available before making a decision (we have until 12th Dec to accept offer) does anyone know if Compulsory Redundancy payments would or historically have, been higher in similar circumstances. Her employer wants to lose 1000 staff across the country and her grade is first in the firing line.
Regards
Dave

SandC

Hi Davey, that's a very, very good offer indeed.

Here's a link re statutory redundancy pay:

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/employment-legislation/employment-guidance/page33157.html

It goes according to age and length of service and is worked out on week's pay. So even if your wife were to get maximum of 1.5 weeks pay x 20 weeks (that's the max number of weeks) then still it would only be £495 per week x 20 which is £9900.

Many companies do pay above the statutory redundancy pay but it's usual for the best offers to be for voluntary.

As there are two salaries coming in and she is only part time I would, to be honest, bite their hands off with that offer!

Good luck.

Andy_L

DAVEYROBBO wrote: »

Without wanting to appear greedy but wanting to have all info available before making a decision (we have until 12th Dec to accept offer) does anyone know if Compulsory Redundancy payments would or historically have, been higher in similar circumstances. Her employer wants to lose 1000 staff across the country and her grade is first in the firing line.
Regards
Dave

Broadly speaking voluntary is 50-75%ishs of compulsory
http://www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.civilservice_pensions.gov.uk/publications/ERRC06_150508%20pdf.ashx
Compulsory terms are:
A: All age groups
One month’s final pensionable
earnings for each year of
reckonable service; plus
B: For those over 30 who have over
5 years’ qualifying service
The lower of:
One month’s final pensionable
earnings for each year of reckonable
service after completing fi ve
years’ qualifying service; or
One month’s final pensionable
earnings for each year of reckonable
service after age 30; plus
C: For those over 35
One month’s final pensionable
earnings for each year of
reckonable service after age 35.
We limit your lump sum
compensation payment to a
maximum payment of three years’
final pensionable earnings.

Voluntary terms are:
A: Two weeks’ final pensionable
earnings for each year of reckonable
service during the fi rst fi ve years
of qualifying service; plus
B: Three weeks’ final pensionable
earnings for each year of reckonable
service during the next fi ve years
of qualifying service; plus
C: Four weeks’ final pensionable
earnings for each year of reckonable
service after the fi rst ten years’
of qualifying service; plus
Two weeks’ final pensionable
earnings for each year of
reckonable service after age 40.
We limit your lump sum
compensation payment to a
maximum payment of two years’
final pensionable earnings.

However, just to confuse the issue, some departments are asking for volunteers & offering them compulsory terms to avoid the headaches of compulsory redundancy situations. Considering my bolds I suspect that's the deal your wife's been offered.

DAVEYROBBO

Andy, SandC,
Thanks for your replys they have been most helpful.
Andy I suspect that my wife has been offered the Voluntary rates based on the figures when running them through the Civil Service Compensation Scheme examples (which they thoughtfully made reference too, but left out of the offer pack)
Her voluntary offer according to the leaflet comes out @ £24900 against the £24800 they offered not too far out and part time working hours probably factored in.
Her compulsory offer by my workings out would be approx £54000 (capped to 3 yrs earnings as figure should be £61500).
Even after tax there would be a further £18000 on top of the voluntary offer certainly food for thought!
We shall see, I think either way we cant lose.
Regards
Davey:T

firesidemaid

also, how old is your wife currently and how will this affect her pension and any other benefits, life assurance etc?

SandC

Holy crap you are kidding??? £54k redundancy pay for a part timer?

Sorry but I know redundancy is not a good thing for anyone to go through but if this is what tax payers' money is being spent on in the civil service.....

Are you sure about that? Sorry but that is just disgusting......

I'm seriously shocked.

DAVEYROBBO

DAVEYROBBO wrote: »

My wife has been offered voluntary severance from her job within the civil service having 24 years service. The offer is approx £25k and equivalent to 3 years of tax free pay - she works part time. This would just enable us to pay off our mortgage with no direct impact on our standard of life. Without wanting to appear greedy but wanting to have all info available before making a decision (we have until 12th Dec to accept offer) does anyone know if Compulsory Redundancy payments would or historically have, been higher in similar circumstances. Her employer wants to lose 1000 staff across the country and her grade is first in the firing line.
Regards
Dave

Above section should have read:

equivalent to 3yrs tax free pay should have read equivalent to 3yrs take home pay as a tax free lump sum.
Davey

DAVEYROBBO

If you run it through using the examples given and substitute in with our figures that is what it comes out as.
She has been part time for about the last 8yrs (22hrs p/w) but was full time for the previous 16.
The framework is there set out all i am doing is using that framework.
We dont make the rules - we just follow them.

DAVEYROBBO

firesidemaid wrote: »

also, how old is your wife currently and how will this affect her pension and any other benefits, life assurance etc?

She is 43, Her pension will freeze but is index linked and she will start taking it at 60. The life insurance bit I am not too sure about will check.

SandC

Sorry, wasn't getting at you, it's just way over the top that's all. I was sat there thinking the voluntary was highly generous.

DAVEYROBBO

SandC wrote: »

Sorry, wasn't getting at you, it's just way over the top that's all. I was sat there thinking the voluntary was highly generous.

And us, but the difference to Compulsory is too big to just walk away from.
The slightly devious ommision of the above document as posted by Andy L is what gets us, we didn't know about that when I posted my original Note although as said it was referenced to in her offer so that must be the framework that they use for calculating these figures. It also explains why several members of the Personnel dept went on Compulsory when they closed it with MUCH bigger lumps than what my wife is being offered.
Whichever way I see it its a win win, our situation would enable her to go with the current offer, she can carry on working until the Compulsory is settled in effect the worst thing that could happen is that she keeps her job!
Friends of ours will not be as fortunate and to them it is a slightly different picture.
Davey