Redundancy Dilema

Granville23

Hi, My dilema.

I am in my early fifties and have been working nights for roughly 14 years. Over the past 5 or 6 years I have been finding it hard. I sometimes cant sleep during the day and at weekends I dont cope with the change of sleep pattern, end up sleeping at wrong times and awake when i should be a sleep, I dont have any "Get up and Go" and basically feeling like a zombie. I have a child who it seems not long ago was 7 and is now 13, I dont know where all the years have gone. I have no social life but do have a decent bank balance as I have not been spending.

Early this year i was exhausted and was close on chucking it in, i managed to get some energy from somwhere and plodded on and after a summer holiday I felt a little better. The company I work for has been going through some changes and we were supprised that it was still going. I said to myself that if redundancy came up i would take it and look for work with more social hours.

Well the offer of redundancy has come up, but now it is avaiable I am scared of walking away from a regular wage, and that in this finacial climate I wont find another job, or find I am in a worse position.

I would just like to hear from anyone their views on this especially if you have been in a similar situation. Thanks

getmore4less

Whats the package?

How long can you last on this, savings and 6months JSA?

wellused

Granville23 I am in a similar situation to you in the fact that my employment requires me to work 7 weeks of nights out of 13 plus 8 weekend shifts out of 13, 4 of which are double shifts either Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday. I used to work 8 weekend shifts which were usually Sundays as Saturday nights were staffed by volunteers who were eager to work nights. In short I loath working nights but due to an understanding manager he usually keeps me on days if it is possible. The company has offered severance which I have worked out that by taking my pension early, age 58, and using the lump sum plus the severance package I can afford to live on it without having to depend on getting another job. I know that when the company downsizes those who remain will no doubt have to work more night shifts, so I am seriously thinking of taking the money and leaving. The problem is that even though I detest my official working patterns and I know that they will probably get worse in the future, leaving a secure job with a decent wage is a massive leap into the unknown. Especially for someone who has been used to earning a wage for the last 43 years. If I make the wrong decision it will be a case of "I made the bed I will have to lie on it". Scary stuff indeed.

Granville23

Hi guys, Thanks for your replies.

I will get about 11k but with my savings I probably wouldnt be entitled to JSA. With that though, i could last for 9 to 12 months. I would try not to break into savings coz once its gone it gone and I havent got much of a pension when I can draw it.

If I left I would take a month off and try and get fitter but if I signed on i would have to be actively seeking employment so dont know there.

it is scary stuff, a big decision, i know what I would like to do but it is going ahead with it and facing the consequencies. I would just have to try and be a bit more positive in my thinking. I am going to do a list with pros and cons at weekend and see what i come up with.

cheers

getmore4less

Contributions JSA is not means tested.

If they pay PILON you can still get JSA.

Does the £11k include PILON or will they expect you to work notice.

with 14 years service that will at least 12 weeks notice.

wellused

Granville23 you may be entitled to claim contribution based job seekers allowance for up to 182 days as this is not effected by any savings that you may have, to qualify for this depends on how much national insurance you have paid over the last two years. The pro's and con's list is the way forward though as it can be quite difficult to get the problem into focus without thinking logically. Good luck and stay positive.

whitewing

Does your missus work? If so, I would go for it (I have been made redundant twice, and it's not easy but has always pushed me when I was afraid to jump, and has always had a positive outcome). What I would also do, once you have left, is revamp your finances, maybe cut down groceries shopping - all the changes that you can make with sufficient time to do so that are not actually noticeable. You will have to be careful not to blow your redundancy though. I would also be inclined to do a small amount of regular voluntary work right from the start to keep a routine, a fresh reference, and your confidence.

Granville23

Thanks guys, here is a little more detail.

getmoreforless,

Does the £11k include PILON or will they expect you to work notice.

The 11k doesnt include PILON and I get feeling I wont have to work it.

wellused,

depends on how much national insurance you have paid over the last two years.

I have paid the usual amount of national insurance for at least 12 yrs

and whitewing,

Does your missus work?

I dont have a misses, but I am what you could say "a part time dad" to 13yr old daughter.

getmore4less

OK so there will be notice pay(or work) so thats another 12 weeks net min. and 6 months JSA if you are looking for work.

As part of the preparation, if you do go down this route, of having to make your money last, make sure you have done a budget and look at all outgoings.

You might be supprised at how much you could cut back, some expences are just to be at work so they go but you add in looking for new job costs.

With a good look at the finances you may find you ould stretch the oney a lot further than you think.

If you have not done it before a good template to start budgeting in a SOA
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

For ideas on where savings can be made have a look at some threads on debtfreewanabe, or even start your own.

The idea is tbe prepared and then hope you get a job and don't need to make the money last.

whitewing

If you don't have a missus at the moment that would make life a bit simpler in that you don't have someone else feeling so uncertain.

What maintenance do you pay at the moment? Would you be able to/willing to keep it at the same rate? Or get opinions here on a realistic rate going forward.

I do think that the positives will outweigh the negatives, although I wouldn't expect it to be easy to get another job - by which I mean, don't wait until you have a few hundred less before you start looking and also when you get a new job, don't assume it will last years, keep things frugal and continue to give yourself options.

pompeyrich

Get your CV updated and upload on CV Library, Monster or similar and see what happens. Probably not the same all over the Country but I was amazed at how many calls I got, following my recent redundancy.