Voluntary redundancy and negotiations - out of my depth!

rozmister

I've put in for voluntary redundancy at work. I really want to develop my career and unfortunately there are no options to switch jobs or gain training where I am. I've taken on projects outside my remit and secondments but the situation is dire.

They're looking for voluntary redundancies and I've put my name forward. They originally said we'd all get our proposed packages by the beginning of December and our meetings with HR to discuss them would be during December. I know my package has been put together but it hasn't come through and I'm starting to panic. We all have to be gone by the end of March ready for the next tax year. I want to look for another job but can't start until my redundancy is started (if I'm going to shift from my chosen career id really like to get a payout for it) and the later everything gets the less time I have to look and interview around work. What should I do?

Also can you negotiate at the HR meeting? My line manager said payment in lieu would be a possibility and if my notice is significantly shortened I think I'll need it so I can manage applications and interviews which would be hard around full time hours.

Anyone got any experience of this? I'm out of my depth by far, I'm in my 20s and have never left a job without something else lined up & obviously never dealt with redundancy! All help appreciated!

asajj

It is only one week into December - not sure why you are panicking? Christmas period is a horrible time to look for a job anyway. You can negotiate with HR but doesn't mean you will get what you want.
If you want to learn about timelines, ask your manager tomorrow at work. Between now and March, there is a good gap.

sangie595

And until such time as you know the exact terms of the redundancy, I'd hold off on getting a job - many agreements are voided if you get a job before you leave.

rozmister

sangie595 wrote: »

And until such time as you know the exact terms of the redundancy, I'd hold off on getting a job - many agreements are voided if you get a job before you leave.

I haven't done anything yet but there's a lot of talk about how we're going to be helped into other employment so I assumed I could accept a job before I left (to start after my end date obviously). They're desperate for people to go, they've got to make hundreds of thousands of pounds of staff savings by April so they need people out.

rozmister

asajj wrote: »

It is only one week into December - not sure why you are panicking? Christmas period is a horrible time to look for a job anyway. You can negotiate with HR but doesn't mean you will get what you want.
If you want to learn about timelines, ask your manager tomorrow at work. Between now and March, there is a good gap.

I'm worried that with the Christmas wind down nothing will be done in December & for at least half of January I'm unavailable for meetings (because of work commitments). I want to get things moving so I have enough time to make sense of the offer and work everything out because I don't know enough to just look and know if it's ok.

sangie595

rozmister wrote: »

I haven't done anything yet but there's a lot of talk about how we're going to be helped into other employment so I assumed I could accept a job before I left (to start after my end date obviously). They're desperate for people to go, they've got to make hundreds of thousands of pounds of staff savings by April so they need people out.

Never assume anything. If you leave and don't get any redundancy it will be a bigger saving!

getmore4less

If the latest time line is out my end of march I would work on that for now.

How much notice do you have?
Allthough they want people to go if you are doing something they need that will need doing/handed over.

With VR everything is negotiable but many places have a fixed package take it or leave it, the only bit up for negotiation then becomes notice and access to work facilities to look for work

Work it, Garden leave, PILON.
If working it, reasonable time off to look for another job, many places are flexible with that if they want to keep some goodwill.
Also access to a private room for phone calls, support for doing applications, like printing, agreed references.

You can often judge if a place is going to be accomodating, some just like the people going out of the place so PILON or garden leave.

If looking to change direction are there things you can be doing to enhance that like training, maybe the company will support that with time off.

The other prep you can do is start the job search, but stop short of applications, any places with jobs between now and when you can kick start for real are potential targets for a letter and CV even if the previous jobs have gone.

Did they not give any indication of the packages on offer even just statutory/enhanced?

rozmister

getmore4less wrote: »

If the latest time line is out my end of march I would work on that for now.

How much notice do you have?
Allthough they want people to go if you are doing something they need that will need doing/handed over.

With VR everything is negotiable but many places have a fixed package take it or leave it, the only bit up for negotiation then becomes notice and access to work facilities to look for work

Work it, Garden leave, PILON.
If working it, reasonable time off to look for another job, many places are flexible with that if they want to keep some goodwill.
Also access to a private room for phone calls, support for doing applications, like printing, agreed references.

You can often judge if a place is going to be accomodating, some just like the people going out of the place so PILON or garden leave.

If looking to change direction are there things you can be doing to enhance that like training, maybe the company will support that with time off.

The other prep you can do is start the job search, but stop short of applications, any places with jobs between now and when you can kick start for real are potential targets for a letter and CV even if the previous jobs have gone.

Did they not give any indication of the packages on offer even just statutory/enhanced?

All they said was that they're restructuring and are inviting people to put themselves forward for voluntary redundancy if they think they might like it and that the voluntary package would be more generous than if we ended up with a forced redundancy.

I don't know what my notice period is, I haven't even got an up to date contract. I was originally employed for 12 months and then an extra 2 months and then I was made permanent but didn't sign any paperwork.

I'm looking to change direction but within the same sector. I've got a vocational degree and work in the area I trained in but I've always been not for profit/government but I've begun looking at private sector jobs or possibly specialising in one area rather than being a jack of all trades. I can't afford any training and my work can't offer any support in that area, I've been seconded all over to pick up more variety whilst there.

My line manager and her manager are both very responsible kind people that I have a lot of respect for, they're really doing their best in extremely difficult circumstances. I don't believe they'd set out to get one over me and they'd be as accommodating as possible (within HRs limits). I thought I may get gardening leave because if I were to go rogue I could bring the place to its knees as I could cause havoc. My job is deemed high risk as I deal with a lot of very sensitive information about the organisation and manage public channels - I would never go rogue though and I think my bosses probably know that!

getmore4less

If you manage the social media they will need to replace somehow if that is considered important.

Plenty of places need people with skills in that direction so networking opportunities.

Going rouge is a very career a limiting move whatever you end up doing. never burn a bridge or be seen as someone that might it's a small world.

Tophill

Are you sure it is redundancy and not VER which is voluntary early release? It is important that you know for sure. There is a difference.

If it is VER, I have just successfully negotiated an early release situation with my current employer with my leaving date of 31st of December and a start date of my new job of 5th January. Also a public sector situation.

Important things to remember:

HR are not your friends, they represent the employer and in this situation their task is to make savings.
It is a voluntary process, you do not have to accept their offer and can withdraw your interest at any time, so can your employer.

So given that you want to leave with a payout and by the 31st of March 2016. Here is a plan of action for you based on my recent experiences.

1. Put in for Voluntary release, but be clear that you would not be able to leave without a financial package.
2. Inform your employer that you will be applying for jobs, but this is simply to "test the market" and help inform your final decision. At this stage this is the truth and if potential employers are interested they will be looking for current references
3. Begin applying for jobs independently.
4. Keep annual leave for attending interviews etc.
5. Put adequate time aside to apply for jobs, put time in your diary.
6. This is the difficult bit - commit to leaving in your head, start thinking about your new employer and stop working so hard for your current employer, you need head space to find new employment.
7. Make it clear to potential future employers you will not be available until the 1st of April 2016 and if asked tell them it is a voluntary redundancy situation. Most decent employers will understand.
8. If you receive a job offer prior to your VER offer being signed you need to decide whether the new job is worth giving up the financial package, if it is not refuse the job offer.
9. Once you have signed your release paperwork you are confirming your leaving date, stick to your leaving date.

I hope this helps, I am going to a position that I am really excited about, I am receiving a reasonable pay out and my new job is at a higher salary, however I have given up the security of a permanent contract for a 3 year fixed term contract and after 20 years in my current post will be the "new girl".

I would be very rich if I had a pound for every time I have heard that I am lucky or have fallen on my feet. I am neither, it has taken courage, planning and sensible financial planning using this site.

Good luck