Employer gone insolvent

DebzDamian

I hope someone can give me some inspiration. Went to work Friday to be told by my employer that the company had gone under and was in the hands of an insolvency practitioner. Devastated is not even gunna describe the feeling. I’ve been there 12 years and now in my early 50’s the thought of having to start with interviews again is frightening. I know Im probably over panicking and need to just get my !!!!!! in gear and start getting my cv out there but has anyone had this happen to them and do you have any insights. I’ve been told it can take up to 8 weeks to get my redundancy payment so what will happen if I can’t make debt payments at the end of the month. I have no savings and been living payday to payday for years being a single parent for the past 23 years. Long post I know, thanks for reading x

elsien

You can claim jobseekers allowance. You may be entitled to universal credit.
The debt repayments, it really depends what they’re for. There are priority debt such as council tax, and then there are non-secured debts such as credit cards which you can miss payments for if you have to.
For the debt side of things I would suggest heading over to the free want to be section of the forum for advice. For the jobhunting, it is just about getting your CV really up-to-date and getting the applications in. What line of work are you in?

What it’s worth I was made redundant on my 50th birthday. I didn’t find my age my age a factor in getting a new job.

Tucosalamanca

I would suggest approaching your local recruitment agency. Even without a CV it's likely that they can put you straight into temporary employment. That has to be better than trying to claim JSA or Universal Credit.
Good luck with the next chapter...

MattMattMattUK

DebzDamian said:

I hope someone can give me some inspiration. Went to work Friday to be told by my employer that the company had gone under and was in the hands of an insolvency practitioner. Devastated is not even gunna describe the feeling. I’ve been there 12 years and now in my early 50’s the thought of having to start with interviews again is frightening. I know Im probably over panicking and need to just get my !!!!!! in gear and start getting my cv out there but has anyone had this happen to them and do you have any insights.

Your CV should be something you can do in an hour as a rough draft and a good version in an evening, make that a priority. Once you have that apply for a bunch of jobs 20+ and keep applying. The jobs market is still pretty good at the moment so provided you have transferable skills (or specific but in demand skills) then getting a new job quickly should not be too much of an issue.

DebzDamian said:

I’ve been told it can take up to 8 weeks to get my redundancy payment so what will happen if I can’t make debt payments at the end of the month.

Have you been told what you will get, I am guessing statutory as the company is insolvent? Have you worked out what you will get based on employment duration and salary. It can take up to eight weeks, you might also loose some pay already accrued, have you been paid for February or is that still pending and not likely to happen? Others will be able to guide you more on what you will be able to get in terms of benefits, but it will be worth applying immediately. It may also be worth posting an SOA and cutting your costs to the bone just to give you any extra wiggle room that can be found.

DebzDamian said:

I have no savings and been living payday to payday for years being a single parent for the past 23 years. Long post I know, thanks for reading x

You could use this as a springboard to build up some financial resilience, you should get 12 weeks pay based on statutory and that is tax free so it could bet equivalent to 20+ weeks, if you can get another job straight away which you should be able to do, or at least temp initially then permeant job role, you can then use the redundancy money to clear down debts and have an emergency fund. 

TBagpuss

OK,  if you haven't already, take a look at https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent to make sure you know what's happening. 
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Your-Situation/Redundancy may also be helpful, particularly about the timing for when to apply for UC and how your redundancy pay will affect it. Both Turn2Us and https://www.entitledto.co.uk/ have benefits calculators where you can input your details (without your name) to see whether and how much you might be able to claim, both in UC and other benefits. 

Apply ASAP for Jobseekers allowance  https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/eligibility  (this is what used to be 'contributions based job seekers allowance, it's based on your NI record)  https://www.entitledto.co.uk/ 

With debt -  I second the recommendation to check the the debt bards for specific  advice.  It may be worth explaining the situation to your bank, they might be prepared to give you / extend an overdraft for a limited period if you can show them that you will be getting the redundancy and notice pay in the near future.  And if you are eligible for UC I imagine they know that may take 6 weeks or so to process. 

It may also be worth contacting other creditors, they may be able to agree to freeze payments for a month or so - for reputable companies, talking to them before you miss a payment may be more effective than waiting until you are in arrears,  bizarrely they can sometimes do more that way round ( for instance, some mortgage lenders won't agree a payment holiday if you have arrears, but will if you ask before you miss any payments . And an agreed payment holiday may do less damage to your credit record. 

Hopefully, you will be able to find a new job fairly quickly. Consider being flexible in what you look for, a short term job that's less well paid or in a different field from your normal job might be better than being out of work  and shouldn't make it harder to get another job within your field as 'short term job after employer went bankrupt' is a pretty understandable reason for an otherwise unusual 'blip' in your work history. 

Hopefully the insolvency practitioners will clarify things soon - in terms of timescales, when your official last day is etc.
. 

Marcon

DebzDamian said:

I hope someone can give me some inspiration. Went to work Friday to be told by my employer that the company had gone under and was in the hands of an insolvency practitioner. Devastated is not even gunna describe the feeling. I’ve been there 12 years and now in my early 50’s the thought of having to start with interviews again is frightening. I know Im probably over panicking and need to just get my !!!!!! in gear and start getting my cv out there but has anyone had this happen to them and do you have any insights. I’ve been told it can take up to 8 weeks to get my redundancy payment so what will happen if I can’t make debt payments at the end of the month. I have no savings and been living payday to payday for years being a single parent for the past 23 years. Long post I know, thanks for reading x

Nothing terrible, provided you let your creditors know as soon as possible what the situation is, stressing that you intend* to make good any 'missed' payments as soon as matters are resolved, and will keep them informed as things progress. 

*stick to an intention rather than promising that you 'will' do so - if it takes a little while to get a new job, you could give yourself cash flow problems.