Voluntary separation?

saajan_12

BarleyGB said:

With regard to the package, half of it (£16000) is contractual 90 days notice (pay and benefits) that im assuming would not change if compulsory redundancy was to take place,

The redundancy compensation element would be  £4300 (instead of £16000) £11700 lower than the current offer overall doesn't seem like a huge £amount at risk vs best case scenario of continued employment or the prospect of staying another 3,6,12 months.

Some other factors:

Company pension contribution is 12% (about £500 per month) which is pretty good, also a factor which forms part of my thinking.

There have been 1-2 previous rounds of voluntary separation, I think the company are hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies and could initiate another round of voluntary separation before taking this approach.

Annual bonus (which I believe is likely to take place in some form) would be £3-4k in July)

Non financial considerations are important, i.e. current flexibility, acceptable level of pressure in current roll, professionalism and friendliness of colleagues, comfort in roll (knowing the job and expectations).  

Small chance that rejecting the offer could result in a higher offer in future?

I am confident I could find another role in 3-4 months, but based on some job search this week I think the likelihood of replacing my current salary and benefits is low.  Job search is time consuming, a lot of uncertainties.


Overall

I just don't feel inclined to accept the offer, it doesn't seem attractive enough, all along my gut feel is to reject it.  I think id regret taking it more than id regret staying and facing compulsory redundancy. 

Fair enough, that does change things - the difference is smaller vs compulsory redundancy and the notice pay would be taxable.
Effectively the 16k redundancy is 5 months worth when compared to your post tax salary. So while good, it could ore likely be surpassed by usual salary you earn before they get to compulsory redundancies, plus the chance that the compulsory doesn't affect you. 

Cobbler_tone

You seem to have answered your own question. Chances are you might carry on in employment there until you are ready to retire. I have 30 years service and £120k redundancy would be ideal but I never include it in my thinking. It just means that if I was offered/forced it, it is around two years worth of pay and I wouldn't have to work again.
Those who covert it are either miserable or usually disappointed. 
You have to think of the add on benefits of pension contributions, healthcare etc.

We have had some people in c£30k jobs at our place, who just moved to c£40k jobs recently. By the time they were leaving I did point out that two of them were actually worse off due to our company benefits. Sometimes the grass is greener, sometimes it isn't. My salary is £63k, total benefits are almost £90k and I am sure I am pushing £100k fully costed. When I was on around £50k (and unhappy at the time) I was offered a role externally on £75k. I turned it down because the place I was offered didn't sound too stable (hence why they wanted someone in) and there was just too much 'insurance' around my current position. Pension contributions were lower, there was no company share scheme and I had 25 years of redundancy protection. I asked for 9 months notice, which would have been enough to gamble and make the jump but they wouldn't budge on 3. I'd never leave now, about from retirement/redundancy. 

I think it is a sensible, balanced decision and if you are lucky it may come around again in 2 years time. I often think it is all about 'positioning' if you are in a position of any influence. I would never rule out your ability around future earning potential though. It may not be at the same pay/level but chances are you won't need it to be.

BarleyGB

Cobbler_tone said:

You seem to have answered your own question. Chances are you might carry on in employment there until you are ready to retire. I have 30 years service and £120k redundancy would be ideal but I never include it in my thinking. It just means that if I was offered/forced it, it is around two years worth of pay and I wouldn't have to work again.
Those who covert it are either miserable or usually disappointed. 
You have to think of the add on benefits of pension contributions, healthcare etc.

We have had some people in c£30k jobs at our place, who just moved to c£40k jobs recently. By the time they were leaving I did point out that two of them were actually worse off due to our company benefits. Sometimes the grass is greener, sometimes it isn't. My salary is £63k, total benefits are almost £90k and I am sure I am pushing £100k fully costed. When I was on around £50k (and unhappy at the time) I was offered a role externally on £75k. I turned it down because the place I was offered didn't sound too stable (hence why they wanted someone in) and there was just too much 'insurance' around my current position. Pension contributions were lower, there was no company share scheme and I had 25 years of redundancy protection. I asked for 9 months notice, which would have been enough to gamble and make the jump but they wouldn't budge on 3. I'd never leave now, about from retirement/redundancy. 

I think it is a sensible, balanced decision and if you are lucky it may come around again in 2 years time. I often think it is all about 'positioning' if you are in a position of any influence. I would never rule out your ability around future earning potential though. It may not be at the same pay/level but chances are you won't need it to be.

I really appreciate your response, perhaps part of my posting was to sense check that I wasn't being silly and had thought through all the factors.  Answering some of the replies made me realise that id effectively made my decision.

I've spent many years in my career chasing money, doing challenging jobs and dealing with the associated stress and long hours, I think im effectively winding down now.  I like my current job & employer, there are good benefits and its not too stressful.  Ive just had a chat with my mom and realised while the money is important, im lucky that its not the most important factor to me any more, life balance, health and happiness are far more important.  

Im very much aware of the grass not being greener on the other side approach, ive a friend who seems to frequently change jobs but never appears happy with what he's got (always chasing something else).  I know from past experience it takes 6-12 months to properly settle into a new job, I don't want that again.

I'll be confirming my rejection tomorrow and will try to revisit this thread in 6-12 months to update on what happened.