Money Moral Dilemma: Should my daughter return to work for the company that made her redundant?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks…

My daughter was made redundant days before her probation ended - the company was in financial crisis and let go of all the trainees. She was devastated, but has since landed a better-paying job and is very settled there. Now her old company, which has new owners and says it's "doing very well", wants her back - and will match her current salary. She's still sore from the redundancy, but loved the job and has friends there. Should she accept the offer? And if she does and the same happens again, would she have any recourse?

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twopenny

No. She's settled in a better paying job.

You don't take risks for work friends. They could move next week.

If they were offering more and a secure place contract that may be cause for thought but no mention has been made for contracts and security.

What sort of recourse? She'll be last in first out possibility should there be redundancies.

rollingmoon

This would only be a dilemma if they were offering her a significant pay rise… I wouldn't even dignify that with a reply.

PennysIntoPounds

Whether she has recourse if the same thing happens again is not something we can advise on, that depends on what terms the company is offering. I would be asking for a pay rise for the disruption and leaving a place where I'm 'very settled'.

It is nice having friends at work but they may leave, the dynamic might have changed since she left, she might find she's a bit of a different person having been out of that environment. Only she can say if she feels confident enough that a move will make her happier.

However as its apparently your moral dilemma rather than your daughters, you should encourage her to do whatever will bring her the most stability and opportunity to flourish and earn, for her sake and for your peace of mind, and possibly your finances and life plans if she's living at home 🙂

sheramber

With new owners the job may not be the same.

However, it is her decision to make.

liselle

I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to go back.Just see the work friends socially.

ohreallƳ

I wouldn't even consider returning; onwards and upwards.

lostboy2010

maybe if they offered a much better salary than she’s now on with the new company but otherwise definitely not

Missy15

I would definitely say not to return if she were asking me as her mother, however ultimately it's up to her.

As advice I would say, new owners make changes and those changes may make the job less enjoyable than it was before, and her friends could leave for similar reasons.

Plus loyalty to any workplace past or present does not count for much these days, so she owes them nothing.

crispy_duck

This may be a dilemma, but I'm struggling to see the moral aspect of it. She owes nothing to either employer, so whatever she decides she can do so with a clear conscience.

CapricornLass

If she's settled and happy in her new job, then I think she should refuse.

Personally I always think its a mistake to go back. Things will have changed, even the job, and probably she will be working with new people anyway, rather than her friends. She may also not have realised that she will have changed and grown in her new job. What she liked then in the old days might just drive her round the bend now if she went back.

Isn't there a saying that you can't cross the water in a river twice, because its not the same river?