Wait For Voluntary Redundancy Payment vs. Taking New Job Immediately

notsurewhichnametouse · 8 August 2018 at 1:10PM

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice and blunt/honest opinions please on the following situation:

Worked in a manager role for big FTSE 100 employer for 14 years
Told in May '18 that over the next few months there would be enhanced voluntary redundancy terms available due to forthcoming changes in employee terms and conditions (pay etc likely to be reduced)
At some point over the next 3 or 4 months I am 99% guaranteed to be eligible for a release payment of 13 months salary
In the interim period I started looking for and have (quickly) found a new job
I'm now torn between 'waiting' for the release payment (and then looking for new employment) - or taking the new job immediately with no release payment
Pros - no gap in monthly earnings from one job to the next, new job sounds great (flexible working, a salary increase of 10% vs. what I earn now etc)
Cons - I would miss out on a life changing sum of money (c.£70k) - especially I am fairly sure I could find a new role quickly (but have been spooked by one or two great people that I have worked with over the last few years having spent ages (up to a year!) finding a new role!)

If I accept the new job (new company) and then two weeks later my current company push the button on the release payments I would be gutted (£70k would be a lot to 'lose'). If I don't accept the job in favour of waiting for the release payment, it could then take several months to come through - if I then get the £70k but it takes a few months to get a new job (and/or I end up in a job I don't really want to keep paying the bills) I will look back and think why the heck didn't I take the job I really wanted.

I've started to ramble sorry so I'll stop here - I appreciate this is a total 'first world' problem (i.e. £70k or a great new job is a decision most people would love to have to make) - but it's a big one for me and my family so any advice that you've got would be really appreciated.

sangie595 · 8 August 2018 at 4:31PM

I'd have to say that you and your family would be even more gutted if you didn't get another job (and that's assuming you got the voluntary redundancy agreed anyway). If you have the perfect job landed and ready to go, that's a certainty. Nothing else in this scenario is. So you won't be losing out on £70k. It was never there. If you stay it might never be there either. And how gutted will you be if you stay and don't get it??!!

lincroft1710 · 8 August 2018 at 5:14PM

Is not a manager paid to make decisions?

Surely this decision does not need a lot of thought. You have the offer of a better paying job and continuous employment. The £70K payout could still fail to materialise and even if does, you may fail to find another suitable job in the short term.

I am certain you know what you have to do, so do it

getmore4less · 8 August 2018 at 8:17PM

I knew it was coming and hung on as the job was good anyway so not a problem to stay.

You don't get a lot of chances to cash in service on good rates.

Network will give you a good idea of your position in the pecking order on the open market.

ChuckMountain · 21 August 2018 at 4:45PM

The flip side of the argument, taking the new job is that you will be into a probation period of possibly 6 months, with very little protection should it not work out.

For the first two years with the new employer you won't be eligible for statutory redundancy so you have lost out on 14 years service potentially should the company start making people redundant.

What's your current notice period? Can you factor that in to help you?

Is the £70k post tax or just the 13 months salary?

Depending on how this is structured, if it is a redundancy ex gratia payment then the first £30k would be tax free and the whole lot NI free (excluding PILON).

Even it was taxed as you would be paid in one month the NI which is not cumulative would be lower than what you have paid over the year.

It could end up being significantly more than 13 months net pay as a result.

Depending on your skillset and experience really then determines whether you can get the roles out there. How many roles did you apply before getting the new one?

jonnygee2 · 21 August 2018 at 11:38PM

Being in a position where you are redundant and do not have another job lined up can be very stressful. The longer gaps in your employment become, the harder becoming employed becomes. It's a vicious loop, I've been there (if only for a few weeks) and it was very unpleasant.

You have gotten a better job at a company you like the look of, at just the right time. It's a win. Forget about the payout, you don't need it.

ChuckMountain · 21 August 2018 at 11:48PM

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Being in a position where you are redundant and do not have another job lined up can be very stressful. The longer gaps in your employment become, the harder becoming employed becomes. It's a vicious loop, I've been there (if only for a few weeks) and it was very unpleasant.

Yes but then also people can take out time from the career. It's not like he is going to stress about paying the mortgage for a few months given the size of the pay out. If you have only been out for a few weeks it shouldn't matter at all but it does depend on the job.

jonnygee2 wrote: »

You have gotten a better job at a company you like the look of, at just the right time. It's a win. Forget about the payout, you don't need it.

Really, how do you know what he needs. It's £70k it's not a couple of quid we are talking about here. He could walk out of the old role into the new job and be let go in the 1st month with nothing. Then you really are up the creek without a paddle. :eek:

There seems to be a high percentage chance (99%) of getting a deal.

We don't how the new company compares to the old one. The job might sound great but then most people hiring want it sound that way to get the best talent. The new company might be much smaller and a risky proposition.

I would want to consider my options very carefully, it's not a black and white decision and I don't envy the OP's decision.

If the company want him that much, if they have not already discussed start date and notice period I would consider bringing that up depending on how you get on with them.

TELLIT01 · 4 September 2018 at 12:03PM

If you are pretty confident that you could get another job in a comparatively short timescale then it may well be worth hanging on for a not insubstantial payoff. Even if you managed to get a less than ideal job immediately after redundancy that would reduce the amount you are taking from the redundancy package, and you can continue to look for the ideal job.
We don't know the financial position of the OP but hopefully after years in a well paid job there is some financial buffer in place. The only certainty is that there is no certainty that the ideal job will come around again any time soon.
When I was made redundant everybody, including the Job Centre, said I'd find another job quickly because of my experience and they were wrong. For various reasons relocation wasn't an option and a number of large organisations based in my area closed in a comparatively short time. That resulted in a glut of skilled applicants and a severe shortage of companies taking staff on. I was out of work for far longer than I wanted to be and did end up in a job I hated, and stuck it out until retirement.

Wait For Voluntary Redundancy Payment vs. Taking New Job Immediately

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