Oh- the pay off was about 75% of my annual wage.
I was made redundant in January.
The process is difficult whatever the outcome. Just try and keep on top of your own mental health its a very challenging time. I struggled with perceived stigma of being made redundant, much of which is perceived. Also early 50's it made me feel I was 'on the scrap heap'. I know my redundancy process was also very flawed, and its easy to want to chase that. Part of me wishes I had for 'revenge', but it wouldnt be worth the continued mental impact, or potential financial reward which is capped to roughly £10k, which is not worth the emotional distress for me.
I had a very favourable redundancy payout and Mrs FD earns a decent salary too so money was never a pressure, but I still had the feelings of wanting to contribute. Be aware - redundancy is only tax free on the first £30k everything above that is taxed on earnings in the financial year so can be a substantial bit of your redundancy goes to tax !! Also be aware that if you are made redundant before the end of the tax year they deduct tax from the lump sum based on you continuing to work to the end of the financial year. I didnt work Feb-March this now equates to a fairly substantial tax rebate of approx £4k (if I hadnt pushed on this I dont think I would be getting it back). The tax office agree I am owed it, but I am really having to chase to get it ! Also because I didnt work 3 months of this financial year, it has meant my first pay check is bigger than expected but I havent used my tax allowance at the start of the year. The only thing I need to work out now is do I need to pay 6 months of missed NI to ensure I dont miss out on state pension. (thats all the boring stuff done, but very useful to know stuff !!)
I spent 6 months, biking, doing stuff in the house, actually re setting, something I have not had chance to do since starting working and post the pressures of COVID (work in the NHS). I purposely did not apply for jobs for 3 months to try and understand what I wanted to do next.
I looked at voluntary work, delivery jobs, National trust etc. These lower pressure jobs sound appealing, but actually for where we live they are geographically challenging, or the working hours didnt suit our family life.
I then started missing 'the challenge' and applied for similar roles to what I had been doing, but more focused to the bits I really enjoyed. You have to be ready for rejection, no contact from employers and things not to go your way. Countless jobs I applied for were just pulled with no contact or explanation.
However what is liberating that I have changed my mindset. I now no longer apply for jobs because I need to work. I now only apply for jobs that I think I will enjoy and if I dont think its right I will say no. Fully admit that is easier when you have redundancy in the bank to fall back on, but I do wish I had had this mindset all my working life.
I am now in a fixed term role, doing stuff I really enjoy, paid roughly £15k per year more than I was. Yes it is challenging, but now with my changed of mindset, I know I can just walk away whenever I want. Only a few weeks in and they are already talking to me about extended my employment period, which might take me up to a nice early retirement.
I got made redundant, shortly after moving back to full-time from 90%, I had 3 months notice and a decent salary, so ended up with a reasonable payout (not amazing but ok). I found another job within a month and started it, it was the wrong job, despite me being really clear I wasn't a gantt chart making PM, they hired me wanted a gantt chart building PM. I left and started another job, lasted there for close to 4 years and just moved again as I get bored and restless.
In the time between job 1 and job 2 the new to us dog got sick and spent 12 months between illness, wellness, eating tennis balls, phantom pregnancies and being spayed we spent all my redundancy and a good deal more with the regular and specialist vets of the area. I did manage to squeeze in the purchase of a new coffee grinder to reward myself between dog bills though.
I also tend to work in start-ups these days, so it's not 'if', more when it'll happen next, but I don't mind that.
Right at the beginning of Covid, I was put at risk and rather than trying to find a job elsewhere in the business, I took the money and ran. Luckily having been there for 20 years I was able to pay off my debts and have a years break. Working from 16 to 54 with only a week or two hols at a time, I decided to take a gap year off, okay with Covid I couldn't go globe trotting, but still had a relaxed year off. Then at the end of the year was able to jump straight back into employment, a Solution Architect in Telecoms was a rare skillset as most SA's had jumped on the Cloud bandwagon instead.
Not redundancy per se, but a similar situation.
I was 55, planning to retire at 57. The company I worked for offered a payout to older, better paid employees, to bugger off. It was basically 2 years wages, in cash. The decision was made in nanoseconds, but the 4 hours to the end of shift, to confirm with the missus took about 4 weeks.
I would have had to take a reduced pension, so I transferred it to a private SIPP, and now get around 50% more than the company pension would have paid out.
Best decision ever.
Edit: Re:Funkydunc's NI contributions concerns. Most people would be entitled to 6 months of Job Seekers Allowance, which I believe continues your NI contributions. It's not means tested (so redundancy payouts won't stop you from getting it), and you may have to provide proof of job searches/applications every now and then
Been in my toxic, stressful job for 25 years. I get my service award next month (months pay tax free) and had nearly all but decided to look for something different after, when totally out the blue I got offered voluntary redundancy! Took me all of 2 seconds to decide to take it and that was that, went through a bit of a consultation and it got accepted and I leave in a few months.
My offer is around 18 months salary plus a few other bits and bobs which will suit me fine, already had an interview for a role similar to the one i'm leaving but couldn't go any further as they wanted me to start before I finish my current job, there's 5 or 6 jobs a week advertised local to me similar to the one i'm doing. I'm currently torn between trying to get a job doing what I have been doing or just working in a local factory or warehouse, i'm lucky as my partner has a good job.
Saw a Financial Advisor last week and my pensions and savings are where they should be which leads me to think this is going to be a real positive for me as it's the first time i've been made redundant so hope this ends up a happy story!
Good luck to the OP and anyone else who's going through it.
Ask this question again at the end of August.
Been made redundant once. Terms were good due to decades old terms that applied to me. Sadly the pension terms didn’t but you take what luck you get.
i took several months off during a terrible, wet, summer and beyond. It was great. Then it was nerve wracking ‘Will I ever get another job’? Then it was troubling: which job should I take?
Now, after a few jobs, I’m thinking it was a good thing. I’ve doubled my pension investment value (expecting it to shrink when the AI/GPU bubble bursts). Thanks to my SO’s skills we’re fairly resilient. And I learned that few companies have any regard for employees beyond seeing a cost against a return even when the two are unrelated.
Whenever offered redundancy on good terms I would take it.
I’ve doubled my pension investment value (expecting it to shrink when the AI/GPU bubble bursts).
Assuming you have a SIPP or defined contribution workplace pension then it is just like any other investment, why would you be holding it all in one place if you expect it to crash?
