I was given my notice 2 months ago and finish next month. There’d be a payout, but after 8 years it’d only be ~2 months net pay so not enough to take the summer off and relax, in the current Oil and Gas industry climate it would be more like 6 months job hunting and baked beans on toast.

My boss is looking to extend the notice by 6 months as the workload hasn’t quite bottomed out as badly as expected and my job is part of a pool of engineers so it’s not ‘a job’, it’s does he foresee enough productive hours being booked by the department over the foreseeable future, if not the numbers get cut.

I’ll take it. It’s better than nothing.

But I can’t help but feel like I’ve been done over by the process, I’m effectively going to end up on the same sorts of terms as a fixed term agency worker, but on about 1/3rd of the pay! I’d be worse off than before because I couldn’t (contractually at least) just leave for a better job until this new 6 months was up. Not sure if there’s anything I can do about it?

TBH at least part of me want’s to tell them to shove it after being dragged through the process, cross my fingers and take the money. There’s always the slight chance they’d phone me up on the next Monday and offer the job back, it’s happened to a few people!

Sod that.

Offer to stay as a day rate contractor. Negotiate a price. They obviously need you !

Flexibility for them – more money for you.

P.S chancers !

Surely you’re free to leave whenever you want. You hand your notice in, work your month and then go off to the new job?
Or just don’t turn up if you don’t want to work your notice, worst case they don’t give you your last pay cheque.

Standard options, apply for jobs and leave when you can?

TBH at least part of me want’s to tell them to shove it after being dragged through the process, cross my fingers and take the money. There’s always the slight chance they’d phone me up on the next Monday and offer the job back, it’s happened to a few people!

“I’ll take the money please.”

You could be contracting on a day rate by the middle of next week…

Alternatively if you enjoy working there, stick wit it, in 6 months there may be no need to let you go.

I’d stay. No guarantee you can get a job back there contracting…..

If they have given you the formal notice in a letter then they can only remove it with your consent

if they have given you another job then it has to be equivalent to your current role – this may be your companies T & C rather than law but we are into constructive dismissal area – ie they have effectively given you a wage cut under threat of “redundancy”

IMHO negotiate and hard as
1) they have already made you redundant and they cannot undo this
2) they now realise they need you
What you want depends on you but the minimum would want is same pay role and T & C + redundancy payment – preferably now as you can the get a new job and walk

I would not be “staying on” on lesser terms and pay personally but only you know your exact financial position as to whether redundancy + crap job = more money than what is on offer

I am pretty confident they cannot make you do this without consent- you sure it was not done just to cut your wages?

Make them an offer? Say you’ll carry on at your current salary (or if you’re feeling cheeky, a higher rate as a contractor) with two weeks’ notice should you decide to leave, and if they don’t like it then you’re off next month as originally planned. Then start job hunting with a vengeance (which you’re already doing, right?)

Negotiate an enhanced redundancy pay-out on completion – redundancy pay is tax-free.

Negotiate an enhanced redundancy pay-out on completion – redundancy pay is tax-free.

This. Otherwise, just name your terms and leave it with them.

I’d stay. No guarantee you can get a job back there contracting…..

This is probably true, there’s a informal rule that they won’t take anyone back as a contractor unless they’ve worked elsewhere. Both to stop people leaving and coming straight back (because mid project they’re probably needed), and to keep a sensible distance from the whole IR35/disguised employee issue.

So if I left and came back I’d just be as a new employee, plus ca change.

So my options are:
1) Stay put, take the 6 months, it’ll probably grow into a proper role again if I want it.
2) Leave as planned (well, forced rather than planned), and re-apply on Monday. This could be pre-arranged, but can’t be official otherwise the redundancy payment isn’t tax free, I have to leave. So carries that risk.
3) Walk away and don’t look back.

I’ve no issues with my boss, he’s tried his best and HR is a soulless machine doing the bidding of others. I’ve never met my boss’ boss but that’s who I have my issues with. Basically he and the corporates above him like agency staff, and like people being on notice as it gives them maximum flexibility. Basically they fail on Charlies rule #1: Don’t be a …..

Negotiate an enhanced redundancy pay-out on completion

They hold all the aces (well, the prospect of employment and future employment anyway! All I’ve got is ‘well, it’d cost you more to get someone else in next week’), and we’re a big multinational company with a decidedly american attitude to hiring and firing. There’s a flat rate for redundancy calculations from the secretaries to the senior managers, I doubt I’d get anywhere. That said, nothing to lose!

– ensure you get whatever small increase in redundancy you’re due with 6 months more service
– get agreement that you can leave with x weeks notice, and your redundancy, if anything comes up in the meantime. (Which is only worth negotiating if your going to seriously search for work in the next couple of months )

How much demand is there for your discipline?

If it’s low, better to bite your lip and stay IMHO. Use the time to look and reduce your domestic costs and increase your war chest.

I’m oil and gas and soon to start looking again but it doesn’t look very promising – however haven’t been able to look.

Good luck.

Re-reading your OP though – financially you’d be in the same position apart from they want you to have a 6-month notice clause now (rather than I assume 1 month you’re on now)? If so then whether I’d take the offer or not would almost solely depend on whether I thought I would be able to find a better job within 6 months (although I’d also want an agreement to revert back to 1 month’s notice on a specified date in the future).
Given Oil&Gas is in bad shape at the moment I’d have thought being able to hold on to a job now rather than either have to face a very tough job market (in that sector) or look at retraining would be hard to pass up. Ofc things might be even worse in 6 months time in which case you should have got out now :p