[Closed] Redundancy. Scary stuff.

Sounds tough - but if yo can pay off your mortgage and wife's income cover's basics you are more than ok. See it as an opportunity to explore other opportunities?

I'd see this as a massive positive to be fair, your mortgage is paid, so you can take a much lower paid (even part time) job, and do what you really REALLY want to do, or spend more time at home with family/riding your bike.

not many folk get that opportunity

Do you want to pay off your mortgage before securing a new job?

Was made redundant twice in the late 90s, although no family at that time.

Firstly don't panic. Your wife's salary and your payoff will keep you going for a while yet, and a bit of budget reviewing will help that as well.

Use contacts and networks to get feelers out and let people know that you are looking. Chat with clients, contractors, suppliers, think laterally about your experience as well as directly.

And think of it as an opportunity to take stock. I'd bust a gut in my 20s to have good career and neglected hobbies, family and relationships. Despite the fear, it was a great time to step back, take stock, spend a few weeks focussing on me, my now wife, what we wanted and what might change.

(We ended up relocating, with her being the main breadwinner while I finally got a degree, we got married, started a family, ended up working several different jobs at different times around the family, discovered we didn't need as much money as we had been used to - though some more would be nice, I guess)

First off - sorry to hear that you are facing redundancy.

The key item in your post is ))payment of 2 years salary(( you are very lucky in this respect.

My 2p's worth

- you are in great position, treat this as a fantastic opportunity to get another job, whilst benefitting from a once in a lifetime financial bonus.

- don't rush. Stop and take the time to think what you'd really like to do. You don't need a new job immediately. Perhaps even work for yourself.

- get into a positive routine, exercise and enjoy life

- why don't you treat yourself to a short holiday. Time to think and consider what you want to do

- think of it as a opportunity, not a problem

Good luck, enjoy life, everything will be ok.

2 years full salary? That's a hefty pay off to be fair without even knowing what you earn. Personally I wouldn't pump all my money into the mortgage, any things you've always fancied trying out? Something random like retraining as a plumber etc? Some good money to be made in the trades I'd say over the next few years.

Blow softened a bit by redundancy payment of 2 years salary plus some other bits and pieces

Jammy sod. Take two years off work and enjoy life or at the very least go part time for a bit and look at life from another perspective.

Good point from Wrightyson - potentially a great opportunity for you.

If I was offered the same deal as you right now, I'd be very tempted. Especially if you could go part time and spend more time for the kids - I'm making that change in the next few months as MrsMC is increasing her hours and will be earning more than me. Slight feeling of concern at not being the main provider any more, but that is probably my fragile male ego.

Bad luck.
Much the same here a few years ago, first job, there for 16 years, and a good pay off.
Looking back it was the best thing that has happened to me. New job, new people etc, so while it's a massive shock, you will get over it, and it could work out well for you.

While I can imagine it's a shock (been made redundant myself twice), it doesn't sound like much to actually worry about!

2 years pay off, plus other bits and pieces, plus you have 3 months to find something else.
Have a serious think about whether you want to pay the mortgage off and lose that large savings buffer, or whether you would be better off carrying on paying it normally from your pay off.
The first time I was made redundant, I got about a quarter of my salary as redundancy pay. The second time I got a fifth, and it coincided with the start of the credit crunch so there were no jobs about at all. That was a bit stressful!

If I'd have been offered 2 years salary I'd have left with a hop, skip and a jump!

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide to do...

I got made redundant in march after 20 years in the job, just got basic entitlement of £12.5k and 3 months gardening leave very scary as I am the only earner and @ 55 jobs are scarce.
Decided to pay off the few debts we had and take a job for half the salary
Not too bad, we can live ok.

So chin up, it ain't that bad and as proof, I'm currently living the dream 200 miles from home, dining alone in a Wetherspoons in Edinburgh 🙂

Scary stuff but you have a nice safety net. Don't rush to pay off the mortgage if you have a low rate, it's nice to keep a buffer just in case things don't go to plan.

However take a deep breath and be positive. It's the start of a new chapter and very possibly a more enjoyable one, so keep an open mind and things will work out.

I'd pay off the mortgage. It's pretty good knowing that whatever happens in the future you'll always have a roof. You don't need that much to pay for food if you've got a home.

and me ... second redundancy now. 17 years in the job too. as jota says
after 50 (I'm 52 nearly) jobs start to become a little scarce 🙁

planning on paying off debts and yes scared to death. I'm the bread
winner as my wife had been medically pensioned off

Been made redundant twice. Once was the week I was due to complete on our first house! Took some bottle to sign that contract/cheque I tell you. Scary!

Both times it worked out better than I could imagine, getting a higher paid job within my notice period/garden leave. I was lucky but also prepared. Update CV, register with recruitment agents, look at transferable skills and keep an open mind, but also remember my most people work - to live. Sounds like you have a superb opportunity to really have some fun as well as the above! Good luck.

Sounds like a great opportunity as others have said. You can do what you want or at least have a break/go part time to spend some time with the kids etc.

The worlds your lobster - bbq it and serve with melted butter, mmm, nice.

I'd kill to be in your position tbh! Best thing that ever happened to me was being made redundant from my old job.

Take advice before you pay off the mortgage. There was a time when this may not have been the best course of action, though I don't know if this is still true.

Good luck.

Get networking, re warm contacts and clients... Statistically networking is most effective finding the next post. More so than recruiters...

Dont rush, have a good old think about what you like, what your good at and what you want to do.

Make the most of the outplacement stuff, it can help if your cv needs polishing...

Its probably scary now but its a springboard to whats next. Dive in !

Probably worth paying off a chunk of mortgage , but leave say a 5 fig sum still owing. The interest will be peanuts , and its often alot easier to re- mortgage or borrow back the overpayments if , for whatever reason , it become necessary .

I would leave my job tomorrow if they offered me 1 years salary , let alone 2 . No mtg , B2L , cash in bank , still young enough to be able to do things ( just ) and currently could get locum work very easily.

Bad luck.

Sounds like a great opportunity

The worlds your lobster

While it is a shock to the system you are in a great position to move on. Embrace it.

Sounds like brilliant news to me! I was made redundant 18 months ago and it was the best thing that's happened in my career. Now working as a freelance drupal developer and never not had work, never had to advertise and loving every minute...

Rachel

As you don't pay tax on the first £40k you're about to given significantly more money than you earn in 2 years.

How is this bad?!

Any other tips? Particularly how to avoid falling into a dark place

The scenario outlined above sounds like falling into a happy place of brightness and opportunity!

But that's just me coming from a background of crappy jobs where you can be dropped at any time with no extra pay, and self employment where there is no safety net whatsoever. 🙂

Paying off your mortgage now might be a good idea if it'll go up when interest rates increase next year.
Consider contracting as well as full time? Having lots of experience means you have the necessary maturity + the ability to hit the ground running.
Get yourself on Linked In and get networking
You'll be surprised at what the day rates can be.
Good luck - things seem pretty busy out there right now

re the dark place, just stay very aware of your mood each day - don't get out of bed late and doss just because you can - keep a to do list so you've a reason to get up and out, and take advantage of all that time to ride your bike lots!

It clearly doesn't feel like a good thing but it is (well we all seem to think so). Your employer has given you some good additional redundancy terms. You'll probably find that after about 4 to 6 months they will be looking for contract staff so look on it as a large cash windfall and the opportunity to take stock of what you want to do. Whether you want to go back may be an entirely different question.

Chin up, enjoy the ride.

My advice to the OP is to embrace the situation as somebody above has said. I was made redundant about a year ago after 11 years in an industry where I thought I would be able to find work for a good many years. My redundancy was signposted from quite a way off which allowed me to look at the alternatives and I decided pretty early on to leave the industry I was in, retrain and go self employed.

I didn't get anywhere near as much much money as the OP (was only in my last position for less than 7 years) but I didn't experience any dark places. I'm not going to pretend that going self employed in a completely different line of work is easy, and the money isn't as good, but I'm absolutely ****ing loving it.

Make as much use as the outplacement support you will be offered and start thinking about the world of opportunities that are out there now, before you are out of work. Tackle the impending redundancy with a sense of purpose and before long you'll find yourself in a much happier place, hopefully with a bit of cash from your payout left over. You may end up in a similar job, working as a contractor or even doing something different. My advice is get stuck in and see what turns up.

Sorry to hear about the job situation, I've had similar happen to me.

Aside from the obvious get a job advice the only other thing I'd say is if you find yourself at home for any length of time try and establish a routine rather than treating it as an extension of the weekend. It's very easy to while away hours without achieving anything and thats when the rot sets in.

Even if you're not doing the job finder stuff, take on some other projects, get fit(ter), do some decorating, learn to play the guitar, anything that's productive. It does masses for your self worth if you can feel yourself achieving things.

You're in a very good place indeed considering you've been made redundant.
When that happened to me I got three weeks pay and that was it. They owed me about 4 grand.

Enjoy some time off, decide what you want to do next and then gently move your way into it.
I spent 6 panic stricken months trying to get pennies together, working all over the country, doing any job I could get my hands on. It was appalling.

Most stuff has been said but watch out for the mental backlash and self doubt about not being the main breadwinner. It can take years to get over that feeling that Mon - Fri 9-5 are work times even if you're in a different sort of work pattern.

Oh and its better to send off 2 job applications a day that you have worked on (personalised cvs and cover notes) than 100.

ave 3 months notice, so will be paid normally to almost Christmas (great!) and likely on garden leave for a fair portion of that time. Blow softened a bit by redundancy payment of 2 years salary plus some

Well, if you manage your finances properly you have two years to find a job before shit hits the fan. You are still the main breadwinner for the next two years, it's just that the money will all come in at once.

You could get a degree in that time!

I'm sure people have said this already but FFS Get a grip!

You're about to get a huge chunk of money to do nothing for more than 2 years. Why the **** would you spend any time looking for another job? You've just been gifted something many people dream of. Take a bit of time to doss about and see if there's some thing more interesting you can do with 40 hours a weeks than helping to line someone else's pockets.

You're institutionalized and this is a chance to do something interesting with your life.

Good luck.

I think from a financial advice pov I would not pay off the mortgage to keep the cash as liquid as possible just in case you need it.

Wow - sounds like 1 month for every year's employment with a lot of notice? Earlier this year I got basic plus £5k only after fighting which equated to 1 week per year. I reckon with the tax free element you could keep going, depending on your current salary, for at least 3 years until you're looking at being worse off that if you'd stayed - I had enough for a few months.

So what skills you got?

I was in similar situation 10 years ago. Wife on part-time work, 2 youngish kids, just back at work from plastic surgery after skin cancer - bang - after 20 years in same employer, redundant. To be fair I was thinking of leaving anyway as it was getting me down, I too had been promoted to semi-managerial position, decent salary - wasn't as lucky as my pay-off was capped (bustards!!) but I still felt liberated, did some self-employed work took the summer off, and eventually took the chance to move across the country to be nearer my elderly, and failing health, parents.

Worked out OK and sounds like you have your head screwed on fine - you'll manage. You have a great buffer / reserve -- use the time widely. Might get some advice as above on the pay-out -- it will be taxable over a certain amount -- £30k IIRC. That can be mitigated though.

Right now I'd jump at the chance to be made redundant with 2 years salary!

Don;t panic or worry. You have a considerable buffer so you won't be in trouble financially. Personally I would not pay off the mortgage until you have a suitable/solid plan in palce for the future.

Take some time to relax/have a break and then start to work out next steps.

Depending on what kind of industry you are in it may be worth talking to customers and supplier contacts as your skills and knowledge may transfer easily. I know at our place when people were made redundant plenty of them walked into jobs with customers as they wanted people with knowledge of the industry.

You sound like a bit of a worrier which I don't mean in an offensive way. Not having to worry about losing yourhouse and ccaring for your daughter will be a massive weight off your shoulders. Id at least get mortgage down to a monthly amount I could afford with a part time job. You can then relax and plan your future. This sounds like a brilliant opportunity for you fella. Good luck.

I'd be quite excited if I were in your boots. I mean, it must have got boring working at the same place all that time?
Change can be positive, plus you have 2 years salary as a safety net - result!

A boringly practical option would be to use a savings offset facility with your mortgage? it will give you flexibility to draw down on the funds if you really need to, but you won't be paying finance costs for the mortgage.

Ask yourself the question, have you got your head screwed on? Because unless you are bleeding useless you wont struggle in todays market. There are plenty of jobs for people with experience as so few have been trained in teh last 7 years and a lot have retired in that time also.

If you cant find permanent work can you do contract work? Might up your earnings and give you extra skills.

Also, id pay off MOST of the mortgage, but not all. You can always release funds if you still have it but paying a big chunk off is the sensible thing to do and it will stop you getting lazy and thinking i dont need to look for work yet. If you do nothing for 3 years you will struggle to get back in.

Great opportunity though, lucky id say. Being made redundant was the worst thing (at the time) and the best thing (a few years later) that could have ever happened to me.

Bad luck... but most of my mates in their 40's are all wanting to change job/career/chuck it all in anyway.. The reactions so far on this thread ought to tell you something.

With little/no mortgage, you potentially have the option to have a crack at something you've always fancied.

Just remember, you don't have to be a good little consumer and work for 'the man' for the rest of your life...

As a wise man once said

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it".

Good luck 🙂

OP seems to have disappeared - coke and hookers?

OP sounds like an excellent opportunity to me - good luck whatever you decide to do

Mudshark, I did consider that :oops:, but the sensible part of my brain dictated I did not pursue.

Most definately I am worrier!

Simply I had some clear ideas about how the future would pan out for myself and my family and as this is now threatened I am finding it difficult to look forward positively - I typically always get to the worst case scenario and anything less is a bonus.

TBH living and working in the 'oil capital of europe' has probably meant being in a comfortable but unsustainable bubble for some years now - wake-up call to me! Those of you up here will know that costs and operations are being assessed and there are certainly impacts along the way.

You also find out that networks, whilst beneficial, can sometimes mean that whilst you are in a certain position within a certain organisation you are attractive but when you are no longer 'in' folks don't view you so attractively.

Regardless, many of you are right - I need to see it as an opportunity and deal with it!

OP you might not realise it now, but many of us would probably do some obscene and degrading things to get a 2 year pay off from our dreary and uninspiring jobs 🙂 Make the most of it and get out on the bike! Good luck with it all.

benz - large american co near the marathon building ? dont take it personally the big companys just see numbers and want to reduce them. It happened here a while back and alot of colleagues got lost in the trimmings - management more than anyone else.

honestly your in aberdeen , you work in oil .

if you wish to remain in oil and know your onions you will have no issues finding a job - no one i know whos been made redundant has struggled - if anything they have flourished and got major wage increases.

Mean while if you wish to retrain - heating engineer. Aberdeens a real struggle to find a heating engineer 😀

fingers crossed for you.

Oh Aberdeen - about the only place where there are sizable projects recruiting contractors like me at the moment - Oracle EBS developers. So far put off making the trip as sounds so far away from home! And don't fancy being up there in the winter much 🙂 My contract ends soon so will soon have to forget about being picky.

I'm on the outside as regards the actual practicalities of working in the oil capital, but my outside perspective is that while things are getting slimmed and made more efficient, there's still a ton of work out there; more often assets get swapped around to new players and they will need experienced folk to run them just the same.

I say outside as I was in software development, mostly multimedia, in Edinburgh and since redundancy there, have moved to the NE (outside Aberdeen though) and ended up working in O&G improvement and efficiency software, which has been eye-opening and definitely a hot topic I'd say.

There are - as you'll see - a fair few NE folk on here as well to provide support - which is important. And take some time for your own interests, then maybe not re-train but take chance to improve qualifications (does your package allow for that as well?)

Good luck, again.

How about going to university and getting a degree in something you are interested in that might help gaining future employment

Should get some funding and depending on what happens probably never need to pay all the loan back.

Benz - You should be OK working in Aberdeen. There's still way more activity here in the jobs market than most places. If you let us know what you do then we can keep an eye out. Look at contracting too as it may be the best route to a new permy role or you may come to like it.
View the whole experience as an opportunity...seriously!

Been there a couple of times. Takes a while to get over the shock and get used to the idea, but you will do soon I promise!

All part of life's rich tapestry. Best of luck, you're already aware that you've got a better situation that the vast majority of people who lose their jobs.

🙂

I worked for the 1st 15 years of my career in this sector but in London. Sadly both companies I worked for have disappeared in the subsequent mergers activity, I narrowly missed out on 2 decent redundandancy packages...bah still bitter...

Anyway, what shocked me the first move (early 30s) was when I looked for a job outside the sector I got nowhere, in the rare interviews I got I was asked why on earth was I looking at something different/new company etc. I then applied for a job in the same sector & got it (1st time), good money/easy commute etc.

This job was ok but I was so bored, I just met all the same people from the old job but I was at a different company.

I stuck at this new role for 7 years & left to set my own thing up, never looked back & love it. The big shock now is being self employed I have no-one to blame for messing things up, I miss the mpnthly pay cheque, holiday pay, free pension, office banter...but love the freedom.

Count yourself lucky you have a few years money in the bag, a lot of people get nothing when their employer goes bust. You have the chance to do anything you want so go for it.

I'd suggest you don't dally in looking for another role. Get onto all the companies in your field that you compete with and get your CV out there.
You could be looking at various scanarios you may have in demand, transferable skills that other companies are willing to pay for or it could be that your experience in a single company and their way of working may mean it could be slightly more difficult to find a comparable position. Bear in mind other people from your firm who will also be looking could be cheaper and easily trained etc. When I worked in recruitment I met many people who took short "sabbaticals" after redundancy and found it hard to find work after being out of the work market for only a few months.

If you have other plans for your career ignore me but if you plan to go back into it I'd strongly advise you get cracking with the job hunt.

Shame this has happened in winter - less daylight hours for riding.

Joolsburger has a good point.

If there's a big group of you getting the chop, the early bird might get the worm - so to speak.

When I was in a similar scenario, the people who decided to kick back and relax for a good while were the ones who struggled to find work later.

(Can't comment as to whether they may have been the less motivated ones anyway though)

Worth listening to this?

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hz532 ]Radio 4 - Last Day. Redundancy[/url]

I just wrote a load of blurb about by redundancy experience this time last year but decided all I need say is that I've now be contracting / consulting for 7 months and it's the best thing I'e ever done work wise.
You'll be amazed what can be achieved through a little networking.