[Closed] Salary or Security?

That's a tough one.

My instinct would be to be open with your current boss, basically tell him what you've just told us. Either he'll understand and deal with the practice manager - hopefully in a positive way which won't make things worse - or he'll call your bluff and tell you to get lost.

Sounds like current job is a good earner so in the current economy probably worth keeping. Use some of that extra cash to put more into your pension.

If your bluff is called take the new job and address the issues of lower money by making cut-backs etc. The plus side is more time with kids and bike which I'm sure your wife can appreciate.

I am going thru something similar at the moment and I am considering taking a pay cut to get out of current situation and start again.

Good luck!

OK the locum job is ok at the mo

BUT

if it is not stable (as it sounds) £60.50 is not alot on jobseekers allowance 😳

Trust me take the stability

If [i]She has made the point of reminding me that I'm "just" a locum and that one day I will "no longer be welcome". [/i]
She means, I'm going to get rid of you soon.
So I would walk now.

Perhaps you should pluck up the courage to ask her how long your job is secure for. Id you're not on good enough terms to ask, that might be an indicator of what to do.

But a lot depends on the actual salary levels.
If it's the difference between say £45k and £32, that would be easier to take than the difference between £32k and £19k.

You should cost up how much the pension is worth. Presumably final salary, in which case it's potentially very valuable (especially if you're seeing this as a long term thing - final salary schemes become worth more and more the older you get).

I was on jobseekers for a few weeks before I got this job. I haven't been out of work in 13 years. I'm a professional and thought I would always be ok. I broke down in the benefits office. 😳

The mind games are destroying my head at the moment. It's also kind of annoying that the wife would put money ahead of all else.

It's the difference between 40k and 27k.

I know where you are comming from it's not easy (got the t shirt)

btw I have a interview later hopefully all goes well

Security every time.

My wife has a good job and I would love more time with the kids and on the bike. However, it's going to be hard to sell the government job to the wife.

Better than explaining why you lost your current job i would have thought!

BTW what do you actually do?

Do some sums on the bottom line figures though - it's not going to be £13k is it?

I wouldn't leave my current job for a 13K pay rise

Security, redundancy terms and final salary pension win out for me every time.

I'd be pretty worried about getting a pension at 38!

I'm a solicitor.

I need to sit down and do the sums here tonight. They want an answer tomorrow.

Uplink's right.
The actual difference after taxes etc will be (say) 10k, take car costs into account and it's closer to £6k. SO I would choose security, especially if it's a route into a permanent job.

Depending on your tax band you will be approx 750 a month worse off
(Thats assuming the 13k difference allows for paid leave - I suspect its less than 13 in reality)

It looks like you wont need your car so hats 450 a month in reality

I dont know where the jobs are geographically but if you can flog the car the lower paid one must be nearer home - hence more time with the family and less commute - I cant put a price on this for you but for me thats worth a lot

Pension - again a total guess but maybe 100 a month

So you are going to be less than a 100 quid a week worse off but with better job security and prospects of a permanent post plus a better work/life balance

Its a no brainer isnt it?

i would be bit annoyed at the wife if i said i wanted to change job to spend more time with her and the kids and she said no keep earning

security for me.
In the long term it is probably the better earner anyway.

I would speak to current employer also first and see what they do.

Please note there will clearly be Govt dept cuts in the coming years so is it as secure as you think?

When they get rid of people they get rid of those they dislike and those that cost the least.

I wouldn't say the job security issue's a done deal - if you were only unemployed for a short period, maybe you're more empoyable than you realise. Having said that, it took my OH 6 months to get a marketing job in the education sector, she was getting worried about having to retrain for something else but she does tend to be doom n gloom merchant at times..

Things to consider:
Pension - I saw 'non-contributory' - that's not the same as 'final salary' - what's that worth ?
Holiday - presumably you get paid holiday as one, not t'other - that's typically worth a month's salary (might be more if it's government)

If you take the higher paid temp job, perhaps you ought to consider lobbing the extra cash straight into a pension pot
(This is also where my OH is *kinda* losing out, her contract ought to be turning into a permie job but the bloke in charge can never get his finger out, so she's not putting anything into a pension 'cos the permie thing has been overdue for months)

Re the practice manager - mebbe she has a chip on her shoulder or sees you as a threat - my OH's run into several people like that over the years, sometime they come round or find someone else to get a grump about. Then again, if there's a high turnover, is that practice manager part of it?

Again, re security, I'm not quite clear - is the (13k less) government job actually a permie one, or just leading to a permie one ? - and is there any (relative) guarantee of that ?

Pension - again a total guess but maybe 100 a month

Pension - I saw 'non-contributory' - that's not the same as 'final salary'

does anyone do final salary pensions any more? The government job I'm currently apply for doesn't.

Personally the new job sounds better to me. It's also a good gauge of how much your wife loves you. If when you break the news to her that you're going to be down 13k and will be spending more time with her and she doesn't look very happy about it, get a new wife while you're at it.

perhaps ask yourself why it is that there is a current trend for government to offer these long term contracts - maybe nobody wants to commit to long term employment when there are huge cuts coming straight after the election is out of the way?

read the pension terms very carefully, while i love the assumptions above the 20% of salary nil employee contribution final salary pension...... its not really going to happen and if you are not going to manage 40yrs service, the end result might leave you wanting.

as above, life is worth more than money.

[i]would be bit annoyed at the wife if i said i wanted to change job to spend more time with her and the kids and she said no keep earning [/i]

Take a guess what she said?

no keeep earning?

Trade the wife in for a cheaper model? 🙂

I'd do some proper maths

Package vs Package
Tangible bits
- salary (*300 = 500 @ 40% tax, beware NI etc) http://www.e-gismos.com/ukpay.asp
- pension (and really understand this), IMHO no pension is better than a small pension unless they change means testing. Private Pension Pot £100,000 = say 5kish pension(*will vary). If they put in 1% then you'll be working for a while ..... Final Salary pension = golddust
- holiday
- sick
- travel etc costs
Intangibles (and these have to be YOUR values)
- security
- career
- work/life balance
- travel time
- potetial futures

Thanks for all the input.

My head is well and truly wrecked by this. Looks like I'm going to have to tuen the government job down. However, this situation has thrown up some serious issues.

I turned down a number of more lucrative positions in order to (a) maintain good work/life balance and (b) maintain job security. Couple that to a decent pension and a wife who could see the value in not over-spending, and I've managed to retire at 50, pay off the mortgage and enjoy a nice wee part-time job in a bike shop. If you reckon you can manage on the lesser salary, I'd have thought it was a no-brainer. If your wife can't see that, then you have more serious issues.

Salad, every time

[i]However, this situation has thrown up some serious issues. [/i]

That people on internet forums talk a load of cock?

At 38 you should earn as much as you can while you can. You sound employable but lacking confidence. After this locum work you'll most likely get another locum position at the same rate. Sign up with some specialist agencies and they will most likely keep you busy for a while. You can reapply for a more senior gvt position in the future. Turn them down saying it's not financially viable, you never know they may improve the offer.

I'm an executive search consultant (read parasitic headhunter or hels people build a better career, which ever your prejudices prefer) by the way so know a little about jobs.

Sounds like the high turnover at your current place and the practice manager could be related.

security is the way to go, although these days what is secure?

i'd [s]kill [/s]maim for £27K at the moment though 🙁

I'm presuming its you "starsky"?

Bloody hell mate your life keeps on being complicated! Perhaps you should have taken the job in Liverpool.

If your wife wants more money than your peace of mind I'd question her thinking. Or is it just my wife who says money won't make her happy if she never sees me?

I've chosen security* and lifestyle over money - 25 mins cycle door to desk, have a big say in what/how I do things, flexible working. Oh and a final salary pension. Could earn more contracting though that's a bit iffy at the moment. But helps I'm single and have 100% control over my spending 🙂 In fact enough control to NOT buy that XTR crankset tonight ....

* security as in better than other companies in our sector I hope.

You don't always know what's coming,I'm 54,and have worked in the NHS for 30 years.I had a small stroke about 3 months ago,and am retiring at 55 with a reasonable pension.If I hadn't got the NHS pension,my family would be stuffed,as I have children aged 7 and 14,and I'm now unable to work.I am very lucky that my wife is very supportive,and not concerned about money,but I wouldn't swap the security of the NHS for any amount of outside cash.
Ian

Yes, it's me Mr Overshoot. TBH I'm terrified of becoming unemployed again. At the interview for the govt job they told me it was obvious I could do the job in my sleep.

The security offered by the job is very attractive at the moment. Bitterly resentlful of the other half's attitude at the moment. I will have to ring today to turn it down.

I am with the Moses guy at the top of the thread - whether I would trade £13k for greater job security would very much depend on what the lower salary was and not just that it was £13k less.

Given a choice between £40k and £27k I would stick with the £40k. Not even sure at £40k you are paying higher rate tax - you may be but certainly not the the full difference of £13k.

I know it is above the national average but IMO £27k sounds like peanuts for someone who has a professional career and a proven record - I wouldn't expect you to have too much difficulty finding work at that sort of salary outside of your profession if the locum job all went tits up to tie you over until something more appropriate comes along?

But perhaps my opinions/beliefs are tainted by working in the South East in the private sector