Dealing with redundancy

Want2get on? is a unique career coaching service that offers 1:1 support for those who
want to draw upon their Christian faith and apply it in a practical way to their job situation.
www.want2geton.co.uk Tel: 07503 177126 charles@want2geton.co.uk

Dealing with Redundancy
If you're going to be made redundant from your job, you should be treated fairly by your
employer and there are certain steps they would be expected to follow. You may also be
entitled to a redundancy payment.

First things first
There are some important things to do and information to collect from your employer
before you lose your job:
• Collect your P45
• Ask your HR department to give you written details of your redundancy payment
and package.

Make a note of the contact details of your:
• Line manager – ask for a written job reference, and get a ‘soft’ copy.
• Trade union representative
• Human resources department
• Pension fund trustees
• Write down the contact details of the organisations attached to any benefits that you
had with your job, such as health insurance

Life-support post redundancy!
Redundancy can come as a nasty shock and is something that is not uncommon to many
of us during our working lives.

However unwelcome it may be, redundancy does not have to be a completely negative
experience, and many people use it as an opportunity for positive change in their lives and
careers. The most important thing is to ensure that you react to your situation in the most
positive way possible, and part of this process is to ensure that you Do some things and
Don’t do others!

Do:
• Stay positive and see redundancy as an opportunity for change
• Invite God into your job situation. You don’t get many guides suggesting this, but He
has a plan and a purpose to this present saga, even if you can’t see it at the
moment
• Focus on moving on, rather than looking back
• Take some time out to take stock of your situation and look at your options
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• Get advice from professional advisers
• Consult your friends, family and your wider network – it could lead to your next job!
• If you get a redundancy pay off, if possible, try to invest it wisely in something that
will help you in your next career move, such as training or starting up a new
business

Don't:
• Take it personally – in reality, the job has been made redundant, not you. That said,
if you feel you have a claim for unfair dismissal, see below for advice on what to do
next
• Think that God has abandoned you! This is your chance to experience the power of
prayer, but also to listen to His voice and hear what He wants you to learn from this
experience, such as to deepen your levels of faith and trust
• Get too down about yourself – most people face redundancy sometime
• Panic, don’t make knee-jerk decisions

Below is a list of some organisations that provide an excellent service to those
transitioning between one job and another:

Want2get on? Career Coaching – with over 13 years experience of helping people into
work and into an understanding of their life calling. www.want2geton.co.uk 07503 177126

The National Careers Service is the name for the adult careers service in England. Free
Phone 0800 100 900 to arrange to speak with a trained careers adviser over the phone.

Jobcentre Plus – Offers a huge online database of jobs: www.gov.uk/jobsearch

Redundancy Help – A free legal service for those going through Redundancy
www.redundancyhelp.co.uk

Know your rights
If you are going to be made redundant or are going through the process, the following
things should happen:
• Your employer should select you fairly

• You should be consulted about the redundancy

• You should get any redundancy pay you are due, and be given the correct amount of
notice

• Your employer should consider any alternatives to redundancy

If there are fewer than 20 employees being made redundant then the statutory minimum
dismissal procedure should be followed. If there are 20 or more, then the collective
consultation procedure applies instead.

If an employer uses redundancy to cover up the real reason for ending your employment,
or if they do not carry out the redundancy procedure properly, you may have grounds to be
bring a claim for unfair dismissal. The rights to redundancy payments and collective
consultation are claimed separately from unfair dismissal.


Where to get help
• The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential
and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline
on 08457 47 47 47 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.
www.acas.org.uk

• The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on
all employment rights issues for residents of Northern Ireland. You can contact the
LRA on 028 9032 1442 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.
www.lra.org.uk

• Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You
can find your local CAB office in the phone book or online.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

• If you are a member of a trade union, you can get help, advice and support from them

• Professional bodies attached to your profession can often be an excellent source of
advice and assistance

• Contact a firm of employment lawn solicitors

Redundancy Pay
If you are made redundant you may be entitled to a redundancy payment.

Facts about redundancy pay
You have the right to a redundancy payment if you're an employee who has worked
continuously for your employer for at least two years. Statutory redundancy pay isn't
taxable.

Redundancy pay is also due when a fixed-term contract of two years or more expires and
is not renewed because of redundancy.

Alternative work
A redundancy payment isn't due to you if work picks up and your employer offers to keep
you on, or offers you suitable alternative work which you refuse without good reason. If
you leave your job for a new one before the end of your notice period, your payment might
also be affected.

Temporary lay off
Redundancy pay can be claimed from your employer if you have been temporarily laid off
for more than four weeks in a row (or six weeks in a 13 week period).

Notice pay
As well as a redundancy payment, your employer should give you proper notice of
termination of employment (or pay in lieu of notice). Details of the notice period will be in
your contract.


Calculating pay
There may be an arrangement in your contract for how redundancy pay will be worked out.
However, if this gives you less than the statutory pay, the statutory amount applies. The
first £30,000 of any termination payment is tax-free. More information on whether elements
of the payment such as pay in lieu of notice (PILON) is taxable is available from HM
Revenue and Customs.

For more information: www.hmrc.gov.uk

What to do if you have problems
If you've been made redundant, your employer will normally pay you either on the last day
of your notice period or shortly afterwards, or on your next pay day. If you haven't been
paid, or if you've been paid but are unhappy with the amount, you should try to sort the
problem out directly with your employer first. Write to your employer explaining the
problem and asking for full payment. Your employer should give you a written statement
showing how any payment has been calculated.
If this doesn't work, you can apply to an Employment Tribunal. You need to make a claim
within six months, otherwise you might lose the right to a payment.

For further advice contact Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
08457 47 47 47

If you're facing redundancy, you may find new work with a new employer or your employer
may offer you a different job. There are different issues associated with each.

Job offers from your current employer
Your employer is expected to offer you a suitable alternative job, if there is one available,
before making you redundant. Whether it's suitable depends on:
• The terms of the job being offered

• Your skills, abilities and circumstances

• The pay (including benefits), status, hours and location of the job
If work picks up before your notice ends, your employer might offer you your own job as an
'alternative'.
The offer should be made before your old job ends. You should be given enough
information about what it involves so you know how different it is from your old job.

Trial periods
You have the right to a four-week trial period in a new job, and if you need training for the
new job the period can be extended by written agreement.
If you decide the new job isn't suitable, you can give notice during the trial period without
affecting your right to a statutory redundancy payment. If you haven't given notice by the
end of the trial period your right to statutory redundancy pay ends.

If you refuse an offer
If your employer offers you a suitable alternative job and you unreasonably refuse it, you
may lose your right to statutory redundancy pay. If there is a dispute as to whether a job is
suitable (or whether your refusal is unreasonable), an Employment Tribunal (Industrial
Tribunal in Northern Ireland) can decide whether you are due a redundancy payment.

Time off for job hunting
If you've been continuously employed for two years by the date your notice expires, you're
allowed a reasonable amount of time off during your notice period to:
• Look for another job

• Arrange training
How long you can take will depend on your circumstances, but for example if you attend
an interview or two and do not take excessive amounts of travelling time then this is likely
to be reasonable.

Whatever the amount of time off you take, your employer only has to pay you up to two
fifths of a weeks pay for it. For example, if you work 5 days a week and take 4 days off in
total during the whole notice period, your employer only has to pay you for the first 2 days.

Want2get on? is a unique career coaching service that offers 1:1 support for those who
want to draw upon their Christian faith and apply it in a practical way to their job situation.
www.want2geton.co.uk Tel: 07503 177126 charles@want2geton.co.uk


Dealing with redundancy

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