Redundancy question

[s p a c e m a n]

Since the interest rate hike things have become slightly unstable at work. They seem to have a hold on it for now by cutting back a load of superfluous stuff that was obviously racking up costs but to my eyes it could still all go down the pan if something else hits them.

Fair size company, a few hundred employees.

Some of us are being offered redundancy, I've got 15 years in on it so going off of the .gov website possibly 10k ish. Looking at the jobs in my area right now I'd either have to work unsociable hours to keep the same wage or take a 5k pay cut, so that 10k only really buys me 2 years if I jump ship into another job.

I would rather stay where I am as if the job lasts another 2 years I've broken even in my eyes.

My question is what happens if the company goes to the wall before then with no money left in the pot, will I not get any redundancy pay out? Someone mentioned that the government cover redundancy payments but I can't find any proof of that.

[JC06]

There’s a government service that will cover some/all of your outstanding wages and notice period but the amount they pay is capped in terms of total weeks payable and amount payable per week.

Worth having read of this https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is...

[Mr E]

They might offer an enhanced redundancy package if they’re looking for volunteers.

[rallye101]

Company redundancy should be better than gov. Think you only go gov. Is the company goes into liquidation....
It's capped at £700/week.....ask me how I know ;(

[s p a c e m a n]

Well my maths were close, £11900 if I take it before September.

There's no hope of anything extra from them, out of the 16 of us in the pool we're all fairly similar so they gain nothing by getting certain ones to leave

I just know that it's my luck that I'll turn the offer down and they don't make it past Christmas anyway.

Thanks for the help. They're only offering the statutory weekly pay of 700 anyway and from the citizens advice website it would seem that is the amount that the government scheme covers anyway so I shouldn't end up out of pocket if the worst happens.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/pay/getting...

[s p a c e m a n]

rallye101 said:

Company redundancy should be better than gov. Think you only go gov. Is the company goes into liquidation....
It's capped at £700/week.....ask me how I know ;(

Huh. So they have an obligation to do it from my actual weekly pay if they haven't gone insolvent, or they only have to do the bare minimum government cap regardless?

[parabolica]

s p a c e m a n said:

rallye101 said:

Company redundancy should be better than gov. Think you only go gov. Is the company goes into liquidation....
It's capped at £700/week.....ask me how I know ;(

Huh. So they have an obligation to do it from my actual weekly pay if they haven't gone insolvent, or they only have to do the bare minimum government cap regardless?

Rallye is mistaken; companies have a legal obligation to pay statutory as a minimum, anything above that is their discretion and typically tied to a settlement agreement. Most companies pay only what they have to.

[rallye101]

parabolica said:

Rallye is mistaken; companies have a legal obligation to pay statutory as a minimum, anything above that is their discretion and typically tied to a settlement agreement. Most companies pay only what they have to.

Sorry, I've been on a very steep and painful learning curve the last few weeks.
If still trading, some can be generous....I'm going dow the gov route....

[jurbie]

parabolica said:

s p a c e m a n said:

rallye101 said:

Company redundancy should be better than gov. Think you only go gov. Is the company goes into liquidation....
It's capped at £700/week.....ask me how I know ;(

Huh. So they have an obligation to do it from my actual weekly pay if they haven't gone insolvent, or they only have to do the bare minimum government cap regardless?

Rallye is mistaken; companies have a legal obligation to pay statutory as a minimum, anything above that is their discretion and typically tied to a settlement agreement. Most companies pay only what they have to.

If you know they are only going to offer statutory I'd hang on for as long as possible. If they are making better offers than that then it might be worth jumping now.

I worked at a place that was clearly circling the drain and they offered voluntary redundancy equal to six months gross salary. At the next round of voluntary redundancies this was dropped to 3 months gross salary. Those who stuck it out to the bitter end walked away with the statutory offer.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

jurbie said:

If you know they are only going to offer statutory I'd hang on for as long as possible. If they are making better offers than that then it might be worth jumping now.

I worked at a place that was clearly circling the drain and they offered voluntary redundancy equal to six months gross salary. At the next round of voluntary redundancies this was dropped to 3 months gross salary. Those who stuck it out to the bitter end walked away with the statutory offer.

alternatively - the first redundancy offer is nearly always the best one.
Enhanced offers only come when a business is trying to lose a bit of fat but is otherwise healthy, - or you are senior management.
The fact that they are going straight to min terms, says they are in a precarious position.
Maybe take a look at their acccounts?

Also , the only other saving grace you may have is

a) you are cheaper to employ than your peers ( paid less)
b) you are the most expensive to make redundant ( been there the longest)

[s p a c e m a n]

I don't think that the accounts available to me would show anything untoward, they were flying along until a few months ago. At least the actions show me that they've not just stuck their head in the sand and they've reacted quickly, it could just be the final death throws but they haven't just stripped it all for cash and shrugged their shoulders.

They had been stretching themselves a bit in preparation for a big contract that is due to start at the end of this year, taking on extra staff and equipment because the lead times and training are quite long. I think that they've just been unlucky, st happens.

To be honest I wasn't expecting more that the mandated minimum, it's not that sort of industry or company. In fact I'm quite impressed that they're going down that route rather than picking up on the easy things that could be seen as gross misconduct and dumping a few people that way.

[clockworks]

I've taken voluntary redundancy twice, and also been forced into it once.

Both voluntary packages were comfortably over the statutory amount. The last time, I walked away with the equivalent of 15 months salary for 9 years service - much-enhanced rate because I was 52 years old, plus 3 months in lieu of notice. Big chunk of it was tax-free too.

If they are only offering statutory, there's nothing at all to be gained by volunteering - unless you have a decent offer of another job that might not be there at a later date