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Redundancy - Advice and Tips

• April 21, 2020

How to manage redundancy

At some point in a career, everyone is likely to face the prospect of redundancy, sometimes through no fault of their own but by financial instability of the business. In recent times unemployment has increased due to businesses taking cost-cutting measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 950,000 people applied for universal credit in the first two weeks of the UK lockdown, this is an increase of 850% from the usual number, so many workers are having to deal with the realities of redundancy.

This article seeks to offer advice on how to make the best of redundancy and how to constructively move forward in your career.

Remain cordial

First off, it is absolutely vital to not leave in acrimonious circumstances, letting staff go is no easy option for businesses and will only be doing so where there is no alternative. A good reference provided by your old employer can make or break your next job application, if you fail to remain civil and cordial it is unlikely your employer will provide a good reference, significantly hindering your job-seeking efforts.

You may even find yourself returning to the same company further down the line, the worst thing you can do is shut off opportunities that may present themselves.

Am I entitled to redundancy pay?

You must have worked for two years continuously at the business to be entitled to redundancy pay, if your eligible your employer should automatically pay you this in the same way as your wages, however it is a good idea to check that this has been paid.

You can use the Government’s statutory redundancy pay calculator to find out how much you should receive:   www.gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay

There may also be special clauses in your employment contract that entitle you to additional benefits, read over your contract to see if this is the case.

Unfair dismissal

There are automatically unfair reasons for dismissal that, if you believe to be the case, you can take your employer to an employment tribunal; reasons such as pregnancy, whistleblowing, parental leave or disability are not valid reasons to be made redundant, the tribunal can force the employer to reinstate you or pay compensation.

You can request the reason for your dismissal within 14 days from your employer and if you think the reason is inadequate or untrue, you can take your employer to a tribunal.

Apply for new jobs!

The road to success is often a bumpy one, even though you may have experienced a setback, this is no reason to not attempt to advance your career. Start job-hunting and applying for new roles, you may find that you actually find a new employer which is better than previous, so don’t be disheartened.

The Graduate Project is always looking for ambitious, talented candidates and would love to help you take the next step in your career, get in touch with us to see what we have to offer. Visit our website today to see our latest vacancies www.thegraduateproject.co.uk