In the modern workplace, redundancy situations are a fact of life.
Whatever the reason you were made redundant, it means it is a time of change for you, and that at first glance can be frightening.
At Gateway Careers we help many individuals facing a redundancy situation and in order to survive it the best possible way, we’re giving you the best 5 tips:
- Check your rights
Redundancy is a process and it needs to follow certain legal steps.
Check whether your employer has a contractual redundancy policy and, if so, insist they follow it because it is your right as an employee.
Your employer needs to speak to you individually, explain what is happening explain the reasons for your redundancy and discuss it with you ‘meaningfully’.
If you’re a Union member, get their help and support.
Stay in a place of integrity and in control and check all your legal rights so you can leave the company the best possible way, or even in being able to argue to stay – you can always appeal against selection and dismissal.
- Negotiate your leaving
If leaving is inevitable, negotiate it with your employer.
You can always attempt to negotiate a “severance” package. For example, if your employer only intends to pay the minimum statutory redundancy notice, you can argue for them to improve it or even ask to pay your notice pay in lieu or garden leave, so you have time to look for a new job.
Also, check your work contract to see if there are any restrictions such as not being able to work for a competitor for a certain period of time.
Ask them to drop these restrictions in writing so you’ll be able to look for a new job without them.
- Take some time to re-evaluate your career
A redundancy situation can be a great moment to re-evaluate your career.
Maybe there were certain aspects of your job/company you weren’t happy about, or you were thinking in doing a career change for a long time, always postponing it for later.
This can be the opportunity to search for that dream job, enrol in a course and learn new skills, or even start your own business!
Everything happens for a reason, so try to look at all the possibilities that are opening for you.
- Stay positive!
Looking at all the possibilities opening up for you means you need to stay positive.
Facing a redundancy situation is hard and it can easily hurt your self-esteem if you’re not careful.
Try to see the big picture. You’re much more than a job or the company you work for.
You’re an experienced professional with many valuable skills who is going through a career change that will take you to a much better place.
So, stay positive and take care of yourself. Surround yourself with people that care and support you, engage in activities such as sports or relaxation that lift you higher and give you a positive mood boost.
A positive approach will take you to a much better place much quicker.
- Work with a career coach
If you’re feeling completely lost when facing a redundancy, the best thing to do is to work with an experienced career coach that will help and guide you.
At Gateway Careers we’re experts in helping people moving forward after being made redundant, to even a better career and life situation than before.
We’ve helped people who are about to be made redundant, people who have been redundant for a while and people who may be facing redundancy too. We know it’s not easy to look at it as an opportunity –and we know that even if you do see it as an opportunity it can still be difficult to turn that into something that’s right for you.
If you’re facing redundancy or you know someone who is, then complete the Gateway enquiry form and take the first step to ‘transform redundancy into opportunity.