Life Reality Check

[bladeplayer]

Last Tuesday I was made redundant, 28 years of being in the one & only job ive ever had , well the one company ive ever worked for , few different positions in the same company .

11.20am we were called to a meeting & told we were ceasing trading immediately, to get our stuff together and head home , having survived the recession (twice) we were busy & looking to trade with a profit for 1st time in last few years it came as a major shock ..

There was a girl from our accountants there & some other guy , gave us the details of our statagory [sp] redundancy (5weeks to 6 months ) holiday pay in 3 to 4 weeks ..

I asked what was story with unemployment benefit.. no ideas . I asked what do we do for money til other came through , no ideas ..


6/7 weeks before Christmas with 3 kids & a mortgage its crushing news to receive . Luckily I went out & found a job for myself & the guy I worked side by side with & we were both back in similar jobs with other companies we had dealt with on Monday morning ..

What struck me most was there was no immediate help there or if there was there was no one there to inform us of how to get it , you were left to your own devices not one official person cared ..

It was a week of very little sleep , on Thursday I was at home alone & the electricity went off . no tv , no internet nothing , rain lashing against the window, tiredness & worry played silly games & I felt under serious pressure .


Luckily I have a great better half , great kids & great family around me , but if you hadn't it would be easy to slip into a bad place & that's a scary thought ..


Don't even know what the real point of the thread is TBH , Guess im really just saying its ok to Not be ok .. just don't try to do it on your own , talk to people if your down or under pressure , your mind can be a dangerous lonely place if you allow it to be ..


Good Luck , good health & enough wealth to ye all ..

Bill

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Glad you got something sorted for yourself and your folks Bill.

Not good timing and its easy to see how quickly debts can mount up if not paid, which can severely impact on a persons mental health and outlook.
Not sure what you have in Ireland, but over here we have the Citizens Advice Bureau which is a one stop shop for advice and help, the problem is they are well busy and it can take a while to get an appointment.

Glad you are OK mate

 

[Hobbit]

Gutted for you Bill. Thank Goodness you've managed to get sorted quickly, but tough times none the less. The two things I'd say to anyone who finds themselves in your position is always talk about your worries, and treat getting your next job as a job. Getting the next job takes stamina, and sitting in the corner of the sofa being moody won't get it done.

As an employer, whenever I see redundancy on a CV I don't see it as a negative. But when I ask what have they done during the time off the answers needs to be full of positives. Hard I know but its what employers want to see.

 

[bladeplayer]

Glad you got something sorted for yourself and your folks Bill.

Not good timing and its easy to see how quickly debts can mount up if not paid, which can severely impact on a persons mental health and outlook.
Not sure what you have in Ireland, but over here we have the Citizens Advice Bureau which is a one stop shop for advice and help, the problem is they are well busy and it can take a while to get an appointment.

Glad you are OK mate

Thanks Phil , happy out now , just realised id been taking lifestyle we have ( normal not extravagant or anything) for granted & it could be gone in an instant , felt let down by the system , someone should be appointed by the liquidator or the company to tell you whats out there for you , you are in so much shock you get lost ..

All good now Thank God , but can easily see how it might not be . Thanks Mate

 

[IanG]

I think you'll be surprised to hear how many of us have been made redundant as some point or other during our careers. For me it proved the catalyst to move from Surrey back to Bonnie Scotland, best move I ever made and I'm now grateful for getting the boot

HOWEVER at the time it was REALLY stressful and not nice at all. I can feel my stomach knotting up again just recalling it. Glad you've found another post so quick and hopefully you'll soon be enjoying the fresh challenges in a new environment.

 

[Region3]

Glad it all worked out for you Bill.

I went through it a few years ago, and it was worrying enough even with some savings to see me through until the redundancy came.

I was also lucky in that they kept me on for a couple of months for computer work while the administrators wound things up, so I had a while to come to terms with it.

I don't know if it was anything to do with how long I'd been there or not but part of the statutory payment was to carry on paying me for 3 months after I left while I looked for a new job.

I actually got the call telling me about it on a day off for a forum meet. My phone rang while we were eating lunch, and when I came back someone joked "not lost your job have you?"

 

[bladeplayer]

Gutted for you Bill. Thank Goodness you've managed to get sorted quickly, but tough times none the less. The two things I'd say to anyone who finds themselves in your position is always talk about your worries, and treat getting your next job as a job. Getting the next job takes stamina, and sitting in the corner of the sofa being moody won't get it done.

As an employer, whenever I see redundancy on a CV I don't see it as a negative. But when I ask what have they done during the time off the answers needs to be full of positives. Hard I know but its what employers want to see.

Thank You Brian , took tues afternoon to feel sorry for myself then out phoning & cold calling first thing Wed

 

[pbrown7582]

Glad you got sorted, kinda in a bit of limbo as weve been served 90 days redundancy notice worked it thru and had it rescinded for the near future at least but still could go again if VW pull the plug on motorsport (DTM) it such a stressful expierience especially at this time of year.

 

[bladeplayer]

I think you'll be surprised to hear how many of us have been made redundant as some point or other during our careers. For me it proved the catalyst to move from Surrey back to Bonnie Scotland, best move I ever made and I'm now grateful for getting the boot

HOWEVER at the time it was REALLY stressful and not nice at all. I can feel my stomach knotting up again just recalling it. Glad you've found another post so quick and hopefully you'll soon be enjoying the fresh challenges in a new environment.

Thanks Ian .

Glad it all worked out for you Bill.

I went through it a few years ago, and it was worrying enough even with some savings to see me through until the redundancy came.

I was also lucky in that they kept me on for a couple of months for computer work while the administrators wound things up, so I had a while to come to terms with it.

I don't know if it was anything to do with how long I'd been there or not but part of the statutory payment was to carry on paying me for 3 months after I left while I looked for a new job.

I actually got the call telling me about it on a day off for a forum meet. My phone rang while we were eating lunch, and when I came back someone joked "not lost your job have you?"

Thanks Gar , yea like I say all god now , but the reality of how close it was to not being ok was a sobering moment for me , maybe it was a reality check that was needed ,

 

[Norrin Radd]

well done for getting a job so quickly.
i have been made redundant four times in my working life and it really is no fun . the first was the worst as we were expecting our first child ,the wife left work at christmas ,jessica was born in the feb ,and yours truly was made redundant in the march.
we both had pretty well paid jobs bringing in around 25k a year . to go from that to i think was about £50 a week was a bit of a drop .mortgage and bills a new born to cope with .not to mention 300 others looking for jobs at the same time i was .this was back in 1990.

 

[bladeplayer]

Glad you got sorted, kinda in a bit of limbo as weve been served 90 days redundancy notice worked it thru and had it rescinded for the near future at least but still could go again if VW pull the plug on motorsport (DTM) it such a stressful expierience especially at this time of year.

VW problems were main cause of us closing mate , we were aftersales dealers , banks panicked I think ,

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Glad you are sorted

When I decided to leave the RAF I was very scared and worried for weeks

Thankfully I was able to get a job I now enjoy

 

[bladeplayer]

well done for getting a job so quickly.
i have been made redundant four times in my working life and it really is no fun . the first was the worst as we were expecting our first child ,the wife left work at christmas ,jessica was born in the feb ,and yours truly was made redundant in the march.
we both had pretty well paid jobs bringing in around 25k a year . to go from that to i think was about £50 a week was a bit of a drop .mortgage and bills a new born to cope with .not to mention 300 others looking for jobs at the same time i was .this was back in 1990.

Thanks Mate .

 

[bladeplayer]

Glad you are sorted

When I decided to leave the RAF I was very scared and worried for weeks

Thankfully I was able to get a job I now enjoy

Thanks Phil .. scared & worried I can relate to .. not a nice feeling

 

[Pin-seeker]

Good to hear it's worked out for you.
I was a plasterer,when the recession hit work dried up for me.
It ended up being a blessing in disguise for me.
I hated plastering,but the money was pretty good so if I hadn't been pushed I'd probably still be doing it now.
Onwards and upwards.

 

[chrisd]

Why does it happen at Christmas??

I was in the throes of being made redundant 25 years ago, remortgaged the house with a work mate and set up our own business which traded profitably until we decided to retire out last year. It could be a good new start for you and I seriously wish you and your family well!

 

[Stegsie]

Sorry to hear this, mate. Bad news never has good timing, but this time of year has to be one of the worst times. A few years ago I was told a week or so before Christmas that I had Coronary Heart Disease (aged in my late 30's)

Glad you got back into work quickly enough.

Take care, fella. Use all the advise centres you can. Without wanting to pry into your financial situation it's important to know that the likes of the mortgage and your heating / food bills come first. Anything else can wait - and you should get advise from somewhere like StepChange Debt charity that will give you a lot of help and support if needed.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Glad it worked out Bill. Not entirely impressed by the way the company handled it (no HR intervention or presence?). Know you're a grafter who'll move mountains for the family so forget the sleepless nights, go in Monday full of pride and give them 100%. It may be a blessing in disguise and the start of bigger and better things

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Sorry to hear about the job loss, but great news you turned it round so quickly.
More worrying is the stress and pressure you faced, good you had people to talk to, Depression amongst blokes still has a stigma attached to it and many bottle it up. Fair play to you posting it on here,

 

[bladeplayer]

Thanks for all the replys Guys , yea its onwards & upwards , something inside me wants to highlight how quickly things can change & how easily life can go downhill & the lack of support & advice for people who have never been in the system ..

Thank you all for your kind words

Sorry to hear about the job loss, but great news you turned it round so quickly.
More worrying is the stress and pressure you faced, good you had people to talk to, Depression amongst blokes still has a stigma attached to it and many bottle it up. Fair play to you posting it on here,

Hi Paul , they guys that know me will tell ya im a bounce along , have a laugh kinda guy .. it was a shock to me how easily & quick I started to feel down , fact I had a good family around me was great , fact i knew I had to step up ASAP was also a positive .
Realy a heads up to keep a watch out for people you know if life knocks them down ,try be there for then . don't wait to be approached by them , be the driving force in asking is everything ok , & ask regularly


Thanks to all