5 Lessons from Being Made Redundant

I will be losing my job through redundancy at the end of the month. I wanted to share my key learning from going through this process so that it may be of benefit to someone who finds themselves in a similar position.

This is happening in the UK so any details of the process relate to what happens in the UK.

Within our team we had been speaking about redundancy for a few months but it was still a shock, one of those shocks that hits you in the pit of your stomach. You start to question your value and if you can provide for your family.

The UK has a whole procedure for redundancy that has to be followed correctly otherwise the company leaves itself open for claims of wrongful dismissal. However for a company that is truly set on making someone redundant they will find a way. In fact the process itself can turn into a subtle form of torture that can effect your health.

As a team we followed the procedures, submitted alternative proposals to our redundancy, questioned the management at every turn. Which made not one bit of difference. All of our suggestions, thousands of words of business cases was all for nothing. It became clear that there was no way we could influence what was going on.

No job is worth damage to your health. The process is full of stress and you will go through a whole range of negative emotions that will effect you and your loved ones. While you should definitely fight, you must keep track of your health both physical and mental.

For me I became very angry, which would lead to outbursts of rage which sadly my family took the brunt of. I was leading the charge that was fighting the redundancy pouring huge amounts of energy into the defence and one day it became too much. My wife said that I was angry and aggressive and it had to stop. She was right and I took some stress leave. It was the right decision because if I continued as I was I may have ended up in a much worse place.

I was a member of a union and while I appreciated having an expert on my side their power is limited. Unions are only as strong as their membership so my first piece of advice is join the union appropriate for your industry. If everyone is in the union they are able to help with the negotiations collectively. Strong unions will also lead to better labour laws.

The sad fact is that companies are not your friend and in general their only loyalty is to themselves. When the going gets tough, you will have to get going. Remember that have you side business develop other options and don’t provide more loyalty than they deserve.

This has been a difficult period of my life but I am remaining positive and looking at my work life with fresh more experienced eyes. I am fighting my way back into the job market and now understand that if I don’t look after myself it is unlikely that a company will.

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Susan Brearley is a brilliant strategist, a published book author, writer, seasoned editor, essayist, occasional comedy writer, and an accidental poet. She is currently based in the mid-Hudson…