What To Do (And Not Do) If You're Made Redundant

A survey conducted in 2015 found that the US workforce is pretty sure about their job security: of those asked, 87% said that it was not too likely or not at all likely that they would lose their job in the next year. This is good, and it is sign that the economy is continuing to improve. The current unemployment rate is 4.4% which is remarkable and is a consequence of the great work of the Obama administration. However, the possibility of being made redundant is always there. While it may seem unnecessarily pessimistic to start planning for redundancy, in the event that it does happen, it is better to be prepared. Besides, few people anticipated the financial crisis of 2008 which led to the unemployment rate to rise to a startling 10% in October of 2009. While, to a degree, you have to be able to deal with the as yet unknown circumstances in which you will find yourself, there are effective ways of dealing with it and ineffective ways. Here are a few tips about what to do if you ever find yourself in that situation: 

The first thing that you should do is carefully assess your position. Was your termination fair? While severance pay is not mandated by law in the United States, many employers do offer it. There is little that you can do if you do not get what you’d hoped for. However, one thing that is guaranteed by law is the procedure that employers have to go through when deciding on who to make redundant. If you think that you have been targeted for a reason besides just a financial consideration, you can sue your former employee or take them to a tribunal. This is obviously quite a risky thing to do as you are staking the legal costs on your winning. In the event that the case is decided against you, you will have wasted both time and money.

If you accept the situation and simply recognize that you have to deal with the new paradigm, you may be thinking about how you will go about supporting yourself. If you have mortgage payments that are too great to meet, you can talk to your bank and explain to them your circumstances. They may be able to work out more lenient arrangements with you. You may want to sell house fast, but this could easily be an overreaction, and depending on the state of the market, you may not be able to sell it for its true worth. A wiser option would be to rent out a room or two and wait for the market to improve again. 

However, your biggest priority should be to find a new job. This is a lot easier said than done. There will be many other people trying to bounce back too. If you do not find something right away, you could try volunteering. This will keep you occupied and allow you to stay in a working mindset. It will also demonstrate the sort of initiative that appeals to prospective employers.