Sign of the Times!

F

Flake

Guest
I haven't logged on to AAM much in the past 4 weeks - due to the fact that I was laid off by my company - to be advised this Friday whether I will be made redundant or not. Surfing tonight and saw the new heading - I just thought "my God - it's not just us". My husband was made redundant a few weeks before I was laid off and we are both now signing on - a totally new phenonomen[sp?] for both of us [middle management]. When I went to Social Welfare office - lady behind the window shook her head and said 'there's an awful lot of people being laid off'. Anyway - I've just realised I'm not asking anything here [AAM!!] - just making a statement - things are a changin'. I've had great advice from this site and was directed [by Clubman I think!] to talk to Dept Ent & Emp - which I have done - taking necc. steps to protect myself.
Gotta go - Teachers is on! I could tape it and watch it tomorrow when you guys are at work but am proud to say - the TV does not go on before 6pm! Routine very important.
 
Welcome aboard Flake.

This board was set up because after any consumer boom there's bound to be a hangover.

* People who had a standard of living based on an income, and that income suddenly decreasing, through redundancy, etc.

* People who got used to using credit and who find themselves unable to save/invest because too much of their income is going on repaying consumer debt.

* People who are just trying to figure out why it is that with relatively high incomes they have very little in terms of assets and net worth.

Of course the "Boom" didn't mean everyone was on high incomes, so the board may also be of help to people who feel they just never have enough money even if they don't have huge debts to deal with.

Hopefully it will be of help.

-Rd
 
Sorry for your troubles, Flake - And indeed a cautionary tale for many of those who are taking on as much debt as the bank will throw at them in the assumption that the good times will go on forever.

Hope things work out for you soon.
 
Redundancy

My 2 cents worth is to get everything you can get..

Maximum no. of weeks pay
Retained health benefits
'Re training grant'
Couple of days fees with H.R. company to get your C.V. up to date.
Be wary of deferred pensions though!
You are entitled I think to 15 months dole.... not a lot but.....
There is life afterwards though
 
Re: Redundancy

Flake, sorry to hear about your situation. I have been made unexpectedly redundant twice during my working life. I can't say I'm an expert, but here's what I learned :

(1) Sign on ASAP - to get the (small) cash and to preserve your PRSI. I also discovered that my PRSI had been credited against a wrong number, delaying my benefit for quite a while.

(2) Treat getting another job/deciding what you want to do as a job. I.e. even if you are lucky enough to be able to afford to sit back for a while (financially) - don't !
I used to tweak my CV, phone agencies and companies, send out emails in the morning, then go out to see employers and agencies in the afternoon.

(3) Generally, I found job agencies pretty useless. Some good individuals, but overall not great. Most jobs I got via direct applications.

(4) Don't despair - in both cases I got a much better job following redundancy than before.

Good Luck !
 
Mortgage Assistance

Someone mentioned to me that we can go to the Health Board and get assistance with our Mortgage. Does anyone know if that is an across the board entitlement or would the fact that redundancy has been paid negate this?
 
Re: Mortgage Assistance

Flake

Not sure about the health board helping out, but you should consider approaching your lender and explaining the situation to them to see what they can assist you with. They may agree to a payment holiday or reduced payments.

I would suggest contacting MABS to see if they can help you out.

I was made redundant last year and as one poster pointed out earlier you should treat looking for a job as a job in itself. Similarly I found agencies not up to scratch, merely CV pushers. Try the direct route, a friend of mine who was recently made redundnat, just got a job after mailing her CV into a number of local companies and one responded with a vacancy.

C
 
Agencies

Tough place to be - lets hope it works out. Re recruitment agencies and
"generally, I found job agencies pretty useless. Some good individuals, but overall not great. Most jobs I got via direct applications"
you must remember that recruitment agencies are just that - AGENCIES - they dont make the jobs, they just fill them on behalf of clients - if their clients dont have jobs, the agency wont be contacting you. Oh and bty, always be sure of one thing - the agency is working for the employer as they pay the bill - its free to employees.
 
Agencies

Things are getting better - have landed myself a fantastic job - will be earning about €30k more than I was!!!
Have to say I agree re. agencies - I applied for quite a few jobs but the only ones that seemed real and resulted in interviews were the ones where agencies weren't involved - jobs advertised in the good old newspapers and application direct to company.
 
Re: Agencies

Well done!

Looks like the shortest ever stay in Dire Straits.

Move on to Savings and Investment, do not pass GO do not collect £200.

;)

-Rd
 
Moving on

Thanks RD - we're not totally out of the woods as hubby still has to find a job - but def. out of Dire Straits. We have learnt a great lesson in life over the past couple of months - and, while we have no debt to speak of apart from mortgage, we def. never paid enough attention to Savings and Investment - so your point is well taken.
 
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