Redundancy threat.

Worth looking up the rules online - I believe it is now called Jobseeker's Allowance. She must be careful not to leave voluntarily. If in doubt contact CAB.

Generally speaking, if you leave a job voluntarily you cannot claim JSA for (I think) 6 weeks, but I would seriously advise you/her to check this out.

She may be better off waiting to be made redundant, but again I would look into this.

It certainly used to be that you could only claim JSA for six months, although there may be other benefits she would be entitled to afterwards, depending on her circumstances. She should get proper adrvice, as the others have said.

Thank you - I've passed on to her what you've all said. She's actually really very tired, and has been getting increasingly so over the past few years. DD was born without a thyroid gland and although her medication (Thyroxine) is monitored she experiences awful tiredness and 'brain-fag' I think she feels that if she's made redundant, that it may just be a blessing in disguise. However, the wolf must still be kept from the door, the mortgage paid etc, etc.

I know where I worked all redundancy letters were worded we regret that we are having to terminate your employment to imply the redundancy was compulsory.

Frank

Might the "package" be better if she volunteers for redundancy?

There is a very "strict" procedure/protocol for redundancy (I should know!) It has to go in stages,

1) A letter stating that redundancies might be made and that the recipient may be affected. There is a right to a meeting following this, and the person concerned has the right to take someone with them, be it work colleague, union rep, friend etc.
2) A letter confirming that redundancies will be made, and that the recipient has been identified as a possible candidate. There should then be the opportunity for discussion with the boss as to why that person should not be made redundant.
3) A letter confirming redundancy.

Marelli there is loads more to this that I could say, do feel free to PM me and I will be glad to help. Also ACAS can be very helpful in these matters.

What she must NOT do is tender her resignation!

marelli you might find this useful

https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/redundancies-dismissals

Thank you phoenix and glass. They are called to another meeting this Friday, so may find out more then. I will warn her not to tender her resignation - though I don't think she would do that. She's never been up against this sort of thing before (she's lucky to be able to say that), and she's a bit at sea with it all.

No problem, glad to be able to help.

Let us know how she gets on.

I will, phoenix, thank you.

marelli hope things work out for her, but as phoenix mentioned she must not be pushed into resigning. Let us know what happens.

I worked at the Jobcentre for 15 years and kept an eye on the regs. Firstly, Hunterf is right in saying it is how the redundancy letter is worded. She could loose benefit for 6 months on Leaving Voluntarily although this can be appealed against.
Job Seekers Allowance is of two types - contribution based when you must have paid enough National Insurance in specific years or income based (the old Income Support). The income based would also depend on what savings she held. I believe the limit for claiming was £6000 the last I knew. However, if she is unemployed, even if she doesn't get any money she will receive an NI stamp for the weeks of unemployment. Either way she would need to be available for and actively seeking work. She would be expected to keep a record of her jobsearch.
She may also be able to claim community charge benefit also dependant on her savings and income.
I think that mortgage interest is paid only after one year of unemployment.
I'd also second the advice to go to the CAB as claiming can be a trial and having information will enable her to make an informed decision.
Hope this helps and all goes well for her.

marelli how did your DDs meeting go on Friday?

ayse, thank you for that . I'll be passing the information on to DD.
Both DD and the other secretary applied for the post, and DD was told yesterday she'd been unsuccessful. She'd had the interview for it at the end of last week and she felt that it was a foregone conclusion that she wouldn't get the job, as the knowledge that was required for it wasn't as much as that which the other girl had (court work etc, whereas DD's knowledge is mainly conveyancing).
However, when she texted me yesterday straight after having been told that she hadn't been successful, she said, "I feel unburdened!" So that's good. All of the procedures seem to have been correctly followed and she was actually told she could go yesterday is she wanted to, but DD, being the lovely lass that she is, knew that the other (successful) secretary needed a day off today to deal with family issues, so DD is covering for her.
They've worked together for many years, so it's rather bitter-sweet, really.
She'll be fine, I'm sure.
Thank you to everyone who posted with advice.

Marelli I do hope your daughter will be able to find another job quite quickly as it seems that fewer and fewer people are eligible for benefits and even then the amounts people are entitled to seem to be diminishing.

She's married with a daughter of 13, grannyactivist, and they have the usual stuff that goes with it at their age (mid-forties). Her intention is to register with the Job Centre but also trawl the internet for a suitable position. Am I right in thinking that she wouldn't receive JSA as her DD is employed? She will be receiving her 90 days money as is procedure.

Marelli she should be entitled to claim contributions based JSA, as this is purely on her having enough NCI contributions, (usually based on the 2 previous tax years) and any other household income is NOT taken into account.

This is paid for (I think) a maximum of 6 months, providing she can show each time she goes to the Job Centre that she has been actively seeking employment.

After 6 months, it is usually changed to Income Based JSA, which means effectively that it is means tested, so husband's or partners income is included in the assessment.

If she has actually been made redundant, then she may be entitled to more than 90 days pay. This is something you need to check, as if she was given the opportunity to apply for a different position within the company, and failed to get the post, it might be counted as redundancy. I suggest she gets on to ACAS, who will know lots more than I do!

It may be worth checking her contract.
Where I worked it was basically a months salary for every year of service up to 53 and if you were over 50 you got an immediate pension.
After 53 the redundancy payment started to reduce to take in to account the normal retirement was 60.

Frank

Marelli

Another thing to remember is if she is re deployed in to another post it usually on a probationary basis for a month and the employer could still make her redundant or she could ask for redundancy if she does not like the job.
I must say it was rare for people to be made redundant once they had been redeployed where I worked.
It was more usual to be re deployed again until a suitable job was found.
In my case however as I was over 50 and they were looking to cut staff numbers I was really thrown out on the scrap heap with redundancy and pension.

Frank

Marelli, this is definitive information on redundancy and statutory redundancy pay. If there is a clause in her contract that specifies contractual redundancy pay, that would be paid at a better rate.

Thank you Frank . Her package relates to the years she's worked there and the salary received, as per normal procedures. DD is nearly 47 and has relevant service of 24 years. All seems correct.
phoenix, I've just phoned her with that information. Thank you!

You're welcome. And of course I meant NIC up there, not NCI !

marelli that link I put on the other day will answer some of the questions for your DD.