Voluntary Redundancy and Social Welfare

Lux23

Hi I have just been told that my role is to be made by redundant by mid summer, I have been offered a fantastic package but there is just one minor snag. If I don't apply for voluntary redundancy the company assume that I want to stay in the company so that means if any suitable position pops up elsewhere on my level I will be asked to fill it. The problem is that this is likely to be a very junior position in customer service or an area I have no interest in.

So I am thinking I may be better off applying for VR but then this also means I won't be eligible for social welfare for 9 weeks which would come to about 1800, this would pay my rent and food for a couple of months and would give me more time to look for work. On the other hand if I am offered a job and I refuse to take it could mean that I have to resign and will lose everything. I have asked HR to clarify what will happen if I refuse to take on another role but its looking likely that I will have to go for VR.

Any help with this would be appreciated.

Kristopherus

You may be better off posting your query on askaboumoney. There are a couple of posters there who know their stuff. Not sure if they post here.

54kroc

How long does it take for redundancy money to come through?
I've never been made redundant but I would have thought you would get it with your last wage payment from work,at least it would tide you over.

Lux23

cork45 wrote: »

How long does it take for redundancy money to come through?
I've never been made redundant but I would have thought you would get it with your last wage payment from work,at least it would tide you over.

I would get the check on the last day of work but I don't think its fair that the company has put us all in a situation where we have to apply for VR and therefore lose out on what we are entitled to. I am just wondering what my rights in this situation are.

robinph

Are you sure that the voluntary part of the voluntary redundancy would actually exclude you from getting any JSB payments?

There are exclusions depending on the amount of the redundancy payment, but I don't see anything relating to voluntary redundancy excluding you on this page:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/unemployed-people/unemployment_benefit

Leaving the job voluntarily being different from taking voluntary redundancy. In one case you leave a job because you want to do it any more, in the other you just make the job of the employers deciding who to get rid of easier but the job no longer exists either way if it is still called redundancy.

Lux23

Ok, thanks for that Robin. That makes sense, it seems our HR department have their wires crossed. Now why doesn't that surprise me.

robinph

Worth checking properly, but I see nothing to suggest that taking voluntary matters. Once it's redundancy I think it's all the same.

Nehaxak

Redundancy does not exclude you from JSB, either compulsory or voluntary redundancy. Soon as you're made redundant, next working day get yourself down to the social welfare office with everything you need. It may take a while but it will be backdated to when you first applied.

However, you did say the redundancy package on offer was fantastic, in which case the following may apply and if you fall into any of these brackets then yeah, you may be disqualified from applying for a few weeks/couple months.

Amount of Redundancy Payment Period of Disqualification
€50,000.00 - €55,000 1 Week
€55,000.01 - €60,000 2 Weeks
€60,000.01 - €65,000 3 Weeks
€65,000.01 - €70,000 4 Weeks
€70,000.01 - €75,000 5 Weeks
€75,000.01 - €80,000 6 Weeks
€80,000.01 - €85,000 7 Weeks
€85,000.01 - €90,000 8 Weeks
€90,000.01 and over 9 Weeks

Trish2007

Just to back up what the previous poster has said unless your redundancy payment is over 50000 euro your social welfare will not be affected. I took voluntary redundancy in 2008 and I have never been asked if it is voluntary. There is nothing on the paper work to indicate that the redundancy is voluntary.

Lux23

Thanks for your replies. That's makes me feel a lot better now.

Nehaxak

I would say though Lux, regardless of you thinking of possibly being disqualified for a few weeks, there's no harm in going to the social and applying anyway.
At least they can tell you there and then at the hatch if you can or cannot apply.

robinph

Even if you were disqualified for the 9 weeks, you still need to go and open the claim on the first day. That wil be when the nine weeks starts from, if you wait nine weeks before going in I think you'll then have to wait another 9 before you'd get anything.

cee_jay

robinph wrote: »

Even if you were disqualified for the 9 weeks, you still need to go and open the claim on the first day. That wil be when the nine weeks starts from, if you wait nine weeks before going in I think you'll then have to wait another 9 before you'd get anything.

If you go in the day after becoming unemployed, and you have to serve a disqualification period of 9 weeks, the number of days your claim is open for starts from the date of the claim, not the date you get paid eventually - bearing in mind you only get 260/312 days depending on your contributions.

If you know you will have to serve the disqualification period, you can wait for 9 weeks after your job finishes - they will see you haven't claimed for 9 weeks and you will get paid straight away - so at the end of the claim, if you are still unemployed, you will get those 9 weeks at the end.

OP you shouldn't be disqualified for taking voluntary redundancy - it is still redundancy at the end of the day.