r/UKJobs

M45 and recently told that my firm is making redundancies.

Last week we were informed of the terms for voluntary redundancy and these are the basic financials.

• 2 weeks pay for every year we've worked there (I'm on 15 so that would be 30 weeks.)
• PILON - so 3.months of gardening leave
• No restrictions on taking on freelance or consulting work for the company - normally there is a 4 month period where that isn't possible.

I'm currently on £50k a year, so the redundancy payment would be £28.5k + an extra £12.5k in PILON.

My situation is as follows:

• wife works full-time and earns roughly the same.
• 2 kids - aged 6 & 8. Sadly, only one grandparent alive and they live a long way away so feel like we're juggling a lot.
• Mortgage: £90k left. Paying £650 a month. No need to move.
• Approximately £90k in savings (S&S ISA)
• Pension around £110k

Job is/was fine. Not that interesting, but not totally boring. Bit of a desk jockey type job. If I want to, I can stay (role is up for redundancy, but others are in the cross hairs due to a product being withdrawn). However, not sure how much room for growth there is in role. Bit of a dead man's shoes scenario due to career moves, so likely to be 3-4 years before promotion. At the same time, role isn't that challenging, quite low stress and perks are good (reason I have stayed for 15 years). Industry is dying slowly (print & digital media based role) so could eek out for another 10 years or so, but limited opportunities out there.

I'll admit, I'm tempted to take redundancy and try something new due to lack of growth options. However, at 45 worried that this job is worth keeping and that there will be nothing out there.

Thoughts?

Hey all! Looking for advice on my current situation.

Just recently started the perfect role - working from home, double the salary of my last role with room to learn and grow. I only applied for this one job, did two interviews and was offered the role. Left my old job in April.

On Thursday after being there for 2
months, we got told the entire department is being reduced from 18 down to 4 roles (I won’t be kept as I’ve only just completed training). Just wondered if anyone had any experience of a company doing this so quickly after being hired? In fact, they hired a new person after me starting a couple of weeks ago and they are also being told they’re now facing redundancy.

The reason they’ve given us is “Due to the department not receiving the amount of work that returns on the amount of invested money”. Surely they knew this recently so why have they hired?

I’m back on the job search now but this is just extremely demoralising, I left my old job as I was promised it was such an exciting opportunity and the increase in salary. Is it worth putting this role on my CV? I have the documents to confirm the redundancy if any new employer questions my short time there. Myself and my family are really concerned about lack of incoming funds and how difficult it’ll be to get a new role.

What do people feel like with morale being better in more qualified work places, than “minimum wage” unqualified larger companies? As in, people who have gotten degrees and gone into a field for their career. Are qualified work places better with their staff? Is there a reason people feel overwhelmed with minimum wage shift work? All opinion based of course. Would be good to hear thoughts

Edit: I’m a dual citizen, US/UK. Right to work, sponsorship, relocation are not required.

Thanks for the help so far.

I'm sure I have some of the wording wrong, trying to understand how easy it is to move professional jobs in a short time.

I have an opportunity to transfer US to UK with my company. One way they may get me over would be for me to quit the US company and hire on with the UK company (I’m a dual citizen). I'm generally fine with the terms of this offer, but I'm not aware of labor laws that might impact my giving notice and leaving after only a few weeks. Desk would be in Wales, home office in England, if that matters.

There's also a possibility of a similar job in Scotland.

Neither of these are firm offers yet. I'm not sure yet which I'd prefer. Neither are offering relocation or otherwise making an investment that would tie me to them for a period.

So, if I start a job in Wales, then the next week, Scotland calls with an offer, am I stuck with a 3 month notice period or something else that would make the move difficult?

Coming from the US, Texas, non-union, I can walk away from a job today, and be working or the competition tomorrow. Our two week notice is courtesy only in almost all cases.

I’m an apprentice which is why my salary is so low. Im in my late 20s. I’m currently living with my parents but it is becoming increasingly exhausting/stressful. I have a 1.6L car (it’s worth nothing so no point in selling) which I need for work. My current expenses are like £200ish a month. I will look into getting a second job on the weekend (warehouse, retail, whatever) but I’m too exhausted from my current living situation at the minute. I’d prefer to live in south London (not Croydon) as it’s closer to work. Is this possible?

Spoke to the line manager directly about the job. Straight up said that I cannot take the job at this salary and also commit to my personal stuff. (said this last week)

Heard back on friday saying that its possible to take on a role in Birmingham, starting at the birmingham office and moving up to london at the start of the year.

This way I'll have my foot through the door and can do some 'beating around the bush' work (like going around the company and helping out in whatever comes up) then move to london in December/Jan.

I like this prospectus as I feel I can look for a job in the meantime as well.

What do you guys think?
Should I start in birmingham, save about 300 a month and then move to london?
Or should I take the hit now, get stuck in 6 months ahead and go at it from September?

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKJobs/comments/1uo07lm/is_this_job_worth_taking/

PS. I've heard the Birmingham office is shit. They practically do nothing other than management which is not my speciality. So all I'll be doing is passing papers around and twiddling my thumbs

​

I am in such a stupid and difficult situation.

Its all so complicated and I cannot stop crying.

I am so stuck.

I started a term time permanent job thats 2 days a week in September 2025. I work Monday and Tuesdays 6 hours an evening.

After years of having agency contract jobs, i was happy to find something part time, permanent and near my house.

Basically, as it's a College, they end for summer break earlier than schools.

I asked my manager by email twice when will be the last day of term for me as a staff member and she said 23rd june. Twice she said that..once in march and again in the beginning of June via Email. I think its because she assumed thats when evening classes end for the summer.

Then, i saw my contract and actually, I am on a 38 week term contract, not 36. This means my last week should be this week.

However this is the issue and where it gets very bad:

Via Email back in March, my manager confirmed to me that my last day is 23rd june.

So i applied for a summer residential role which is 5 hours away and that began literally the 4 days after 23rd june on Saturday. Since I work 2 days a week, I thought i was done for the summer. They offered me a role and I ONLY accepted because I honestly thought I was done.

A day after my supposed "last day" she sends me a text saying that i am needed the following week on mon and tues. By this point, I am so scared because I have started my new temp job. The text was sent on Wednesday which is my non working day (I only work mon and tues) She called me on friday 26th too to confirm I will come in. As I am a people pleaser and scared of authority and losing my job, i said Ok. I was on the spot and agreed stupidly.

This current temp job is very physical and intense so I was in a lot of pain anyway and I called in sick for those days.

Again, the next day (wed 1st july), she told me she needs me to come in on monday 6th july. I told her I can't as I am not in that city but I will see if i can. She then responded angrily saying that i am on a 38 week contract and need to come in.

I told 2 of the managers in my current temp role and they said unfortunately I cannot go because the British Council are coming in that day to inspect us and since I am the only one with this role, i need to be here...the other girl with the same girl quit after 2 days so I need to be bere!

My permanent job-They have no cover availabile and I am the only 1 who works that job and has those hours. I am needed. Ironically both jobs need me there on monday. Both roles, i am the only 1 with the specific role.

After so much back and forth, the temp manager told me that if it was literally any other day, they would have been fine with me going to that permanent job.

What do i do?

If i dont go into my permanent job tomorrow, I will be blacklisted or made redundant. I enjoyed the job and attended everyday.

I have not opened by work email ever since out of intense anxiety.

Hello people, I will be moving to Leeds later this month and would like to have some leads on biotech/pharma roles. Since my main focus in the last 1.5 years is on the analytical side of things in an academic setting (LC-MS/MS, HPLC-DAD/ELSD, Prep. LC, and UV spec… for the analysis of pharmaceuticals), I would ideally like to continue in this field, however, I don’t mind pivoting into another field within the industry. I have a Msc in biotechnology from German university, and do not require sponsorship. Any leads, opinions, and recommendations are welcome :)

I'm looking for some other opinions on this- any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I'm 18, and started an apprenticeship after my A Levels this Wednesday (1st of July) as a Trainee Estate Agent.

I really like the job and the people I work with, but I'm a bit concerned about my hours.

In the interview, they said it would be from Monday to Friday, for 8 hours a day not including breaks. This was fine with me.

They then suggested that myself and the other apprentice could alternate Saturday shifts- i.e. I worked Saturday one week and she worked the next instead of me. Saturday shifts are 6 hours not including breaks.

I assumed this meant that I'd be offered a day from Monday to Friday off.

On the job offer letter, it said that I'd be required to work a 5 day week. I assumed that I was correct in that I would get one of the days off, so that I was working the 5 days.

However, I was informed by my line manager that I'd actually have to work Monday- Saturday, only having Sunday off that week, making it a 6 day working week.

If this had been stated in the offer letter, I would've definitely asked about it and requested that I didn't work the Saturdays. And, if I knew working a 6 day week was a requirement, I probably wouldn't have accepted the offer at all.

I worked this Saturday, and there were only 2 other people in the office (there are usually around 8), and there was very little work to do. So I don't think it's incredibly important that I'm in on Saturdays.

So essentially, I'm working an alternating 40 and 46 hour week, despite this not being stated on the job offer letter. I'm also on the very minimum wage for my age, £8 an hour.

This is my first full time job, so maybe I'm just adjusting to the new and longer routine, but my parents are saying that this is too much time for too little pay.

I'd much prefer to only work Monday to Friday, and a 5 day week as originally stated, but I don't want to potentially throw away a good learning opportunity and an otherwise enjoyable job, if the hours aren't actually that bad.

Any advice would be appreciated!! :)

Just a quick bit of background - the company I am at is dying before my eyes. There has been a leadership shift, the new boss is seemingly uninterested in the business and finding new work, the accounts on Companies House look bleak, and clients are actively leaving us.

My notice period is 12 weeks. I have been job hunting for nearly 4 months, on more than one occasion I have gotten close to an offer but ultimately rejected because of my notice period.

I have a family to support and feed - the catch 22 is I (and other employers) know that the company will be gone 12 months from now but the boss either doesn't realise that or doesn't care. Either way I am not in a position where I can negotiate a lower notice period for 2 reasons - another employee has attempted this without success, and I can't afford the risk of burning a bridge until I have an offer on the table.

The only thing I can think of that will get me out of this hole is to tell prospective employers my notice period is 6 weeks, then if/when it comes to an offer negotiate with my employer about the situation that led me to say it was 6 weeks and attempt to make an agreement on handover, ie help looking for a replacement for myself, working longer hours on handovers etc.

Another thing for reference - there is almost no work to be done at my current workplace due to the aforementioned shakeup and client loss. I WFH and my day is spent mostly twiddling my thumbs, if this information changes things at all.

Really hoping for some advice as I am battling a very tough job market (as most of us are!) together with being locked into a job at a company that is clearly failing

Thanks all

I was formally made redundant at the end of June.

I have appealed - following the process because we are going to ACAS and then the courts. But before then I must appeal the redundancy. Even though it won’t be overturned.

They’ve told me I am being paid in lieu of notice and that they’re giving me the statutory minimum payment for redundancy.

Will they withhold the whole amount until my appeal and legal battle has concluded in case it is uplifted by the courts? Or will they pay it because it’s the bare minimum anyway, leaving “anything else” to be decided but the courts?

Should the notice payment be made to me regardless of that fight?

Or - while we’re in appeal, will they treat the payments like wages until it’s resolved and keep the redundancy date the same? (Ie if they pay me 4 weeks wages then they’d remove that from the final PILON payment?)

Hi all,

I seen a post on this sub a while ago about someone who said about certain jobs always hiring and they use it as a back up, think one was a bus driver and the other a smart meter installer that included training etc?

Anyone got any recommendations for jobs that provide training that are always hiring?

Im 35 years old, start a new renovation business this year which was going well but sadly think me and my business partner have different ideas on the way forward and regarding money etc so dont think its going to work.

Ive had many jobs over the past 15 years and enjoyed a wide range of sectors, always wanted to try my own thing and ive given it a go but think im not good enough to make it work so starting to accept im going to need to put the dreams away and get a stable job to support my wife and son!

Any help or advice regarding new carer paths would be greatly appericated!

I got my first job through a tweet I put out. I wanted to work in the TV industry - someone offered some work experience as a runner and they kept me on.

*Disclaimer* I work an office 9-5 job so have basically zero knowledge of having your own company and it’s tax implications. I am also well aware this is a common joke amongst the trades so not taking this as what’s actually going on throughout the industry.

I saw this video recently, where basically everyone jokingly says they earn the personal allowance amount of ~£12.5k a year to dodge tax. It made me think how common this actually is? Surely it must be quite common considering how prevalent the joke is? Just from personal experience of dealing with the trades every single quote I’ve received they’ve given an off the record option to pay in cash for a discount.

Surely it’s not that easy to dodge this as HMRC would be well aware?

Also if it is so prevalent, how are they not more vilified? Why when a celebrity dodges tax there’s a nationwide outrage but when tradesmen up and down the country seemingly do it, it’s a bit of a laugh?

*Edit - a lot of clarification of the dividends process which is fair enough if done in line with the tax laws (arguing about the morality etc of specific tax law is not what I tended to bring up). As mentioned I know basically fuck all about tax so the more you know eh.

In my original post I admittedly confused this as part of the cash in hand stuff which is a separate thing (which is bollocks still).

Obviously the majority of trades up and down the country are paying their fair way and the issue is a bit more nuanced than the discussion I was trying to raise with the original post.

Expected to:
Serve customers quickly.
Deliver consistently high food quality.
Keep the shop clean throughout service.
Hit labour targets with just three staff on shift.
Complete a perfect close every night.
All while operating with two servers and one chef, where the chef is also expected to act as the shift manager, oversee the kitchen, handle stock and back-of-house responsibilities, solve problems as they arise, and ensure everything runs smoothly—often for very little return

Posting because it's really surprised me. We run a small advertising agency in the UK. Posted a job on LinkedIn a few days ago and received 60 applications on LinkedIn despite clearly putting a 'How to apply' section in the job spec that asked candidates to email us and including the email address.

After about 30 applications on LinkedIn, I edited the job and moved the 'How to apply' section to much further up in the job spec. We still only had a total of 10 people actually email us and introduce themselves - we didn't ask for anything specific in the email, just a brief introduction and why they're interested in the role.

Anyway, of the 10 people who emailed, we've shortlisted 5. We're not going to review the 60 people who applied via LinkedIn because we're pretty confident one of these 5 will be the right fit and to be honest, we have serious doubts over whether the 60 who applied on LinkedIn even read the job spec fully - if they did, they certainly didn't pay enough attention to detail or take the initiative/make any effort to do what was asked or stand out - both qualities we look for in new hires.

I know the job market is tough and it feels like a numbers game but if I could give anyone advice, it's to make the effort to go that extra step, or at the very least do what's asked of you. As an employer, we're always going to prioritise conversations with people who seem genuinely interested in the role.

EDIT:

I didn’t expect this post to get so much traction - I totally get everyone’s frustrations with the job market! I was just trying to offer our perspective, I (clearly wrongly) thought most people would read the job spec and that they would prefer to email us directly. By the time we’d gone through the applicants we did get on email, we were super happy with the shortlist so just didn’t see the need to go through the applicants on LinkedIn yet. Obviously as a business, we’re going to want to hire the best person, right? Someone who is going to bring the most value to the role and screening for that does have to start at the application stage. And for us it was absolutely a green flag that someone read the job spec and took the time to send the email.

Maybe I poorly worded my advice but I was basically just trying to say that there are always people who will do what’s asked or more so why wouldn’t you try to give yourself the best chance?

Finally, got a new job... its not in my "normal" sector, but in a sector that is very close. I worked in Agriculture/Conservation and have moved to horticulture, gardening!

And I LOVE it. Been with them a month, review in September to see if the team needs more staff over the winter months, but I'm earning money. Hours are a bit sporadic. But thanks to my work ethic, I am getting a lot now jobs added to my schedule.

Its hard work, but mentally I am so fulfilled. So much wildlife, so many beautiful gardens. Being able to see the before and after, the satisfaction level is just, chefs kiss!

Fingers crossed they keep me on. Virtually all starters are doing this for summer work, it's only me looking for the long game. But honestly, I feel like all the rubbish and redundancies have lead to this.... its just what I needed!

Basically the title.

I'm thinking about doing this, but wondered how others navigated this.

I finally signed a job offer after applying and reaching out since February.
thought I'd write some tips from my personal experience because I tried everything and was desperate. For context (foreigner, but got my masters in the UK ).

my early mistakes: just applying without customizing my CV for each role and without reaching out or following up.

after hundreds of "unfortunately", I started customizing my CV for each role (I did not use any paid tools here, just ChatGPT with a don't make it feel like it was ai generated instruction) too much work ik but worth it. Also (and this is the best tip I wish I knew earlier), LOOK FOR MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES YOU FEEL THAT THEY HAVE A WORD IN THE COMPANY, you can usually find them in the job description or have "manager" "director" in their job title. Send them a LinkedIn request, if they accept, >90% of the time you can see their email in the contact info in their profile, shoot them a very short email (one or two sentences) asking for a call or advise.

Finally, I caved and tried a couple paid tools too, ngl, but I only liked these 2 (not affiliated, no ad, they don't even know I exist):

PitchHired (finds hiring managers and generates personalized outreach emails)

Simplify (application autofill).

One final tip for non UK residents mainly, apply more to startups ☻.

Hope this helped, good luck!

So I’m not disclosing any major details but we have this really annoying coworker that just gets under everybody’s skin, a couple of other coworkers have left because they just couldn’t take it anymore, I would do the same but I am already on UC and if I just quit I wouldn’t get my UC and probably end up on the streets, for some reason this person is just unable to be sacked but it’s clear as day that they are causing others to leave and making the company put extra pressure and work onto remaining workers, is there anything I can do? If I did the same as them I would be sacked on the spot.