Dealing With Redundancy

[hobo]

CG, ditto the above - claim what's yours!

I felt the same after my stroke - really hesitant to claim anything. Ashamed that after supporting myself for all of my 30 odd adult years - and never having claimed dole - there I was, needing to 'live off the state' for a while.

Get yourself whatever training and support is going while you're on job seekers.
Consider networks like Linkedin and Branchout (on Facebook) if appropriate.
WEA courses offer concessions. Dunno what it is for unemployed but for learners on disability it's only £3 for a 10 week course. I'm doing Yoga and starting printmaking. Great for the mind, body and soul and...who knows what doors it may open?

I still can't go back to what I did (photography-based artist), so, with the help of my family, I'm making and selling small stuff like cards, badges, jams (!) and selling them on markets, small shops and cafes.
We're also having massive sort-throughs of our seemingly endless cr*p in the house and doing car boots (averaging £50 a time).
I've found that I can turn my decent computer skills to paid proof reading for a couple of local writers and basic web design for artists. Poor pay but it's something.
I'm also volunteering for an environmental charity (and hoping that may lerad to something paid)
Hope there's some ideas there....

Hobo

[Furrytired]

Sorry to learn of your redundancy, please claim job seekers you're entitled to it! It might be worth considering adult education, it shows potential employers that you are willing to learn and adapt. Try to pick an evening class so that it doesn't interfere with your job seeking. Good luck.

[Ian]

Been there, done that.

Take the money, it is an insurance policy that the government forces you to pay into, thus the reason it is called 'National Insurance'. You are now seeing harder times and so it is time for the policy to pay out. Not charity, not a hand out, not sponging, just receiving back what you 'invested' (in reality, paid to others on hard times). You would take out what you had put into a bank. You would take the money from an endowment policy you had taken out.

Take back what you have 'invested' for a rainy day. That is what is is there for.

[janso]

Been there, done that.

Take the money, it is an insurance policy that the government forces you to pay into, thus the reason it is called 'National Insurance'. You are now seeing harder times and so it is time for the policy to pay out. Not charity, not a hand out, not sponging, just receiving back what you 'invested' (in reality, paid to others on hard times). You would take out what you had put into a bank. You would take the money from an endowment policy you had taken out.

Take back what you have 'invested' for a rainy day. That is what is is there for.

Couldn't have put it any better. CG, take what is rightfully yours - albeit, good luck with the form filling! Having found myself unemployed again (now the summer has passed), I'm sharing your boat. I've found myself unemployed a few times over the years, but now with a family its different. The forms have to be filled in, changes of circumstances covered all the way and gain what is rightfully yours. Once, I had a few casual hours with a firm and the dole office just didnt provide any support whatsoever - just kept saying to fill this in and fill that in, after a few months I just couldn't be arsed anymore and got on with being jobless on my own. Its much harder with a family; my Mrs is now hooked up with supply teaching (which hasn't got any standard hours), so as and when hours come in, tax credits need to be changed and a new form filed with council tax benefits..... its so much easier to just work!!
I also find it difficult to hold my tongue in a job centre.... 'Are you looking for work?', course I bloody well am, do you think I like not working an honest day, feeding my family and putting food on the table?

All the best with it CG, you're probably in a similar situation as me being in a rural part of the country for anything that's 'career based' or having any long term scope for personal improvement, its triple hard. Reminds me, now I've got some 'free' time on my hands, I owe you a PM reply!!

[Ogre]

I'm in the same boat as yourself CG, although I must admit we didn't get warned. Just told "don't come in tomorrow".. All I can say is

CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM. For assorted reasons.

1. If you are cocky and delay your claim by even a week, you get treated with the deepest suspicion.
(I tried this once, thinking I'd get work quickly enough, never again).

2. If you have any insurances that kick in due to unemployment, you need to be claiming for them to kick in. (And what a nightmare this has been)

3. If you want to do any trade related training or work related exams etc. The Assembly has around 1K of funding waiting for you. But. you need to be be able to prove redundancy. RING Careers Wales for further info and free help on CV's and interview techniques. Don't bother with their website, even they agree it's pants.

When you do claim, you sign on fortnightly but once a month you get to go in and get slagged off for not doing enough to find a job. ( 8 Pages of applications logged on Excel) But as the lady explained. My payments come directly from her and her colleagues social fund (Or you'd think).

People aren't responding at the moment. I've had 4 interviews since July.

I treat job searching like a job. Get up in the morning, log in and spend a couple of hours scouring assorted sites for vacancies. This period of no work I find myself going back in the afternoons as well. Just in case.

Anyway. Start work on tuesday. The work is pants but the basic isn't too bad for around here, the hours are WEIRD.

Best of Luck to you.

[CardiffGuy]

Morning All,

Thanks for the replies and advice its greatly appreciated, done the deed and filled in the ever so time consuming JSA application form this morning after walking into the local JC.

As the SO was born, bred and has never moved out of Maesteg, she says that Im at a slight advantage as I am prepared to work. She popped down with me today(only 1 car between us) as its her day off and she pretty much noticed who most of the people were in there out of about 16 and most of them enjoy the benefits system paying them to sit around doing nothing all day(the usual type).

Office based work was meant to be a stop gap 8 years ago at the young age of 18 before I was due to go backpacking however I got stuck in working in a car insurance claims department environment and whilst I dont like being unemployed, on one side of the coin, by being made redundant its forcing my hand to try other things.

When I have my appointment with the JC advisor, I am going to ask about doing some volunteering work whilst job searching through different schemes they do, suppose if I show that Im not just prepared to job search but do volunteer work as well, it will show that I am eager but also look good on my CV too.

Whilst I have good IT skills, I pick things up very quickly and would prefere manual type labour work doing 12 hours shifts than being sat being a desk for 8 hours but lack the trade type qualifications and cannot really afford to go back to college to retrain.

Anyways, I shall keep everyone updated with how things go and those currently in the same boat, I hope things get better for you. Janso - received your PM and likewise owe ya a PM reply.

CardiffGuy

[Technik]

Have you ever thought about going self employed? I've started my own business last year and never look back (well, maybe just to go back to the good old times when I actually had some free time after work... )
At the moment I have too much work and have to refuse anything extra but that's mainly because of the laizy "can't be bothered" people that I employ. You only realise how hard it is to find a decent employee when you run your own business.

Good luck with job hunting!

[CardiffGuy]

Have you ever thought about going self employed? I've started my own business last year and never look back (well, maybe just to go back to the good old times when I actually had some free time after work... )
At the moment I have too much work and have to refuse anything extra but that's mainly because of the laizy "can't be bothered" people that I employ. You only realise how hard it is to find a decent employee when you run your own business.

Good luck with job hunting!

Technik,

As time goes on being self employed has appealed to me more and more however I am more than man enough to admit that due to making some very stupid mistakes financially after I lost my father a few years ago, the mistakes came back to bite me in the backside and will carry on being a pain in the backside for the near future.

I am a quick learner of all things new however I think I spent too long in a motor claims environment office and not diversifying to what I wanted to a few years ago.

I'm hoping that whilst looking for working - I can gain more skills and do some volunteering work to boost my cv.

CardiffGuy

[CardiffGuy]

Well its been a few days but have managed to bag a final stage interview on tuesday for a job which is about 7 miles(15 to 20 mins in the car) away from my house.

The added benefit is that due to the working hours, I can car share with the SO both to and from work as the shifts would be the same as hers.

Whilst its not the type of work I wanted, its a full time job and the added benefit is that I am an extra £115 per month up and may mean I am back to work by the end of the month.

CardiffGuy

[jansman]

Good luck!