Voluntary redundancy advice please!

[Utopia]

So I’ve verbally agreed to take voluntary redundancy, I’ve not been happy and was thinking of leaving so its worked out quite well, its a bit of a leap of faith but whats a life without a little risk!. I don’t have to leave until 31st March and my pay redundancy payment equates to 7weeks pay….with a bit of savings I reckon I could survive for a few months living in London and that would give me time to set up a business idea I have.


My question is……am I entitled to claim job seekers allowance/housing benefits immediately after my last working day? as ideally I’d prefer to not dip in to my savings. I’ve done a little online research and as far as I can see voluntary redundancy is pretty similar to normal redundancy but I’d like to hear from urb’s with experience/knowledge on this?.....i’ve worked since I was 17 (I’m 41 now) so I’ve always paid tax/NI.


Ta!

 

[ddraig]

*hijack

I would like to confirm that voluntary redundancy would more than normal redundancy if anyone knows?
ta!
/hijack

 

[maomao]

*hijack

I would like to confirm that voluntary redundancy would more than normal redundancy if anyone knows?
ta!
/hijack

Not in law but if a company's fishing round for voluntary redundancies they will normally offer a package in excess of statutory requirements.

And for the OP I believe you'd be entitled to contributions based JSA but no means tested benefits till your savings run out.

I'm not an expert on employment matters though.

 

[belboid]

So I’ve verbally agreed to take voluntary redundancy, I’ve not been happy and was thinking of leaving so its worked out quite well, its a bit of a leap of faith but whats a life without a little risk!. I don’t have to leave until 31st March and my pay redundancy payment equates to 7weeks pay….with a bit of savings I reckon I could survive for a few months living in London and that would give me time to set up a business idea I have.


My question is……am I entitled to claim job seekers allowance/housing benefits immediately after my last working day? as ideally I’d prefer to not dip in to my savings. I’ve done a little online research and as far as I can see voluntary redundancy is pretty similar to normal redundancy but I’d like to hear from urb’s with experience/knowledge on this?.....i’ve worked since I was 17 (I’m 41 now) so I’ve always paid tax/NI.


Ta!

you should be able to claim straight away. The only risk is someone seeing the word 'voluntary' and thinking it means you quit. You'd win any appeal, but that could take a fair few weeks. The way round that would be to simply not include the word 'voluntary' in your reasons for leaving your last job. If you have any payment protection thingies you would almost definitely lose any entitlement to them. And you can't omit the word 'voluntary' in such cases.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

my understanding (albeit from a few years back) is that voluntary redundancy is still redundancy as far as the dole is concerned.

you might have to argue though.

you can claim from when you cease to be employed - if there's holiday or you don't have to work notice period but still get it paid, that would probably count as 'employed'.

although if in doubt, claim.

the 'voluntarily unemployed' thing does not apply to housing benefit. claiming jsa merely tells local council you want to claim hb. council will still need proof of tenancy etc so may be as well to put claim in direct with them.

bear in mind hb is household based and means tested, so a partner's income is taken into account. as is any savings (and this will include the redundancy pay) from memory, 16 k to your name and you will get sod all. between 6 - 16 k and you'll get less.

if you really have problems with jsa and get sanctioned off it, you can still claim hb on nil income.

as regards any difference in pay out between compulsory and voluntary redundancy, legally both only entitle you to sratutory minimum. some employers pay more than this, and some offer enhancements for voluntary.

then there are some shithouse employers who won't give you redundacy if you volunteer, but try to make your life intolerable until you resign in disgust...

best of luck

 

[Pickman's model]

cesare there's someone at the door for you

 

[Opera Buffa]

i’ve worked since I was 17 (I’m 41 now) so I’ve always paid tax/NI

Re: this, and you not wanting to dip into your savings, I started claiming JSA and housing benefit (LHA) for the first time in October, the housing benefit was only paid last week, so that's a 10 week delay, plus the Christmas break. This is due to Bristol City Council having a lot of claimants and not enough staff to process the claims. Wherever you are claiming in London there could be a similar wait?

JSA was processed in a government office in Northern Ireland rather than by my county council but again there was a delay, it took a little over three weeks before I actually received any money.

I did receive all the money that I was supposed to receive, it just takes a very long time


So where I had anticipated not dipping into my savings or becoming overdrawn on my bank account, both these things actually happened, whilst I was waiting for the payments to come through, which was very stressful at the time!

My naivety of the benefits system led me to believe I would walk into the Job Centre one day and immediately walk out with a payment; not the case; JSA and housing benefit are paid in arrears, like salary, and there will be an additional delay with your first payment.

 

[MrSki]

Most companies will just make you redundant & not specify that it is voluntary. Often you would get 3 months pay in lieu of notice but I see that you are not finishing until the end of March so this probably would not be applicable. You can claim as soon as the date your employment is terminated. I don't think you get anything for the first three days but if your savings are less than 16K you should get the full contributions based JSA. You will need your P45 & bank statements when signing on.
Housing benefit should be claimed from the council but you will be asked about this when signing on.

 

[Looby]

Contributions based JSA is exactly that, they won't look into partners income or savings. They will for income based JSA.

 

[Jezebelle]

Redundancy is a type of dismissal, whether voluntary or compulsory. Your employer has decided it needs to reduce its workforce and has chosen to ask for volunteers instead of or before selecting people. So long as you've agreed to redundancy and not 'termination by mutual agreement', then you'll get contribution-based JSA for 6 months, regardless of any savings. The Jobcentre will usually ask to see your formal redundancy letter. Doesn't matter if it states 'voluntary redundancy' as you have the same rights. You can apply for JSA the day after your job ends but there's now a 7 day waiting period (used to be 3), during which you won't be entitled to it.

 

[Utopia]

Redundancy is a type of dismissal, whether voluntary or compulsory. Your employer has decided it needs to reduce its workforce and has chosen to ask for volunteers instead of or before selecting people. So long as you've agreed to redundancy and not 'termination by mutual agreement', then you'll get contribution-based JSA for 6 months, regardless of any savings. The Jobcentre will usually ask to see your formal redundancy letter. Doesn't matter if it states 'voluntary redundancy' as you have the same rights. You can apply for JSA the day after your job ends but there's now a 7 day waiting period (used to be 3), during which you won't be entitled to it.

Thanks Jezebelle.....and will I qualify for housing allowance too?

 

[Jezebelle]

You'll qualify for housing benefit if you have less than 16k in savings. HB usually ask to see all bank statements covering the last 3 months.

 

[iamwithnail]

To reconfirm what the others said, I got JSA when I took voluntary redundancy and got nearly a years salary as I'd been there for donkeys, but wasn't allowed HB as was over the savings threshold, albeit temporarily. It was paid straight away. Worth noting JSA is taxable, when you go back to work, btw, it counts towards your yearly total income. Stupid system.