Sheena...thanks hun xxxxxxxxxx    Jac... some good info there.. thank you xx   Yes i do work in a college, and they have offered me PILON, I'm edging more towards the VR route, im hating this place more and more   I have a meeting with the Head of Dept and HR this aft, I think they just want to know how we feel.... hmmmmm  how about  "F**ed off!!"    anyways... will see how it goes.   Phil that would be much appreciated .. thank you x   I'm kinda getting geared up to enter the job market again....but im also scared... just hope i can handle whatever's thrown at me.                                                                                                                                                                                  

****** throws a sticky bun in Kaz's direction                                                                                                                                                                               

yayyyyy caught that!!  can allas handle a sticky bun! cheers hun xxxxxxxx  oh no.. WAIT!!  im meant to be on a diet!!!      just had an impromptu meeting with newly appointed 30something line manager... she cuddent handle the questions and got all bolshy with us.!!!     Jumped up little wotnot!!   REALLY hate this place now.. one of the longest remaining members of staff, and treated like sh*t... they are moving more away from students and making it more of a business!   i dont want any part of it!      sorry am soooooooooo hacked off right now!  I just hope WHEN i leave, i can handle the outside world again.                                                                                                                                                                                  

awwwww   and unfortunatley these days employers have no respect or loyalty for there employees any more.   and your a bright intellegent woman with a wealth of experiance so wont be to long before your snapp,d up                                                                                                                                                                               

Hi Karey sorry to hear about trouble at mill lass   I hate to agree with Maryann but she is right, you are a bright intelligent woman. Who also has a great personanlity which anyone in there right mind would employ.                                                                                                                                                                                 

I don't know the law at the moment, but 6 years ago if you took VR you couldn't claim dole for six months.   If you move to another offered job you were allowed to reject it within a 6 months time limit and then take the originally offered VR.   If the law's still the same you'se take you choice whether you want to do a job that doesn't appeal for 6 months then say you don't like it, and so then get the original VR payment.   OR!   Annoy the twats that much that they offer you compulsory redundancy where you get immediate dole for 6 months and after that it depends on your bank balance!   If you are under a redundancy situation you were allowed 1 or 2 days off a week to go for interviews too, on full pay! Make the most of these rights before they're removed   I was a Union Convenor and had to know workers rights at the time, but laws change!                                                                                                                                                                                 

The service i was thinking of was the rapid response service from job center plus. The link below outlines what is does and how to access it.   www tuc.org.uk/welfare/tuc-17308-f0.pdf   I would look at getting your CV prepared and register with online job services such as jobsite . co . uk.                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sad to hear of your bad luck Kaz, especially after only getting back this year, I often believe as one door closes another one opens... hope this happens for you because you truly deserve it - big hugs xxxx                                                                                                                                                                             

...just to say Karey after having been in that position myself not so very long ago..............I didnt find CAB helpful, in fact try as I might I couldnt get an appt emergency or otherwise with any of them!  The so-called support packages that are supposed to help people who lose their jobs NOT lose their houses were non-existent and it's very very scary if you have a mortgage and live on your own I can tell you!!!  The unemployment office were surprisingly very nice to me but said they couldnt offer me any more advice because I was already doing more than they could offer!  I would say be pro-active, find your own advice and inform your mortgage company, ask for help if need be (they are only too happy to let you pay interest only or have a mortgage holiday if you've been a regular payer with no arrears.  Inform your bank and reduce any outgoings you can.........stopping direct debits so that you dont end up in debt and run up overdrafts you cant pay and get charged interest for!  If you opt for a lump sum redunandancy rather than pay a year in advance, bank it, pay monthly mortgage payments as before but get some interest back while it sits there..........at least you know your mortgage is covered for a year and gives you time to get another job.  Dont be disheartened Kaz, it's really competitive and hard to get a job now...........harder than Ive ever experiences and spread the word to people you know and who might get you an interview by personal recommendation...........despite hundreds of applications and a few interviews (some for jobs I would never have dreamed of going for in my worst nightmares!) I ended up getting a job I didnt apply for but was recommended for by someone who knew my work and capabilities.  No better way!  Anyway, one last thing...............stay positive, dont take the knock backs personally and keep yourself focused and well........the longer it takes to get a job the easier it is to feel negative and rejected.............DON'T...............just leave it behind you and move on!  Thankfully I had a wonderful partner who supported me in more ways than one.................I really dont know how I would have managed without him but Im through it and at the other side now..................fingers crossed you will be too and very soon.  TC Ill be thinking of you xx

Hi Kaz I'm in the same situation, had me 1 to 1 yesterday and it don't look good, now looking at VR and other options, but like you after 17 years i feel i have been shafted bigtime by so called work mates/managers. I know its going to be hard but we are bikers and we don't go down that easy, chin up girl big petey hugs for you xxx

I took DVR last Nov (Discretionary voluntary redundancy) I applied & they said OK lol   I was told off by the job centre for not going, you now have 2 forms of JSA, one is contribution based the other is cos you have not paid enough, I stated that I thought I would not be eligable for anything because of what I was paid out for DVR and because I had accepted DVR to be told that is not the case & so I was given it, also its important to still go & sign on as I found out... they keep your NI up to date, thus meaning your pension does not suffer  if you dont sign on, then your NI has a gap in it & so affects your right to pension.                                                                                                                                                                             

NI contributions nowadays for a full state pension has been reduced to 30 years. If you think you will accumilate that amount of years without the doles 'help' stick your fingers up to them. They will only try and give you grief in my experience and if you don't need them f--k them whether they tell you off or not!                                                                                                                                                                              

Call me cynical Rattay, but this lot seem to-be changing the rules daily.
They're not called the condem alliance for no reason!
                                                                                                                                                                             

It's more important where women are concerned ratty .... Like a lot if women I took time out to look after my kids, one of who has a mild disability, due to a mix up I now have a gap in my NI (ok not that big) and with the way things are it would not surprise me if it ends up that any gap of above say 20 years will lose your pension,

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice and best wishes.   I had yesterday off to think long and hard about what I'm going to do and to sort my head out.    I spoke with the tax office and they said the PILON ( Payment In Lieu Of Notice) is taxable.. but was at my employers discretion. So I rang my HR dept and they said they wouldn't be taxing any of it.. so thats good.   I also rang the Job Centre and they advised me to apply for JSA now..even before i am jobless.. they wanted me to go for an interview today, but I said I would ring them back on Monday, as I hadn't quite made my mind up.    It seems I will be entitled to JSA straight away, I need to double check that... my heads a shed.   Well today is decision day.... and i think i am just about 99% sure I want to leave and that I'm doing it for all the right reasons...   I know many of you didn't have a choice, but in many ways I feel i don't either.  There have been restructures/redundancies just about every year lately, and I think the next round will be straightforward redundancies and I could miss out on the enhanced package.   Soooo...  this is it... not looking forward to today..but its gotta be done.     Big big hugs to everyone that needs it..       Petevalk...let me know how u get on, hun...  ((HUGS)) xx                                                                                                                                                                                 

Bingo !! Thats the reason I put in for it from my last job too Kaz I wanted out cOs of the way things were going and this gave me the chance to do it, clear the bills, finish my das, relax for couple if months and then look for something new.

You will do good. I am sure of it, if you need help just yell I was only out of work 3 months Nd 6 weeks of that I did nothing!

Kaz, it all depends on whether the payment made is one considered "contractual" or not.  In other words whether you have been given proper notice of termination or not and indeed what that "proper" notice should be.

The whole thing is pretty complicated and is probably worth discussing with your tax office in more detail as you don't want to be stung further down the line.

Search for EIM 12975 on the HMRC site for more info.                                                                                                                                                                              

Yeh Shell.. thats kinda what im thinking.. pay debts.. have a couple of months to sort my head.. Geoff..thanks for that, this is one of the things i discussed with the HMRC and the HR dept..the HMRC said the PILON payment could possibly be taxed but that i needed to check with my HR dept.   One of my good friends works in our HR and she assured me none of the redudancy will be taxed.. in her words " whatever we have offered you on the letter is the amount you will receive"     I tried opening that PDF file and it was in Welsh! lol   I'm still not 100% sure...but its got to be for the best.   I'm at work now.. just waiting for everyone else to turn up....  this is how much they consider their employees....   I've just had time off with whiplash following an RTA,,, no best wishes card or flowers... nothing.. and today is end of term, so we have training sessions this morning..and this afternoon, staff social event..............   Ten Pin Bowling!!!    Yehhhh like I can lift a bowling ball!!!!!   Yep.. definately think its time for a change!