I have only experienced the receipt of a voluntary redundancy severance package (VRSP) once in my career, whereas some of you reading this may have received a few in your careers or some never. Receiving a large sum of money from an employer is a very rewarding experience no matter what the experience (for a while), but then you realize that money isn\’t everything and it will not solve all your deep and passionate problems completely.
For example:
- Finding a new job
- Making new friends (bank manager will become one)
- Identifying a new career path
A redundancy package will solve a lot of your financial worries and help you plan a future that you may thought was never possible before, but would you prefer to be working happily than receive a financial award without having a job? – an interesting question! Depends on the size of the package I suppose!
If you are one of the lucky ones that have received and then found a job or started a new career or business, how should you manage a redundancy package?
Firstly, don’t be initially tempted to:
- Pay off the mortgage
- Go on a spending spree
- Go on an expensive holiday
Best to consider the second or third when you have thought about your long-term future and your job/career.
In this current climate, you should develop a plan and then understand your rights and the tax, pension and welfare implications. Small or even large sums of money can look great, but can very easily disappear through your hands without you noticing it.
Things to think about and discuss with an appropriate Financial Adviser would be:
- Legal rights and benefits
- Tax
- Social welfare
- Pension and life assurance
- Budgeting and the package received
The obvious and main concern when losing your job and/or receiving a redundancy package is the whole area of financial management and considerations. You must develop a plan of how you wish to allocate the monies to help you live adequately, while looking for a new job or career or building a new business.
If you have been working for a long time in the same organisation without experiencing job applications and interviews, we suggest you allocate some of the money towards putting the new you on paper so as to impress readers who want to meet you and then polishing up your presentation, communication and interviewing skills so as to win first / second / third interviews, ultimately leading to job offers.
If you are considering changing career, we recommend to people to find a suitable job as soon as possible. Stay in the working mode and then identify what is your dream job, dream career and then put plans in place on how to get there.
Stay positive and enjoy the receipt of all this money. You might never see its like in the future again and do look on it as a great opportunity to start again.
A redundancy severance package – do enjoy it, reward yourself, but don’t blow it, it’s a time to follow your dream and use it to make the dream a reality…!