Update From Bednobs On Job Situation

[bednobs]

Firstly thanks all so much for helping me thru this whole redundancy situation that i and a few people on here have been going through with the reorganisation of the NHS. For anyone interested, i just wanted to let you know what's happening.
The job i was offered was unsuitable for me because i had to travel too far to get to it, so i appealed, so that turning it down wouldn't jeopardize my chance of redundancy. My appeal was successful. I then went on the redeployment register, in order to see if there were any other suitable jobs for me. I suppose i am one of those "middle managers" that people always moan that costs the NHS too much money, and there weren't many jobs at that level, and none suitable for me, although i was obliged to look at job 2 grades either side of mine.
This morning i recieved a letter outlining my redundancy payment, to be paid at the end of April. I still have to make an effort to find a job in the NHS before the end of march (when my job ends) and i have to provide documentary evidence of which jobs i've looked at and when and why i haven't applied for them (which is easy cause i've been keeping a list) for the audit committee (who have to approve every redundancy).
So now all i have to do is find another job!

[Canary42]

Congrats on winning your appeal, and good luck in your ongoing search.

[bednobs]

thanks> I wasn't sure what i wanted but now redundancy money has been dangled in front of my nose, i'm a bit surer!
mind you, it'll only be useful if i can actually get anothe rjob i suppose

[Iluvspikey]

It was only right and fair you won the appeal. Good luck with your job search.

[furrypusscat]

Well done on your appeal. Good luck for the future.

[slaney]

bednobs - I wouldn't worry too much about the next job.
If you look at the management structure before..
http://www.dcscience.net/nhs-prev.jpg
...and after
http://www.dcscience.net/nhs-new.jpg
the NHS Act, I would hazard a guess that many more middle managers will be needed in the next few months /years.

Good luck with it all in any case.

[wolf63]

Do you want/need to get another job? It could be the perfect opportunity to do something else.

I wish you well whatever you decide to do.

[johnk]

BN, start looking for a job straight away and don't forget it's your current job that's finished not you. I've been through this several times and know how you feel, best of luck

[tamborine]

When you have ur booked sex-fest spare some time & energy to check out our many hossies in Windsor ;)

Good luck

[buildersmate]

Because so many ex-civil servants have managed to extract themselves from their employer, taking huge payouts (compared to those on offer in the private sector), Government departments have to take this step of ensuring those being declared redundant have their circumstances reviewed by a few with the bigger picture. Finding jobs of equivalent salary to go for should be straightforward enough - either you will be successful or you won't.

An issue for you may be if you start applying for jobs at a lower salary (because you desperately want continuity of employment) and you get one of those jobs but feel you it isn't what you want.

Personally I would aim for equivalent salary jobs to what you are currently on if you want to assure the package doesn't get jeopardised by inadvertantly finding yourself with a lower-paid offer. Not unless mid-April arrives and you find yourself still hunting. I guess it depends on the level of financial cushion that is up for grabs for you.

It used to be the case that ALL Government departments had a register of vacancies that at-risk employees had to demonstrate they had applied through - especially given the 'mobility' clause in many middle-managers contracts. I'm talking 8 or so years ago - perhaps that requirement is gone, given the overall reductions in civil servants going on.

[bednobs]

thanks everyone again (especially BM)
the financial cushion i will get feels quite sizeable to me, but of course it will only be so if i can find work, so that the money isn't eaten away by daily living and expenses. if i were to get a job at a lower band, my pay would be protected for 3 years (although i seriously doubt the new reciever organisations taking over from the PCT will even last 3 years - they are essentially govt organisations suddenly finding themselves in a competitive business world and i'm not sure they are going to have what it takes to survive) Our redundancy terms are quite good in that you only have to be out of the NHS for 1 month to still retain it, so i could reapply 1 month afterredundancy and get a job in a different part of the NHS

[buildersmate]

That is an incredibly good deal compared to the private sector. Salary protection for 3 years if one joins another NHS department AND a redundancy payout; it's generally one or the other.

[bednobs]

sorry i think i wrote it wrong - IF i get a job before i get made redundant in the NHS pay will be protected. If i get a redundancy payout, then got another job in the NHS i would be treated as a new employee

[boxtops]

I'm amazed that you are being asked to consider 2 grades below you - we only had to look 1 grade below, and be on protected pay (and protected travel too, if in a further-away place). That form you have to fill in to evidence your jobs.... I just printed off the week's restricted vacancies, most of the ones I would have gone for were in Leeds. I did apply for two, didn't get one, wasn't even short-listed for the other since there were essential skills missing (but it was worth a stab anyway!)

[bednobs]

becaue i've been on mat leave and they have been total rubbish at giving me info, i also did a timeline of when things happened and sent that in, so they know that i didn't even know where the restricted jobs were till a little while ago (all information is on work intranet!)