The show goes on

When Lea Richardson’s job as a neighbourhood coordinator at Notting Hill Housing Trust was axed last summer she was understandably upset and worried about her future. But three months later she took up a new community engagement manager role within the organisation and believes it has all worked out for the best. “I loved the job I was doing and wasn’t ready to change – but I did and I’m glad,” she says.

The drive for efficiency in the housing sector means that the prospect of redundancy is a real concern for some. But it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. There are some simple steps you and your employer can take to soften the blow and make it easier to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

According to human resources management consultant Sandy Staff, redundancy is not as painful as it sounds.

“A good employer will explain everything to you and the majority of housing associations do try to look after their staff in the event of a redundancy – they really try and get it right,” she says.

If redundancies are on the cards, the first thing you should do is make sure you know your rights. Employers must follow a legal procedure, which includes a minimum of two weeks’ notice after two years employment, increasing by a week for each year of service. A maximum payment of £280 a week for every year of service is also statutory after two years’ employment. It increases for those over 40 – but goes down if you are aged between 18 and 22. Ask to see a copy of your employer’s policy on redundancies and work out exactly what you are entitled to.

But you may be offered a better deal.

A spokesman for the Employers’ Organisation for local government says most councils would make payouts based on an employee’s actual weekly pay, rather than the statutory amount. Enhanced severance payments up to a maximum of 66 weeks are also possible at the discretion of the council, and workers aged 50 and above are automatically entitled to early retirement.

Housing associations are forbidden by Housing Corporation regulations from making large payoffs, but redundancy entitlement can still be generous. For example, London & Quadrant Housing Group, Notting Hill Housing Trust and the Ridings Housing Association in Yorkshire calculate sums using actual weekly pay and at the Ridings voluntary redundancy payments are twice the amount of weekly pay.

But before you are made redundant you should be certain that your company has weighed up all the options: is redundancy really the only choice? For example, at the Peabody Trust, corporate services director Ronnie Clawson says voluntary redundancy and recruitment freezes come before any compulsory redundancies. Employers making compulsory redundancies should also be cutting other overheads, such as the use of temporary and agency staff.

When redundancy is mooted, you are entitled to an interview with your employer. This is followed by a consultation period when you can argue the case for keeping your job.

If your post is definitely going, you are also entitled to time off to look for another job, and your organisation may offer to help. When the Peabody Trust made 51 jobs redundant in 2003, it paid for those affected to access external occupational psychologists to help them with CV writing, interview skills and confidence building.

If you do stay within the organisation in a different role, you are entitled by law to a trial period of four weeks, and some employers offer six or more.

Despite all the provisions, redundancy can still be a stressful time, says Harry Freedman, chief executive of consultancy Career Energy. He suggests employees focus on transferable skills. “If you are a team leader in your housing association, for example, you could use those people management skills in another sector,” he says.

“Treat it as an opportunity,” he adds. “Ask yourself where you want your career to go.”