Losing your job is bad enough, without having to put up with the new business terminology for being laid off: being labelled “redundant,” as if you are just extra baggage,
fat that needs to be trimmed. While this lingo seems callous, it is certainly just the fireworks in the anxiety festival that is “losing your job.” Add onto your own personal issues, your fiscal and emotional responsibilities to those people who are depending on your paycheck, and it becomes very clear that you need to start acting when even just the whiff of “redundancy” first enters your workplace.
Avoidance
Of course, the first intelligent step is to assess how to avoid being laid off altogether. If your company is planning to lay off large groups of people, it takes from one, up to several months to set everything up. In that time, while rumours and conjecture will be flying, see if you can get a sense from the higher ups if you or your department are being targeted. If you suddenly stop receiving long-term projects, if your boss is suddenly awkward around you or avoiding you altogether, or if you are not getting invited in on projects or events that you normally would have been, these are all signs that your neck is being stretched for the blade.
The best thing you can do is strategize to avoid being laid off, or at least delaying the inevitable. Take a look at your skills and at the company and find out if you can apply those skills in another dimension within another department or branch. If your company has subsidiary companies, take a look at where you could fit in there.
If you think there is a chance that only certain people in your department are going to be laid off, push to get your hands on some long-term projects. While your involvement in these long-term projects may not protect you, they might delay your lay off in order to give you more time to look for a new job, and also in order to give you a little time to negotiate a settlement that is apart from the package being offered to the masses. Also, your involvement in a long-term project may give you grounds for added benefits, if for instance you were promised a bonus based on the outcome of the project, or had an expectation of employment until the end of the project.
Another good tactic is setting yourself up as a consultant for the job you know inside and out. Since you likely weren’t as “redundant” as they would like you to think you were, someone is probably going to have to do the work you were doing. Often, this work will get farmed out to freelancers, at least to bridge the gap between the lay offs and the new plan. Offer to be this person. If you feel your skills can be used to bridge this post-lay off period of transition, go to your boss and offer to stay on for a set period of time, say a couple of extra months, just to get the company through the transition, this will buy you some time, and it will also set you apart to negotiate a severance package apart from the group package offered to the entire department. If this bridge position isn’t an option, let your boss know that you are more than willing to do any consulting or freelance work they need in that period.
Another tactic to avoid getting laid off is to study the grounds for severance closely. If you are at all confused, consider having a labour lawyer take a look at it for any possible loopholes (if you do involve a lawyer, keep it on the down-low; one whiff of legal representation and the company might jump to lawsuit conclusions, which will change the entire tenor of your negotiation). Some issues to consider: how you were selected for termination, your own contractual rights (consult your union on these if you have one), if anyone has ever said anything defamatory or discriminatory against you that might be a factor in your termination.
Even when you have exhausted all avenues for keeping your job, the negotiations are not over. You can negotiate a severance package that is going to carry you (and your family) over until the next job presents itself.
Set Yourself Apart
One of the worst positions to be in is being part of a mass departmental lay off because if you are offered a package as a group, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate an individual severance package for yourself. Use the tactics described above to try and make your case a special case within the department.
If you are able to negotiate your own personal package, there are a few things you can look at. First and foremost, you want to get a letter of recommendation and assurances that the person who will be contacted for a reference by potential jobs will give a fair and positive review. This is the least the company can do for you, and it is free on their part.
One thing to remember during your negotiation is that a company’s biggest concern (hopefully after taking care of the employees) is the perception of the company to the public and within the business world. They want to appear as stable and fair as possible, considering they are seriously disrupting possibly thousands of lives. You can use this to your advantage to a certain extent, but be careful not to unnecessarily burn any bridges.
One way to take advantage of public perception is to use the media to your advantage. If the company is truly treating its employees horribly, then the pressure of public opinion, when used properly, can be persuasive. If you are part of a large group whose severance package is inadequate, use your numbers to reject the deal and pressure the company for something that is fair. They might be more apt to throw in a little extra rather than face time and money wasted in negotiations, not to mention the public attention that it might draw.
Be careful, however, that you focus public attention on the company. If you are getting press by bad-mouthing the company or for suing the company, it will be that much more difficult to get a new job in the aftermath. Not many companies want to hire someone who appears lawsuit or media-crazy.
If you cannot successfully negotiate your way out of “redundancy” altogether, then make sure that you are getting the best package possible out of your employer. You need to have enough of an egg, not to mention carry-over benefits, to get you to your next gig. From there, you can move on and forward, hopefully with a company who is as excited to work with you as you are with them.
