Employment Law Cases

Try not to panic if this happens to you first and foremost! Unfortunately, in these economic times the number of people facing this dilemma of becoming unemployed is continuing to grow significantly. This seems to be the current climate due to the condition of our American economy. We are seeing record numbers of individuals in both blue collar and white collar jobs heading for the unemployment lines. You ask what should you do if you anticipate being layed off of maybe you have received your notice of termination from your employer? You may want to consider some of these tips before you leave your employer:

Tip One

Secure information concerning your health insurance from your employer. You will want to know how long your current health care benefits will last and when will your COBRA start. COBRA is a continuation of your health care benefits at your expense for a certain period of time and is usually temporary health coverage. Make sure to take the time to discuss this information with your employer, it is very important!

Tip Two

Find out information concerning your pension plan if this benefit is available through your employer. Get the facts on whether or not you are eligible for the pension plan and if so how would this work for you. Secure documentation concerning your pension benefits. It does not matter if you would be able to tap into your pension benefits at the time of your termination from your employer if you are already vested or eligible for the plan. It’s just important that you have literature or documentation that provides you with written detail concerning the pension benefits you may qualify for as an employee.

Tip Three

Secure information on your 401K plan or other employee retirement plan information your company provides if you believe you may be eligible. You will want to also obtain documentation or literature concerning this plan information for your records.

Tip Four

Attempt to negotiate with your employer disability and life insurance benefits you currently have. Disability and life insurance is important and in some instances for many people is difficult to secure. It may be easier to negotiate with your employer to keep these benefits and pay if possible, at your employer’s group rate which is normally discounted. It is usually more expensive to secure disability and life insurance on your own after you leave your employer. Keep in mind that in most cases, you are now older since arriving at your current employer and your health may have changed as well. As you continue to age, your life insurance and disability insurance increases over time as well.

Tip Five

You will also want to find out how much vacation time you have with your employer. If there are any discrepancies concerning your vacation time available, you will be able to secure clarification of this information before you depart from your employer.

Tip Six

Secure information on unemployment benefits that may be available to you. You will want to discuss this information with your employer and your local unemployment office. This will assist you in knowing the amount of money you will receive while you are unemployed and for how long you will be eligible for this benefit. In addition, you may want to find out if there is unemployment extensions granted if you are not able to secure employment within six months after being layed off.

The majority of employees do not want to be layed off from their place of employment. However, you want to prepare yourself for what you will need financially to sustain yourself and your family while you are unemployed. Make sure to secure the information you need from your employer before you are layed off. It is also important to ask questions and secure answers from your employer on information that you need before you leave your employer. Take the proactive approach and refuse to be reactive to getting the information you need, insist on it!

As the current economic storm continues to rage and the credit crunch continues we head helplessly into the abyss which is the recession, employment solicitors in the south of England are preparing for a very busy time as employees are looking to gauge exactly what their rights are in these troubled times.

Many people are taking the precautionary steps by looking for information on their employment entitlement and what to do should the worst happen. The head of employment law for a leading solicitor in the south has advised that people who do know their rights will be best placed if they were to loose their jobs in the coming months.
With all the financial worries that face businesses of all sizes at the moment and the prospect of many going under, employees can sometimes get left in the dark as to exactly what is going on behind the scenes and it can come as a massive shock to them when they are notified of the businesses closure.

Many companies are currently analyzing their books with even more interest before as to where they ‘trim the fat’ of the business and it will be no surprise if redundancies do become more common. However if a business does face insolvency it is important to note that an employee is not automatically out of a job depending on the specific procedure the company takes in facing insolvency.

If any business is forced into compulsory liquidation and court receivership, then all employees will be automatically terminated and the business will cease to trade. On the other hand though, if a company faces voluntary liquidation, if an administrator is brought in to attempt to secure a rescue deal for the company, or if a business enters a Creditor Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) then the employees do not automatically face redundancy. The Company may be able to retain key employees to help with the running of the company.

If a company is faced with losing their workforce, then it is important for employees to grasp exactly what to expect and what they can do to protect themselves using their redundancy rights. The three main areas that any employee should be concerned with and be well versed in are damages for breach of contract, unpaid wages remuneration and statutory redundancy payments.

Unfortunately for employees, some of these debts are unsecured and therefore get pushed to the back of the queue of payments. The upshot of this is that most employees will not realize the full amount they are owed by the insolvent employer. To recover their money they may have to bring Tribunal claims and apply to the National Insurance Fund for payments.

In these troubled times it is definitely worth speaking to a employment solicitor to find out exactly what your redundancy rights are if you are affected by these issues.