Oh bugger and i thought the recession was coming to an end.
Discussion
My wife got told she will have to choose between a 25% pay cut or voluntary redundancy today.
Bummer, cant afford a pay drop and i know everyone has to agree to it for it to be implemented or it will force the bosses hand to make redundancies.
He says he has a few people who are `key` workers that he wont accept redundancies from so if this is the case then he surely knows his staffs weak and strong points and can make redundancy decisions based on this.
Last in first out, thats what i thought it was, or hoped it was as she has been there 9 years and is the first one in from when the company was tiny.
He also said that if this doesnt happen them him and his poor wife wont be able to afford their lavish lifestyle or make the payments on his Aston Martin, poor thing. He hasnt altered his lifestyle one bit, i know i would if it meant the saving of my company.
If you had to make this decision, what would you base it on?
Bummer, cant afford a pay drop and i know everyone has to agree to it for it to be implemented or it will force the bosses hand to make redundancies.
He says he has a few people who are `key` workers that he wont accept redundancies from so if this is the case then he surely knows his staffs weak and strong points and can make redundancy decisions based on this.
Last in first out, thats what i thought it was, or hoped it was as she has been there 9 years and is the first one in from when the company was tiny.
He also said that if this doesnt happen them him and his poor wife wont be able to afford their lavish lifestyle or make the payments on his Aston Martin, poor thing. He hasnt altered his lifestyle one bit, i know i would if it meant the saving of my company.
If you had to make this decision, what would you base it on?
I don't understand why you thought the recession was coming to an end... but anyway, in your wife's position, I'd be looking at the market to see if there are other similar jobs around. If not, and you truly can't afford it with a 25% cut, then sit tight and hope she's not one of the people made redundant - force the employer to make the decision, unless it's a good redundancy package of course
As a business owner, I'd hope that I'd know who was a good employee and who wasn't, where to trim the fat, where savings can be made etc. Would I cut back my lavish lifestyle? I wouldn't have changed to an unsustainable lifestyle in the first place.
Not a good situation all round though.
As a business owner, I'd hope that I'd know who was a good employee and who wasn't, where to trim the fat, where savings can be made etc. Would I cut back my lavish lifestyle? I wouldn't have changed to an unsustainable lifestyle in the first place.
Not a good situation all round though.
Edited by ewenm on Wednesday 31st March 18:05
Op, 2 things
1 - why resent the guy for building a business from "tiny" to whatever it is now? Yes he has an Aston, but surely he has worked hard for it. He is now presumably scaling down to ensure that when we come out the other side, he can grow even further.
2 - IMO you should have a very frank conversation with your wife. Ask her to honestly (i mean brutally onestly) answer if she's just "always been there" for 9 years, or is she's a reall key player in the company. If she is key, vote no and you'll be fine. If it's a case of "always been there", and there are forced redundancies, then she has to again assess is she "dead wood" - only she will know the relationships between "rival" colleagues and the gaffer / people making the decision, and the relative skills and strengths in the team. If she can see 25% or more other people who are less skilled / the dead wood, again she is safe as houses. If she's been there since the beginning, she be by far the most costly to make redundant - she'll be entitled to more than the rest due to time in service.
I really hope it all sorts itself out, and that you and your missus escape unscathed.
1 - why resent the guy for building a business from "tiny" to whatever it is now? Yes he has an Aston, but surely he has worked hard for it. He is now presumably scaling down to ensure that when we come out the other side, he can grow even further.
2 - IMO you should have a very frank conversation with your wife. Ask her to honestly (i mean brutally onestly) answer if she's just "always been there" for 9 years, or is she's a reall key player in the company. If she is key, vote no and you'll be fine. If it's a case of "always been there", and there are forced redundancies, then she has to again assess is she "dead wood" - only she will know the relationships between "rival" colleagues and the gaffer / people making the decision, and the relative skills and strengths in the team. If she can see 25% or more other people who are less skilled / the dead wood, again she is safe as houses. If she's been there since the beginning, she be by far the most costly to make redundant - she'll be entitled to more than the rest due to time in service.
I really hope it all sorts itself out, and that you and your missus escape unscathed.
Thanks for the replies, i dont resent him and actually respect him as it sure is not easy to build up a business.
I just dont think it was necessary to mention his car when all his staff are facing a large pay cut thats all but enough of that.
It must be tough for a boss to make these decisions but sometimes being a bit ruthless can help.
If i had say, a staff number of 15, then i would rather upset a couple of people to hit my target on slashing wages than upset everyone and have 15 unmotivated members of staff all peering at me from behind the computer, you may run the risk of upsetting those key workers you mentioned who may in turn decide to jump ship anyway.
I would like to think of her as one of the highly thought of staff and so would she but sadly he works in mysterious ways and is very eccentric so to second guess him is extremely difficult but as you say there is some serious dead wood there that can be sacrificed, hopefully one of those isnt my wife.
To be honest, a nice payout would be nice and maybe a change of scenery is due anyway.
I just dont think it was necessary to mention his car when all his staff are facing a large pay cut thats all but enough of that.
It must be tough for a boss to make these decisions but sometimes being a bit ruthless can help.
If i had say, a staff number of 15, then i would rather upset a couple of people to hit my target on slashing wages than upset everyone and have 15 unmotivated members of staff all peering at me from behind the computer, you may run the risk of upsetting those key workers you mentioned who may in turn decide to jump ship anyway.
I would like to think of her as one of the highly thought of staff and so would she but sadly he works in mysterious ways and is very eccentric so to second guess him is extremely difficult but as you say there is some serious dead wood there that can be sacrificed, hopefully one of those isnt my wife.
To be honest, a nice payout would be nice and maybe a change of scenery is due anyway.
There are so many rules these days - rules about rules - and the LIFO rule is very old, but cheaper on redundancy payments.
Importantly, as you say the business has grown, there needs to be written consultation among all staff - from the sound of things. Its all about consultation and exploration of options. The most at risk should be those who don't pull their weight, especially if they have been warned about it before, and those in roles which are no longer viable and who cannot easily be retrained / redeployed.
Not that i'm an expert, but someone who hasn't been there long could be redeployed into the shoes of someone else, even where that person has been there since day one but is bad at their job. It still cuts one from the payroll.
If he hasn't taken proper advice before starting out on this road he could get caught later with his pants down - but I would sit back and let such a situation develop rather than suggesting errors in procedure (unless it gains brownie points of course).
We are FSB members and get free advice for legal stuff, and draft paperwork. If you ask first, follow their paperwork - then get caught out - FSB pay for the compensation etc. Sometimes they just admit 'liability' as its cheaper than going to court.
Importantly, as you say the business has grown, there needs to be written consultation among all staff - from the sound of things. Its all about consultation and exploration of options. The most at risk should be those who don't pull their weight, especially if they have been warned about it before, and those in roles which are no longer viable and who cannot easily be retrained / redeployed.
Not that i'm an expert, but someone who hasn't been there long could be redeployed into the shoes of someone else, even where that person has been there since day one but is bad at their job. It still cuts one from the payroll.
If he hasn't taken proper advice before starting out on this road he could get caught later with his pants down - but I would sit back and let such a situation develop rather than suggesting errors in procedure (unless it gains brownie points of course).
We are FSB members and get free advice for legal stuff, and draft paperwork. If you ask first, follow their paperwork - then get caught out - FSB pay for the compensation etc. Sometimes they just admit 'liability' as its cheaper than going to court.
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