For acquaintances who risk a pink slip for Christmas

[lund]

We have heard that some acquaintances risk getting laid off for the new year.
This is a list of things to consider when the job is at risk.
Does anybody have anything to add to this list of things that might be helpful?
The list is in no fixed order.

1. Don't tell anybody but your spouse or partner that you realize that you may be let go. It is easier to let somebody go who is prepared for it. Your kid may tell his friend who tells his/her parent, your mom may tell her best friends who tell their relatives, and so on.
But prepare for being let go.
(The silence also goes for social media.)

2. Check your budget. How much is in savings? Can you live on UI (how much would that be?), or on your spouse's income with/without UI? What can immediately be cut from the budget completely or or exchanged for something cheaper (eating out, "fun", vacation), and what should and could be cut later (some contracts with penalties if terminating early, a child's sport)?
Check all contracts to see when you can get out of them at what costs.
Try to save up more cash.
Pay debts as agreed, but basically only pay extra to any debt that is or might become very expensive (25 to 29%) if not paid off (such as some 0% cards may be if not paid off before the 0% ends).

If you have a spouse who spends all money available in the account, consider shopping some staples that you know that your family will eat, some extra dry goods like TP, soap and hygiene items, children's items that are two or so sizes too big (be careful with the seasons and any "irregular" growth), and see if a bill can be paid in advance (utility, car, mortgage,...).

If necessary, invent a reason for any new financial carefulness. Reasons like "may get to pay back tax", "repair bills", "medical/dental bills" don't invite people to expect that you spend on something, like "saving for a vacation trip to Easter Island" would.

3. Check your contract and employee handbook. Any vacation, PTO or sick leave that will be paid out in cash when you  leave? If yes, you probably should refrain from using it in order to get it paid out in case you are let go.
If you lose it, use at least some of it , but carefully. (The employer might chose to terminate somebody who is getting sickly over somebody who is perceived as healthy.)
Interviewing and using your health insurance are good reasons to use any PTO though.
If you call in sick for a not that sick day, stay at home, off the phone and off any social media. If you post, do it after working hours and only to say that you are sick, but feel better and hope to go to work on the following day.

4. Use your health insurance. Go for check-ups, prescription refills, and similar. If you have kids on the insurance who will need shots, ask if these can be given a bit early while you are there anyway. Also use any dental and vision insurance. Refill the prescriptions for as long and much as possible.

5. If you may have to repay any money when you cease being employed, such as a 401k loan or an education assistance or reimbursement, check the repayment rules. You may have to repay money within a short time or over time with interest, but you need to know in order to plan.

6. If your employer owes you money, make sure to deliver the receipts or bills in order to get your money back. (As always, keep a copy.) Double-check any retirement funds in order to see that all is correctly deposited.

7. Plan for continuous insurance coverage. Can you go on a spouse's plan, or buy one (at what cost), or do you need Cobra? And when will your last day as covered be? (Insurance may be paid for until your last day at work, or for the full month. This means that if your last day is the 31st,i t is likely that you have no insurance on the 1st, but if your last day is the 10th, you may or may not be insured longer.) You have a period during which you can sign up for Cobra retroactively.

8. If you drive a company-provided car, research whether to hand it back or to buy it out. Check the mileage allowed and how many miles you have driven it; if you are over the free miles, it might make a buy-out more favorable. Tidy the inside of the car. Put all stuff that is yours in the trunk in bags. (It is normal to have items like jumper cables, towing gear, flashlights, extra mittens, ice scraper, and so on there.) Check all door pockets, glove compartment and so on. Collect your stuff to one place if possible. If it suits, out it in a ziplock baggie. After getting a slip you are not likely to feel like doing this job, so prepare by doing part of it in advance.

9. If you have a company-provided cell phone, remove all private photos. Copy the numbers and addresses to a memory stick, private phone or computer or print them out; they are likely to be a mix of private and job-related, and you probably will want to keep them for a while. If possible, make it so empty that you can leave it on your desk if you are let go. Find out where the manual, box, charger and similar are too.

10. If you have a company-provided laptop, copy the addresses. Copy (to another computer, memory stick, old-fashioned paper, or other medium) any private material that you keep on the computer and remove it. Change all mailing lists to a private email address. Remove all private emails too. Email (preferably from your home address) and ask the private email senders to change to your home address due to you wanting to separate work and private, or due to you having seen that company policy requires it, or some other good reason. Basically, have nothing private on the computer that you don't have on a private computer, memory or similar too, and remove everything private that you don't need. Ideally, have the computer prepared to just hand it over on a moment's notice.
Then, check what a replacement would cost, and what a used computer of the same age would cost. If you are offered to buy it out, you need to know if you should say no thank you to the offered price, or grab the computer quickly. Also find out where any manual, docking station, charger, mouse, case or similar are. If you keep them at home, put them in one place, making them easy to find.

11. Similarly, "clean and tidy" your work computer.

12. Tidy your desk, tool cupboard, lunch room stuff and so on. Leave what you use in a reasonable amount, but tidy it and remove any excesses. You will want to be able to pack it up quickly if needed, but do not let anyone see that you are prepared to do so. If anyone asks, have a reason. You probably have got tired of a mess, want to try some new organization, remove things to take home and clean or use there,... Else, just do it, one thing or two a day. If people have borrowed your stuff, pick it up under some pretext. If it is likely to be re-borrowed, mark it with your name if it is not marked already. Consider keeping a list of borrowers and borrowed items in order to quickly pick your things up if needed. (People may not drive to your home to deliver your property back...)

13. Keep your good work ethic. If one person is asked to stay for a bit longer, you may want it to be you. If somebody is recalled, you may want it to be you. If somebody "brings" a coworker to a new job or recommends a coworker for a new job, you may want it to be you.

14. Update your resume or portfolio. This is often easier to do while you are still employed there, and can find good examples on how you have contributed to positive events or show examples of your production. Be very careful not to break any company policies here. Also, don't let anybody notice, since it is a dead giveaway that you are looking for a new job.

15. Start looking for a new job. If you get a pink slip, you don't need to be discrete anymore, but until then, be.

16. Are you likely to get any severance pay?
If yes, does it have any impact on your UI? Gather knowledge beforehand.
(You also want to know if a part-time McJob will cut your UI in your state. If not, having a part-time McJob  can be a good thing.)

17. If you get a pink slip, behave with dignity and nicely. Crying a little is OK. If you are told on your last day, pick up your things and leave. If you are to work for some more days, bring your stuff home as it suits you. Just make sure that you and your stuff is out on the last day, and that your assigned work is done at that time.
If you don't feel like driving, wait until you do or have somebody drive you home.
Go to the unemployment office as soon as possible.

18. Save all printed, emailed or otherwise written information about the company letting employees go. If there is any question about why you become unemployed, you can easily show the reason.

19. Always save all communication about how you do your job. Write it out on paper and bring it to your home. If you get escorted out, you might not be able to get it from your computer. Every positive, and every negative, should be saved in case there is some discussion as to why you could be denied a UI claim. Being able to show that you have received good feedback on your job, or that any negative feedback were not about anything "fireable" can be of help. (There are companies which lie. No UI claims keeps their costs down.)
If you are treated badly, try to document in what way. Often it is not allowed to record what is said at work, but write down what was said and done, when, where, by whom, and with who as witness, and what happened right before and after it.

20. Also save your pay stubs. If there is something strange, they show what has been paid to you, paid in taxes, paid to a 401k, and so on.

21. Check any licenses, certifications and memberships. Do you need to brush something off in order to more easily find a new job? Will this take time, meaning that you should do it as soon as possible, while still  employed? (For instance finger-printing and felony check for a teaching job, a computer network class for updating a commercial certificate,...)

22. If you will have an exit interview, think about what to say. An angry reaction is not working well. Be polite, and try to work more according to the idea that you are sad that the company has to let you go from a job that has let you use your knowledge in X and Y, learn more about Z and W, and which you have found fulfilling.

23. When you have the slip, ask you boss for a letter of recommendation, if possible. Find out what kind of paper HR will write, and make sure that you get it.

[Deleted]

One weird thing that may or may not apply to them. My last employer had a Wellness program. I'd racked up a ton of points under the program- for me, it was preaching to the choir. The weekend before I quit, I redeemed them all for $400 in credits on Amazon.com. A few days after I left I tried to get on the Wellness program site. I'd been shut out. HR did not volunteer that that would happen. I could have lost $400 worth of points.

I hope your acquaintance is already on LinkedIn and GlassDoor. Both send me listings of open jobs, although I'm retired.

Are they getting any personal e-mails at work? Have they used the work e-mail to register on Web sites? Bad idea in general, but now is the time to fix it.

Who's in their "network" that they may want to approach if they're conducting a job search?  Outside vendors, former coworkers who have gone to other companies?  Collect their contact information.

My brain is still working on this.  Do they have a "use it or lose it" Flexible Spending Account?  They can spend the entire amount they planned to contribute for the full year in January and the company can't come after them for it.  (I'd verify that this is still the case- they could even ask HR since they can phrase it in terms of needing to know because they have expensive dental work coming up in January, or something similar.)  If they don't have medical or dental work that needs to be done, it's a good time to buy eyeglasses, including prescription sunglasses.

[cronewitch]

Collect home address from coworkers so you can mail Christmas cards. You might use this later to talk to old friends and ask for references.

[Deleted]

I'm not really being nitpicky, but these are suggestions for when YOU are at risk for a pink slip.  I MIGHT share a few of them with close friends, but I would never share most of them with an "acquaintance."  

We should all be sensitive that friends may be in precarious positions.  We may be as well.

As I said, these are suggestions (good suggestions) if you find yourself in this position.

However, I would be offended if an "acquaintance" handed me this list.

[Deleted]

I think it was thoughtful of the OP to collect ideas. It's a lot more constructive than just saying, "I feel your pain" and it's not a risky commitment like lending them money.

I've worked in places that went through job cuts and it's scary. Some stuff is just out of your control. These are areas where the person can take charge and prepare.

[Deleted]

Unless the acquaintance asks Lund for suggestions, what would be the context?  

I'm curious as to whether Lund has been through a lay-off, which might be a context although I don't know how you would still bring it up unasked.  But it still strikes me as condescending to offer unasked for advice.

How did you hear, Lund, that your acquaintance was in danger of losing his/her job?  That's also important.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'd be kinda pissed at recieving an email like this from someone I barely know.  I don't need someone else piling it on by reminding me I still need to be professional and have a good work ethic. 

Well no sh!t sherlock.  If I don't know that already then sending an email probably isn't going to help me.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I'd be kinda pissed at recieving an email like this from someone I barely know. I don't need someone else piling it on by reminding me I still need to be professional and have a good work ethic.

If the acquaintance is close enough that they know you are likely to be laid off, then wouldn't you think that they are a bit more than an acquaintance?  Most people don't tell acquaintances that they are likely to be laid off.

A list like this I could see being given out by someone in HR, however as many of the items on the list are things that take advantage of your current benefits, it's likely that you wouldn't get something like this from them.  For instance, when I left my job in TX, I could choose my departure date.  By delaying it ONE day, that full month's benefits kicked in.  So rather than my last day being 5/31, it was 6/1 and I was able to get health insurance for the full month of June.  By starting my new job on 6/4, I was able to get my health insurance kicked in on 7/1.

A lot of things like this are things that you don't want to think of logically but can be phenomenally important.

[Deleted]

Dec 7, 2015 11:49:26 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I'd be kinda pissed at recieving an email like this from someone I barely know. I don't need someone else piling it on by reminding me I still need to be professional and have a good work ethic.

If the acquaintance is close enough that they know you are likely to be laid off, then wouldn't you think that they are a bit more than an acquaintance?  Most people don't tell acquaintances that they are likely to be laid off.

A list like this I could see being given out by someone in HR, however as many of the items on the list are things that take advantage of your current benefits, it's likely that you wouldn't get something like this from them.  For instance, when I left my job in TX, I could choose my departure date.  By delaying it ONE day, that full month's benefits kicked in.  So rather than my last day being 5/31, it was 6/1 and I was able to get health insurance for the full month of June.  By starting my new job on 6/4, I was able to get my health insurance kicked in on 7/1.

A lot of things like this are things that you don't want to think of logically but can be phenomenally important.

Yes, but you would have to pretty much work for the same company for that kind of advice to be helpful. 

I'd mostly be curious as to how the OP knows about the situation.  If it wasn't told to the OP directly by the person involved, then I certainly would stay out of it.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

A lot of things like this are things that you don't want to think of logically but can be phenomenally important.

I agree about the benefits information and stuff.


But the personal stuff can be left out. I don't need anybody "helpfully reminding" me that I need to maintain professionalism.   If I need that advice then I am already screwed.    Don't treat me like a child who doesn't know how to conduct herself appropriately.

The reminding me to not cry and that I still need to get my work done till I am officially booted out the door is like pouring lemon juice on a papercut.

[lund]

We have mentored a young relative of ours from moving out of the parental home until a finished masters.
We have gotten acquainted with some of our "mentee's" closest friends, but we don't socialize with them (we're a generation older) and we work in other fields. However, we have been asked for our advice now and then.

Now, our relative said that there were rumours about lay-offs for some of them, and wondered if we would have some advice for those friends who might be hit. I did not want to email a list without hearing that they wanted it, so I said that they were welcome to phone (I prefer phoning in advance to just dropping by), or that we could all be invited to admire the seasonal decor, and I would be happy to answer their questions or comment on what they had to say provided I felt that I had anything to add. And here we are...


And for the record, I have previously been let go once, with no warning, over 20 years ago. I learnt that if it is not on paper, it does not exist. It can be hard and expensive to be young and without anybody to ask.
DH has been let go twice, once due to cuts and once due to a restructuring of business where his duties disappeared.

(And alas, our experience is that it is not uncommon that people are getting lax when they are on their way out. And tantrums are not nice to witness either.)


Also, even if I'm in another country, much of the content of post #1 above "translates" very well to the circumstances here. For instance, the basic health insurance here is included in the taxes, and we pay between $12 and $40 out of pocket for a visit (I think - have not been in quite some time), but many have private insurance through work, which lets the insured bypass any queues, which may be loooong in the public system. It is often a good idea to keep this insurance coverage seamlessly. And there are no 401k here - but many have private pensions of different kinds, some more like investment accounts or annuities. The only thing that does not "translate" at all is the flex spending account.

[Deleted]

You are wise, lund, not to email a list.  Your mentee inquiring on their friends' behalf is not the same thing as the friends inquiring on their own behalf. 

If you do discuss the situation with them, I'd cut the list down to three things.  Their eyes will glaze over if you have much more than that.  But if you think of it as three "areas," you can say most of it.  The first one is to obviously be professional about it.  You could then discuss (not tell) ways that can be accomplished.  Maybe the most important thing you have to contribute is the why.  The next thing is to be prepared.  Finally, there are the nuts-and-bolts type things like health insurance, etc. 

I still wouldn't do this unless the acquaintances ask.  Your mentee's sharing this with you is still gossip even with the best of "intentions."  I would be very annoyed if my friends were talking to other people about me, sharing what may be private and painful information.

But that's just me.