Redundancy

Sitting in my PJs
It's really late at night
I don't know why I stay awake
Getting so close to day light

Late to sleep late to rise
It's become who I am
I ought to make an effort
But I don't give a damn

A part of me that used to work
Was turned off some time last year
The part that was ambitious
For which I could shed a tear

But crying's not within me
I only feel so numb
Why did I give my "all" like that
I really was quite dumb

While all the world got qualified
I ran around a treadmill
And now I don't know what to do
I find myself standing still

I say I want to stay at home
Be the one to hold the baby
But life is passing me right by
And all I feel is lazy

My feet are heavy
My pace is slow
My va va voom has left me
I don't know what will bring me to
The place I know I should be

What is for sure
Is this don't work
This sluggish lazy me

So I need to find
A path to walk
That's where I want to be

I know the route
The journey's end
Yet still I do delay
And every day that
I hang about
The price is dear I pay

For life is for the living
And there's time when I'll be dead
So now's the time to soldier on
And deal with the bits that feel like lead

Somehow I'll find a way to smile
And be the Mum I'm born to
But part of me is in a panic
As I know I'm worn too

By worn I mean I'm tired
Every day is such a struggle
Whenever I get clarity
It's followed by a muddle

The person that I was
I think she has gone missing
The one that's walking in her shoes
Is quiet and silently wishing

Wishing that the day will come
When everything has a meaning
Wondering when that day will be
Until then I'll be dreaming

For now it is the time to sleep
Put down my weary head
Turn off the phone put out the light
And drag myself to bed

Why I Feel Sorry For HMV Staff Going through Administration

The media is alive with talk about HMV, yet another retailer to bite the dust, or rather, have the administrators called in.

Whilst everyone is worried about gift vouchers they may have received for Christmas, my first thoughts are with the staff.

Worldwide record companies have already confirmed that they won't save HMV.

And previously challenged GAME, has already expressed an interest.

Having personally been made redundant in July 2012, as the result of administrators being appointed in May, I know what a truly awful time it is, where the goalposts change on a daily basis. Actually scrap that, they sometimes change on an hourly basis. God forbid you get quoted on something which was FACT an hour ago...

For example, when Deloitte were appointed for Comet, they at first refused to accept gift vouchers, effectively temporarily suspending them and later - after bad press - changed their minds, as is explained here in the Sun: Comet U Turn over Vouchers. With HMV having MILLIONS outstanding in vouchers I don't know if they can afford to be so generous but only time will tell.

The thing with administrators is, they ARE ocassionally generous, which lulls one into a false sense of security. But they do not do it from the bottom of their hearts; they are generous at times to secure goodwill, but only when it is intrinsically linked to incoming cash, because during administration CASH IS KING!!!!!

Work in a store where there is a profit, or one readily available after a few tweaks, and your job is safe, for now!

Work in an unprofitable store, and you could find yourself being given your marching orders. Yes, "wages" are protected, but they can make you get it from the Insolvency Fund which can take 6 weeks - some miss out on pay day.

I saw all sorts during our administration, and I am surprised I am not in possession of a full head of grey hair.

Ordinarily, your HR Manager can answer all of your questions, but the thing is, Insolvency Law trumps Employment Law, which is a hard pill to swallow, and some things are at the administrators discretion. Even then, someone representing the Administrators, even employed by them, a fully qualified insolvency practitioner, does not necessarily have the final say; that lies with the NAMED administrators, the individuals who were named at appointment. So when you are really relying on a decision make sure you get it from the horse's mouth.

Also they play on words. What you take from a comment, you later realise you shouldn't have done, when the truth comes out, i.e. I was on a conference call where the words were said "everyone will be paid at the end of this month" - it was said by THE administrator so we took it as gospel, but in a play on words we later discovered it only applied to the participants on the call, who had cleverly been chosen for just that reason.

The first employees to suffer seem to be those who have already resigned. The administrators have nothing to be gained by paying them for working their notice. If that is you, proceed with caution. Come pay day they could make you get your outstanding salary from the Insolvency Fund.

If you are a high earner or anyone earning more than £450 a week, again proceed with caution, as your outstanding holiday, notice period etc... is calculated at that statutory rate. Yes the administrators can choose to pay your normal salary, while you are still working, but stay at your peril as you will not be getting your ordinary contractual notice period, neither in time (number of months) or rate of pay per week.

Get advice from an employment lawyer and you will find that it is over-ruled by Insolvency Law.

Yes, you may be on a 3 or 6 month notice period, but you'll find that the Administrators are within their rights to breach your contract and an employment lawyer won't tell you that.

Yes you can be kept on long enough that the Administrator ADOPTS your contract, (14 days after their appointment) but EVEN THEN, they are not obliged to give you your contractual notice period or payment in lieu of notice. The contractual notice will become statutory both in time and amount.

So when you get the chop, you can claim, from the government, outstanding wages, holiday pay, redundancy pay, and notice, but they are all calculated at the statutory rate, which if you had a lot of holiday, enhanced redundancy and a great length of notice period for either seniority or length of service, you see yourself making a BIG LOSS.

So be loyal, but draw a line, as to how far you will go, and prioritise your future, saving your energy for looking for new opportunities.

There are lots of helpful websites, even government ones that say things like this:

If your employer is ‘insolvent’ this means it can’t pay its debts. You have rights if this happens and can make a claim for any money you are owed.

This is NOT helpful, (1) because there WAS enough money in our company account to pay us so the first sentence is NOT strictly true as creditors come first not employees as is often misunderstood and (2) because you can't claim for "any" money you are owed. I waved goodbye to a nice healthy 3 month notice and had it replaced with 6 weeks statutory notice at the government rate, which last year was £430 (yes the increase to £450 is pitifull).

Money Saving Expert has written a fabulous Q and A but I find it is written for the consumer and doesn't really help with staff questions. When I was looking for info, I didn't really find a reliable source. Each administration and each administrator is slightly different, so keep your wits about you and remember everything I have said above.

There are some odd things about administration, like the fact that the difference between £450 a week and your salary, for outstanding holiday pay IS a protected debt which one gets MONTHS edit: YEARS (in my case) down the line when the accounts have been finalised, but the difference between £450 and your weekly rate of pay for the notice period is an unsecured debt, which means the likelihodd is that you'll never see it. This particularly burns when you have access to the accounts and know that if the law was written differently you could have all your dues, contractual in full, PAID, and is particularly galling when you felt sorry for colleagues being made redundant months before, when you are getting a quarter of what they did.

Talk to friends and family and they'll think your money is protected, they won't quite understand that an insolvency/liquidation redunancy is way worse than an ordinary one, as the myth is often circulated that employment rights are protected in an administration - yes but ONLY to a statutory level!!!!!

It's far from a golden handshake; more a plastic watch obtained from a vending machine,

If you work for HMV or Blockbusters, most importantly, focus on your future.

I know I haven't covered every scenario above, but having gone through the process AS a HR Manager at the sharp end of everything that took place, I can answer your questions, so if you work for HMV or Blockbusters please feel free to leave me a question in the comments.

Liska xx

What Are My Strengths

Well today in no uncertain terms I found out the answer to that question: What Are My Strengths?

And it wasn't a question I had asked, but facing redundancy at the end of the week it was certainly a question I would soon need to be asking myself.

How refreshing to have the answer before you've posed the question.

That is the beauty of an Astrological Birth Chart Reading.  No this is not a sponsored post - I paid the full £60 required but got more than good value for money.

What generated my interest and caused me to make the booking was a newsletter by Devotion.  As I have known Carolyn for years I trusted her opinion and clicked through to the website she had linked to in the paragraph about the "stars" (entitled AstroZo).

I was hooked and this was only yesterday.  Fired off the email with the self-limiting belief that I wouldn't fit an appointment in before I set off for Ireland.

Although we are both in North London, I did not have to leave the house - we conducted the whole hour long session on Skype and it was very refreshing to use the technology of the modern age to talk about these modern times and what they have in store for moi!

I could totally feel her energy without leaving my home.

The reason I headed this post up in the way I did is because that is what I took from the session and it was the confidence boost that I needed, having been on the PAYE treadmill since the age of 15, having put myself through university.

I have never backpacked round India or taken a career break; even my maternity leave was encroached on by an evil boss who made me work from home for 3 months with just the pay for 10 keeping in touch days in return when I easily did triple that.

So to suddenly be without a job and no longer tied to "the man" the future requires a big leap of faith for me.

But not so much when I hear that the energy is supporting me - like REALLY supporting me.

She said that 9-5 is economic slavery and what is more important in 2012 and the age of aquarius is what you are BEING and how you are interacting - what you have to offer, what is your inherent value to others, to society.

I will do what I care about and I will work to make it last.  I am quality over quantity (so very true).

I am a modern thinker with the ability to express myself over the internet (well I know I had no trouble with my unscripted 8 minute You Tube video which all just fell off the tongue).

I am a natural communicator and I must turn my CV upside down so that I look at hobbies and interests first.  Energise the future and make it a reality.

I am a natural teacher - once I learn something I have no trouble teaching it to others - this was so the case in one of my previous jobs - I LOVE managing a team and teaching them how to excel!

I see the world as a puzzle (ooh that is soooo me!)

She said blogging is good for me.  I am a natural peacemaker and balancer.  Helping people to recalibrate.

From 12 July to 3 August the "stars" will give me structure and independence, backbone, substance and I will feel in control.

I will know my own mind and come from a place of integrity.  I will realise that you can't change someone who does not want to be changed - you hit a brick wall.

I have had Jupiter giving me back my sovereignty for 1.5 years to 2 years.  (I had felt that and assumed it was something to do with motherhood as it coincided with Aaron's lifetime).

25 to 29 July a massive shift is in store for me that will "clear out that which no longer serves me".  It is massive in the sense that it only happens once every 12 years.

So I have until end July to do a lot of clearing, which I think is why I had intuitively booked Ireland - it is NOT the right time to be looking for a job - I need to unwind, download, clear and rejuvenate.  Go within!

I need to clear out debri!

Come 29 August I will step forward in an empowered way - and you know that sits well with me - that is something I can feel - it resonates with me.  It feels and sounds right!

19 August to 26 August will see major things happening.

In August I will come into my power.

I will become aware of the power of my speech.

This year 2012 is all about clearing out and making room. 

This year 2012 is all about collectively regaining our power from the hamster wheel.

Humans are only 4% matter and 96% energy - yet we focus 100% on the 4% - no wonder we tie ourselves up in knots!

She said I should think of myself more as a Relationship Manager than a HR Manager.

She said I need to shine my light and help other people but also BE served.

Break free of working rat race.

Going to Ireland in July (and I am even considering going again in August) will enable me to step "out of time" to see the bigger picture and I will make different decisions come December September.

I love the final note that I made during the reading:

"Only value you have in life is the value you give to yourself!"

If you think a reading will help you, and boost you the way it did me, this is Zoe's website and the readings avaiable are listed here.  You could even try Skype like me and you won't need to leave home.

Bye for now, Liska x

I am linking up with:

Clearing your Office - Redundancy

Being the last "man" standing can be cathartic as you get to clear and cleanse the space/office you are vacating, which was certainly therapeutic for me.  You get to get your ducks in a row before you leave.  You get to walk away with your head held high.

You get to leave your desk looking like this:

But, it comes at a price.  The next day, i.e. today for me, you feel battle weary.  Like you used your very essence cleansing the years gone by.  Shredding them, boxing them, binning them, saving some of them in the form of mementos, it is all rather taxing, to say the least!

I woke up today feeling like I had a hangover.  Like I had been hit by a sledgehammer!

To get the office to the condition that I was prepared to walk away involved going in on a Sunday (as I wasn't done by my deadline of 5 p.m. Friday).

It took effort and I was there Sunday (yesterday) from 11 a.m. till 9 p.m.

Not once did I get upset during the day; it was like OCD took over.  I put all the pedestals of all 3 desks together just so I could see more floor space.  I did the same with filing cabinets, which were emptied into archive boxes.

I meticulously labelled things that may on receipt just end up shredded anyway.

I made a box that contained current "handover" stuff.

I cleaned my desk, which once everything was taken off it, was filthy.  I work(ed) in London Liverpool Street and my desk is right by a window.  There's a certain amount of "smog" and pollution in London, plus electronic equipment creates a kind of black dust.

What was beautiful is that once I was finished - and was waiting for my husband (and son) to collect me with all my stuff, I took pictures of my view from the window, and the blue sky didn't half cheer me on, to thinking the future may be bright after all.

Sadly my husband took so long to arrive that it was dark when we left - which I didn't want.  But at least we got to eat before we left. My favourite food that I always bought in Liverpool Street if I was late in the office:

Wasabi! Yummy!

Now onwards and upwards to see what life has in store for me next - once I recover from this ordeal which has not been easy.

Two months in "administration" is not for the faint hearted.

Liska x

Work Security and Redundancy. Being a Mum!

Before you, work was a job,
Before you, work was a career.

Now, work pays for your bits and bobs,
Work is no longer just a job.

Now I work for you,
Now I think for two.

Now "the man" is a boy,
Now wages can buy a toy.

So when work dries up,
I am out of luck.

With an out of date CV,
it's just you and me.

What's a girl to do,
When my time's all spent with you?

Where does my future lie?
Now's not the time to cry.

I'll put my trust in God,
and disbelieve the law of Sod!

I'll walk the path of trust,
It's the only thing's a must.

For you, my son I'll do it.
I won't hear the words I blew it!

For you life really matters,
I won't get myself in tatters!

Love you my Aaron.  Work's no longer my baby! YOU are!