THIS would never happen to me, you thought. I wish you were right.

With the market going through its ups and downs as the new media and e-business still experience the pain of growth, it is VERY LIKELY to happen to you, especially if you been employed by a multinational company.

The first step: DO NOT PANIC. This is not personal. This is not the end of your professional career; in fact, it might be quite an exiting beginning even if it doesn't seem to be like at this very moment. The reason why so-called global players fire their best work forces - it happened recently to, you name it: Motorola, BT, BskyB, - is simple. Think about it. You are smart, you are professional, and you know strategy and business at your best… THEY DON'T. THEY PANIC.  Because they have invested a lot of money into new technologies, into all these sexy toys (interactive TV, WAP, Web TV). They bought a Rolls Royce where in reality all they needed was a 10 years old Mercedes that can do the job too.

Have you ever seen a key decision-maker in these companies NOT involved in any political games and being free from the entire conditional schmoosing to save his or, in very rare cases, her millions-of -pounds-a year job? What a stupid question to ask. The decisions have been made, and, because it's a big company, big money has been invested. Returns have not been as promising as it looked on paper a few months ago. The first reaction: cut the cost. Meaning reduce the workforce. And it just happened to be you.

The most important thing is not to panic (did I mention this already?). Because this is only the beginning of a pretty painful redundancy game you are about to play. And all you need at the moment is to keep your head cool.

There are a few key issues you have to bear in mind. First of all, many big companies operating in the UK are the subject of the British and European Employment laws that exist to protect employees. However each company has its own procedures established. You should ask the HR department to provide you with a document describing their processes, and this will form the point of references for future negotiations with the company. 

• Notice period: You should carefully check your contract: the notice period covers up to three months. This means from the day you have been notified on the redundancy you still get paid (and you still have to work, too, although most people use this time to find another job.) Some companies offer you the opportunity to go though a so-called “consultation period” where you 're entitled to conduct an individual or collective consultation, in the case of mass redundancies.  The aim is to make sure both employer and employee agreed on the processes and feel satisfied the processes have been followed through correctly. This is a perfect opportunity for you to execute your rights while still having an employee' status.

• Redundancy Package: The company should offer you a tax free redundancy pay up to amount of a three months salary depending on your contract conditions. If you happened to have shares or other benefits entitled (medical insurance), the company will provide you with a choice of options you can go for, depending on the time length you have been working for them. Once again, this is an important negotiating point for you. If you happened to be in a position to argue - and I will explain further how you can make your case a strong argument - they might agree with your terms: you can then cash in and walk out happily.

 

• Don't take any official vacations now: The company will pay your outstanding holidays. The companies are quite keen (unless they are absolutely not smart) to give you some sphere time anyway for a job search, interviews etc. It is in their interest not to keep those being made redundant in the office: it does not contribute to a high working moral; and your involvement into any newest technologies or strategy related projects can work against them since you are likely to take up the job offered by competitors. This attitude has nothing to do with your loyalty (personally, I would advise to forget about loyalty, and to consider what is best for you) but rather it is simply, in a game-theory language, you working towards win-win situation for you and the company.
• Make a strong case Big companies are usually not strong at being consistent with the procedures they once introduced. And this is good news for you. Start making a checklist: what is the official reason for redundancy? If this is restructuring case (meaning, they still did not sort out their strategy), and your position does not fulfil the new job descriptions, have you had a clear job description before? Did you receive regular feedback from your management to improve your performance? Did your job and your responsibilities change because the strategy has been changed? Has it been clearly communicated to you? If they propose to make more then half of your department redundant, what are the selection criteria? Each of these points is a bomb in yours or your lawyers ' hands if you can nail the company on not being consistent and not following the processes. Oops, I would stop here.  Make them to pay for your consultation with a lawyer first.  Think about it. If you consider taking your case to the Employment Tribunal (and your lawyer is keen on suing and cashing in), remember: the companies employ army of lawyers whose only job is to sit on your case and do everything in their power to stop you. Time and money are their advocates. If you have both on your side too, good  for you. Often, you don't. Think about it again. What do you want to achieve? If you goal is to confront and make them feel uncomfortable, talk to your lawyer again. If you are considering staying in the business and migrating your former employer into your new client,  negotiate, do your home work, ask all these unpleasant questions (remember, this is not personal, just a business), make them realise you are not taking anything for granted - and walk out happily with a new bright perspective to manage your own life. On your own terms.

With background in Media and Technologies, Natasha Binar launched e-business and communities projects , both in public and private sectors in the UK. Her current involvement is with British Sky Broadcasting in shaping their strategy for interactive content.

Natasha also holds a Masters degree in Organizational Psychology from the London School of Economics, and has worked as consultant specializing in organizational decision making and change management. Born in Russia and grown up in Germany, Natasha is truly international and speaks 8 European languages.

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