Thinking about things, there were plenty of details that needed sorting out in my situation: the company car, medical and life assurance and various other company-paid items would go, and I needed to minimise the tax hit on my redundancy payment. As no detailed job offer had been made, apart from an offer to relocate, I was confident that redundancy would apply in my case. In any event, the ex gratia element was substantial enough. 5.07 p.m. Sarah, the Head of Payroll, popped her head through the door and asked how the department meeting had gone. I’d just got off a Google Meet call with two who were working remotely today. The other three had taken the news with not much surprise, as one had said, “We couldn’t see you going there, as it wasn’t really much of a move upwards”. I had confirmed that the ex gratia payments were contingent on us
performing up to the last minute, so it was about keeping the BAU running against the backdrop of the move and the redundancies. As the day approached, the atmosphere was going to be distracting. Thanks to Natalie and her assistant, we had been shielded from much of the direct impact. In the end, 16 of the 28 who had been offered relocation had accepted. Sarah had said from the outset that she wouldn’t be taking up the offer as she and her partner had recently bought a house. She had two offers lined up already; no surprise, good Payroll & Reward people are worth every penny! I invited her to join Natalie and me to lunch on Thursday, as her view on the packages was vital. 5.44 p.m. The August afternoon was still pretty warm as I strolled to the Tube station. My phone
travel and other expenses would be handled (she lived in Brentwood). She suggested we have lunch next time she was at the office on Thursday, as we could talk around her taking the lead just prior to arrival at Peterborough, outplacement companies we knew to start the work with our employees who would be redundant the following week, and we had a meeting set up for Thursday morning. As discussed in various meetings with the employee representatives, everyone had been working on their CVs, as these would be the first steps for outplacement, together with the information packs from the two companies on until the handover. We had chosen two how the service works and what our employees need to know. I really didn’t feel too hungry, so lunch was nothing more exotic than a cheese and pickle sandwich on brown bread and a bottle of water at my desk.
rang: the CEO. Could we meet tomorrow morning?
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ISSUE 14 GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE
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