REDUNDANCY

Due to the current economic downturn some people are facing a redundancy situation; but do you know exactly what your rights are? Under the Redundancy Payments Scheme all eligible employees are entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment on being made redundant.

What is a Redundancy?

A redundancy situation occurs when an employer requires fewer employees to do work in his company, when a company goes into liquidation or receivership, when it is decided to rationalise or reorganise a company or when a company simply closes down. A redundancy situation arises in general where an employee’s job no longer exists and he/she is not replaced.

Are you eligible for a statutory redundancy lump sum?

Under the Redundancy Payments Scheme all eligible employees are entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment on being made redundant. An employee is entitled to two weeks pay for every year of service, with a bonus week added on, subject to the prevailing maximum ceiling on gross weekly pay (€600 with respect to redundancies notified after 1st January 2005)

What are the requirements you need to cover to be entitled to a statutory redundancy lump?

You must have at least two years continuous service in the company.
You must be in employment which is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts. If you are a full-time employee you must be in employment which is fully insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts; this does not apply if you are a part-time employee.
You must be between the age of 16 and Old Age Pension age, which at present is 66 years of age except for employees whose Date of Termination is on or after 8th May 2007 there is no upper age cap.
You must have been made redundant as a result of a genuine redundancy situation – in general this means that the job no longer exists and the person is not replaced.

Be aware that under the Redundancy Payments Act 2003 an eligible employee is entitled to two weeks statutory redundancy payment for every year of service, plus a bonus week. All statutory redundancy payments are tax-free.

By Zuriñe Álvarez

HOW TO GET YOUR DREAMT JOB? FIRST STEP-MAKE YOUR CV THE BEST

Are you looking for a new job? Have you just arrived to Ireland? Do you need a change on your career? The first step to get your dreamt job is to prepare a good CV! Take a competitive advantange to the rest of the candidates!

You need to have very clear that a CV is an advert to sell yourself; it is a marketing tool and you need to show the best of you. You should never write anything that it is not true or exaggerate the reality, just look at it from your employer point of view, this will make the difference.

Before you start writing it you MUST know what kind of profile the company is looking for, research about the organization and read carefully the job spec. The next step is to match your CV with the job requirements. Remark the previous experience you have that can be useful for that job, you will have a better chance to be called for an interview.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO WRITE ON YOUR CV:

Personal details: Name, address, telephone number and email address. If you have just arrived to Ireland remember that your Irish mobile and address must appeared.

Education: Divide it in two different parts: studies (degrees, diplomas, etc.) and trainings (all the short-term courses you have carried out). Start with the most recent studies and continue in chronological order!!!

Work experience: List your most recent experience first! You need to mention the name of your employer and a short explanation about the company. Furthermore, explain your main responsabilities, targets and achievements in that position.

Skills: include in this section the languages you speak and your level of fluency; computer experience and any other information you consider relevant (for example driving license, publications, etc.)

Interests: Remark in this section those activities you are interested in. Have you ever been the captain of your football team? Mention it! The companies are looking for people with leadership skills.

References: don't forget to provide the name, telephone number and email address of two of your previous employers. If a company wants to offer you a job probably they would like to check your performance in previos employments.

Now you have the tools on your hands! As you can read it is easy to have a good CV; take your time to prepare it and ask somebody else to read it to be sure that you have explained everything clearly. Nothing is impossible and you are now on the right way. GOOD LUCK!

By Zuriñe Álvarez