The logistics of sorting out your finances and employment after redundancy

Alrighty folks, I've been talking a fair bit recently about redundancy and the rights of New Zealand citizens in Australia.  Today, in this blog I really want to chat a bit about the impact of redundancy when you're not a citizen and steps you can take to minimise your exposure if something bad was to happen and if you were to be made redundant.

If you're a New Zealand citizen living in Australia who arrived after 2001 then you are not eligible for any assistance.  That means if you are made redundant or fall ill there is no assistance available to you, so what can you do if you're made redundant?

First thing's first, when you're in secure employment take out redundancy insurance.  You must have been working for the last 12 months to qualify and before the policy will pay out you must hold it for six months so potentially you could get it the day you start a new job so long as you have been working regularly.

In addition, take out income protection insurance.  Income protection insurance can cover you from illness and disability and some policies have the redundancy add on so you'll only need the one policy.  Again, there is normally a stand down period but this will protect you should something unexpected happen.

While you are working, save, save, save.  It doesn't matter if you have it in shares, a term deposit or even a money tin.  Just make sure you save.  If you are made redundant then these savings will come in handy and tide you over while you are job hunting.

That's another thing.  If you have no safety net available to you and are made redundant then firstly, try and find a casual job to tide you over while you hunt for another permanent full time job.  This will mean you have a smaller gap on your resume and that you have some money coming in.  By taking a casual job you will also be able to apply only for those jobs for which you are truly suited.

But worst case scenario, you may need to lean on friends while you are sorting yourself out if you weren't able to prepare, and often, more often than not, redundancy does come as a major shock to people.  If you are leaning on your friends then make it your full time job to find a job.  That means applying for jobs from the moment you wake up to the moment business closes for the day and even checking job sites while you are home at night on your phone.  The days of 9-5 have well and truly gone.  When you're not applying for jobs you should be at interviews and when you're not at interviews you should be job hunting.  If you try hard enough then you will be able to sort things out swiftly.

The major thing to focus on is that nobody is immune from redundancy but there are steps you can take to minimise the effect it will have on your life.  Saving and taking out insurance are big ones.