Redundant or just plain unemployed ?

If you are being made redundant, are already redundant or maybe either short term or longer term unemployed, there are several places to go for advice and help, depending on what you plans to do – look for another job, seek retraining, live off savings for a while if you have any, or focus on ensuring you have the full benefits you are entitled to if you fear that new work is unlikely to be ‘round the corner’.

The local Citizens Advice Bureaux are places you can go, but please remember that they are staffed by volunteers are very overloaded at present (see for contacts)

For many, the local Job Centre Plus is the first (or continual) port of call.

There can be problems in accessing retraining since if you are not available for work in a full time course you can lose benefits, and some of the schemes that can help with this can be difficult to access in practice. It is hoped that there will be changes to make this easier.

Some useful information is set out below.

You can get advice about your basic employment rights in the employment section of Directgov www.direct.gov.uk/employment

If you are an agency worker you can find out more about your rights in the employment section of Directgov http://www.direct.gov.uk/agencyworkers or by calling 0845 955 5105

If you are a member of a Trade Union they will have a help service.

If you are under 19 or are a person with learning difficulties and/or disability under 25, you can contact Connexions Leicester at http://www.connexions-leics.org/.

There is location in Coalville at 5 Hotel Street, Coalville, LE67 3EQ

If you are concerned about the tax treatment of redundancy payments or tax rebates because you are now unemployed, the local Leics tax office for individuals can be contact by telephone on 0845 302 1442

The NW Leics District Council has a lot of good information about benefits at http://www.nwleicsdc.gov.uk/benefits/