I am getting screwed by my ex-employer

[adoubleu]

I was let go from my company because of cut backs (non performance based) in late February. I have yet to find another job. I still am receiving severance pay until April 15th (full pay). The other day my ex-employer called and was interested in bringing me back, well the pay they offered me was roughly 25% less than what I was making. I would be working worse hours and have less duties. They also stated that my severance would end the day I started working with them again. I would then get my new lower wage.

Seems like they are trying to re-hire me for cheaper before I start receiving unemployment, and if I don't go back they won't have to pay me unemployment. I feel like I have no power at all, and that I am totally at the mercy of them!

The only good thing is that I get my vacation days back and can continue to get insurance.

 

So here are some questions I have about this:

- If I do not take their offer can I receive unemployment? (I would start collecting in middle April)

- Should I be entitled to my full severance no matter if I go back to them?

- Should I wait as long as I can to start in order to receive more of my severance?

 

Any thoughts on this at all would be appreciated, I am trying to get all the input I can.

Thanks

[jwill535]

They kinda have you by the short ones. If you try to claim unemployment you will have to say that you turned down work. They wont outright reject you, and it will probably go to review. You can explain that the reason you are not accepting the job is because it would be the same position you held but for much less money then before. This may or may not work so who knows.

 

Well if you are on the fence about retaking the job, you can play alittle hard ball with them. Tell them that you wont work the worse hours or ask for more money. Really what do you have to lose, you dont have the job anyways and you are still getting paid.

 

As far as the severence I would say that you are working on some stuff and would not be available till the Monday after it runs out.

[patrickgpe]

i agree with jwill they have you by the tail on this one. You really have no choice (unless you can find a new job by apr 15) but to come back. The only positive thing i can come up with is that you will be getting more money working at your lower salary than unemployment. I really don't think you can go and try to negotiate with them because if you turn down work you will not get unemployment.

[I Heart Brewers]

I can't speak to the unemployment portion of your question but I do know severence packages are completely voluntary, they are not obligated to pay you a penny if they let you go (unless you are part of a union and it's in your contract). So technically you're not entitled to any severance. Did you sign a contract that would have stated you get a severance for X amount of time working there if let go? That would change the game as well.

 

As far as going to work there for 25% less vs. unemployment, I would calculate exactly how much either Cobra or unemployment health insurance will cost as well as your unemployment pay. If that turns out to be greater than the 25% and you're happy looking for another job then go for it. I'm not sure where you live but here in California (bay area) the job market is bleak. I would seriously weigh the prospects out there before deciding. 25% may be a huge pay cut, but you will still have health insurance which can run the average person (with family) $1K month and steady income. If they lay you off again you could still get unemployment but the clock wouldn't have started until that date and perhaps by then the job market will have improved.

 

Good luck!

[jwill535]

You can always contact the unemployment offices and see how they would rule if you turned them down. Like I said if you can make a case that you are worse off then before excepting this job vs. looking for a new one they agree with you.

[whizkid]

It all comes down to whether you think you can find another job before unemployment runs out and whether you can live on unemployment. Only you can know what the employment prospects are in your line of work in this economy. There's no reason you can't take the job and continue to look for other work. A lot would have to do with if you have a family, are you getting cobra medical benefits and how much is it costing you etc. Info which we don't have.

[logan82]

I think you can turn down work without hurting your unemployment chances if you are offered a job with lower pay than you were making. I would double check on that since I have no personal experience in unemployment, yet.

[jwill535]

As some advice, never buy the Cobra insurance since it pretty much is a scam. Go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and you can get on par insurance to most companies for about 250-300 a month.

 

For me I get the max in unemployment which is $388 a week, obliviously a drastic cut in what I was making before, but with a home that is paid off and only about $500 in bills to pay a month, me and my family have been doing ok(my wife works).

[thebruce44]

As someone who was unemployed for 5 months this winter, here is my advise:

 

Accept the job with the 25% cut, but keep looking for work. You will make more money this way than you would on unemployment and you should be getting benefits. I would have done this in a heart beat for my old company for 5 months while I was waiting on all the resumes I had sent out.

 

I was getting the max on unemployment as well, but was making quite a bit before that and had lots of bills (I was loosing like $1200 a month while on unemployment). If I could have kept working for less money, but more than unemployment, I would have done it. Also, it will look better for job interviews that you are still working since you skills will be sharper and it will make you look more desirable.

[whizkid]

As some advice, never buy the Cobra insurance since it pretty much is a scam. Go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and you can get on par insurance to most companies for about 250-300 a month.

 

Cobra is expensive but not a scam if you have pre-existing conditions or risk factors that can prevent getting individual coverage and/or drive up individual premiums. I assume those amounts are for single coverage.

[jwill535]

That was for a family of three. We were mainly looking for coverage on doctors visits for our daughter and PX reduction.

[thebruce44]

I got catastrophe insurance for $46 a month while I was unemployed. Basically I had to pay everything out of pocket up to $2k...so it covered me for a hospital stay or surgery. I figured it was a good deal since I hadn't been to a doctor in 3 years. Of course, then I went and had an accident a week later where I needed a doctor visit and a tetanus shot, so that sucked.

[DougJones43]

Accept the job with the 25% cut, but keep looking for work.

 

Yeah, and give 25% less effort than you were giving before. Two can play that game...

[pretendastronaut]

We're essentially on COBRA now, and that monthly payment hurts, but as whizkid said, we had some pre-existing conditions that we knew were going to lead to surgeries within that 18 month period. Every individual plan we looked at wanted to add a rider to not cover those conditions. So far we've had two surgeries done now, and a third coming up in a month. So even though the COBRA payments suck, they're allowing us to have coverage on those surgeries, which is huge.

 

Legal protections for individual plans are almost non-existent.

 

As for the job situation adoubleu, I'd have to say it depends on what your career field is and how comfortable you are about securing another job. There's nothing that says you can't continue to look for work if you take back your old job. I'd probably secure that while you can and see where it goes after that. At this point you're essentially talking about 1 paychecks worth of that additional 25%, so I wouldn't suggest letting that be a big decision maker.

[JimH5]

Yeah, and give 25% less effort than you were giving before. Two can play that game...

 

That will get you nowhere. And I've never felt satisfied doing a job without giving it my all--even when the money sucked.

 

My first job out of college, I was 9 months into it, when I was told that my job was being eliminated, and was being redesigned as one that paid 30 percent less, and that I was able to stay in it, but only under the new terms.

 

I told them I couldn't accept those terms, gave my two weeks notice, and left. For me, my pride was worth the extra money.

 

That said, I didn't have a family at the time, so I didn't really have anything to lose. And truth be known, the only job I found after that paid even less than I would have made had I accepted the offer. Still, it was a defining moment for me, and I never regretted leaving.

[Invader3K]

Every time I've had a chance to take COBRA, the monthly payments have been something ridiculous...like $600 a month or more. Thankfully I've always had better options.