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It is natural to worry about losing your job or being made redundant. Many people need to adjust their spending and regular payments until they find new work.
Losing your job usually means having a reduced income.
You may worry about finances even if you get a redundancy payment.
This guide can help you:
Redundancy is when a person loses their job because their employer wants to employ fewer people.
It is important to understand your rights if you are made redundant.
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Whatever the barrier, let’s deal with it together
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We recommend only using redundancy payments to pay for essential household bills.
This is because you do not know how long it may take to find a new job.
Do not put your redundancy pay into a bank account where you owe money. The bank could take it to repay any money you owe them.
Find out more about how to pay off or reduce debts.
Act quickly if you rent your home and are made redundant.
The first thing to do is talk to your landlord or housing authority.
Do this as soon as possible. They can talk through your options with you.
This is even more important if you are already in arrears.
Find out more about dealing with rent arrears.
You may also be able to:
You can apply for this if you receive certain benefits.
Each local authority has its own rules.
Find out more about Discretionary Housing Payments.
People on a low income can sometimes get help paying council tax as long as:
Every local authority has its own Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme with its own rules. Contact them directly to find out if you can apply.
Apply for Council Tax Reduction.
Having to move is not ideal, but this may be the best option if you are struggling to pay your rent.
Lower rent payments could help:
You can also get housing advice from Shelter.
No, do not take out more credit if you are made redundant. This includes:
These are short-term solutions that have a long-term impact on your finances.
Taking out credit with a reduced income is harder to pay back on time. This will likely make your financial situation worse.
Take two minutes to answer a few simple questions and find the best solution for your situation.
StepChange clients should let us know as soon as possible about job loss or redundancy.
Get in touch and we can help you find the best way to deal with your new situation.
We may need to adjust your monthly DMP payments if your income is reduced. There may also be other options.
Find out more about how redundancy could affect your DMP.