I have worked for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK for the last 13 years. I have been in my current role working for a regional Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the last 7 years. As of last week, the directors of the ICB told us that they were instructed by NHS England to make 50% cost cuts, by the end of December 2025. This is a cost saving exercise, trickled down from the central government. December, when the job cuts need to happen, is 9 months away from now.

All my life, my mother always used a Chinese saying to describe my job role in healthcare. She said it was like I had an ‘indestructible bowl of rice’, that because I have a vocation, my job will always be safe. I came to expect that the ‘indestructible bowl of rice’ would feed me for life. Last week, I found that the bowl of rice was not indestructible after all; it was possible for it to get smashed and shattered on the floor, with the rice scattered all over and ruined. It was a reminder that no employees had absolute job security, and this fact should not be taken for granted.

It gave me a lot to think about. I am determined that my reaction will not be stress or anxiety, and something positive should come out of this. While the person who will be made redundant may or may not be me in the end, I find going through certain thought exercises and having a plan helps me.

I think it is best to adopt the approach ‘Hope for the best, while preparing for the worse.’

For people, like me, who are experiencing job insecurity and possibly facing redundancy from work, first question will be can this decision be appealed or fought against? If the decision is not set in stone, maybe it is worth fighting to stay at the job. In my situation, where it is the government’s decision and over 12,000 people will be affected, I doubt that decisions can be easily reversed. If you cannot fight it, then recognising and accepting that what is happening to you is not within your control can be helpful.

Instead of feeling anxious and staring into uncertainty, it may be better use of time to focus instead on aspects of one’s life and actions that are within one’s control. I hope my suggestions of an action plan will help others, as well as being a form of self-therapy.

Action plan for redundancy.

1. Review your finances. For the majority of people, being made redundant will impact directly on their financial resilience. It’s time to review your finances.

What is your household income at the moment? What are your total outgoings per month? For how many months can any redundancy pay and your savings sustain your outgoings? 
 
 Any information from your workplace about redundancy payments should be explored. How much redundancy pay will you get? Normally this is based on your current annual salary, and the number of years of service. 
 
 Here are links for those who could be made redundant from the NHS: NHS redundancy arrangements | NHS Employers. 
NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook | NHS Employers 
Will there be a big difference in taking voluntary redundancy compared to compulsory redundancy?
 
 Review your expenses. Are there ways to greatly reduce your expenses now, so you can build up more cash reserve? Study each item on your monthly bank statement. Are there recurring items you can do without for the next few months, e.g. magazine subscriptions, Audible, Music subscriptions, TV packages, take away food, take out coffee, ready meals, the lease of an expensive car? Do you always compare the prices of your car insurance, home insurance, food shopping bills, phone deals? 
 
 If you are NHS staff, have you used Blue light card or Healthservicediscounts.com to maximise any discount you could get when you do need to buy something? 
 
 If you can build up more cash savings now and reduce your monthly expenses significantly, it will mean your money will last longer through uncertain times, and it gives you more time to weigh up your options. This will increase your financial resilience. 
 
 If the thought of not being able to pay your mortgage or rent is the thing that is keeping you up at night and causing distress; it is good to share your concerns with family or partner and also to speak with your mortgage provider or landlord to find out the facts, rather than burying your head in the sand. A decent mortgage provider should work with you and not against you to support you to keep up with your mortgage repayments. If your landlord is a small scale landlord, there may be limited scope for them to help you. However, it is worth exploring if they would agree to temporarily reducing your rent, in exchange of you doing some work around the accommodation, such as making the garden beautiful, repainting walls, renewing the wall paper. Most landlords probably would let you stay for one month free, if this was pre-agreed, if you are happy to do home renovations, and you are a really good tenant, they do not want to let go of.

2. Taking stock of your career so far. Do you love your current job or do you hate it?

If you have the freedom to design your own work day, what will look different about it compared to what it is currently? Does the job of your dreams actually exist and is it possible to get there? Look at your current skill level and qualifications; will it be easy to find work? Do you want to do a similar job again?

If the answer is no, the positive spin on work restructuring is then: could there be another job out there that is more suited to your talents and you would enjoy more? What do you need to do to land that job? Do you need more training? Do you need to do a course? Is it practical to start doing something towards getting the job of your dreams, e.g. taking an evening course? Is it possible to gain another qualification outside of your current work hours? Can you turn nervous energy into drive, to get to where you want to go? If you are not at the skill level to get the job you want, is there a ‘stepping stone’ job that could get you closer to your goal? Could what is happening at work a blessing in disguise?

3. Taking stock of your life so far. What are the most important aspects of your life? What have your achieved so far in your life, even the smallest achievements deserves celebration. What do you feel grateful for? What activities do you enjoy? Do you have other passions outside of work? Focusing on the simple pleasures in your life. Putting things into perspective, may reduce any anxiety. It is important to look after your health, your family, your diet, keeping to your exercise regime; so you are at the optimal level, ready to deal with whatever the future may hold.

4. Just because the future is uncertain, don’t slack. It may be easy to slip into the mentality, ‘ok so you are going to get rid of me now, you don’t think I’m as good as so and so, Sue in department X, so why should I work hard for you, if my days are numbered?’ I think people should do the opposite. In the same amount of time, do you want to go to work and be bored and while away the time moaning, or do you want to be positive and energised? Working hard and leaving a good impression will stand you in good stead for a glowing reference and increase your chances of landing another job, and maybe an even better job. Make the organisation regret their decision.

5. Increasing financial resilience. Is there something you could do to start a second steam of income, which will protect you and your family from uncertainty? To help balance your monthly outgoings, is it practical to start doing something else in your spare time, e.g. child-minding, selling clothes, offering to declutter a relative’s house, selling their old things online and charging a commission, dog or cat watching, gardening, uber driver, Deliveroo driver, helping neighbours with chores, testing products, being a mystery shopper, social media, youtube. selling your art, designing an online course, teaching someone else a skill you already have.

There has been a stigma around trying to make extra money in different ways. Some people see this as vulgar, or ungenteel, even some people think wanting to make more money is evil. This kind of thinking is really conter-productive and keep those people who think it poor. If you recognise this thinking pattern within yourself, then it’s worth exploring where does this belief come from and is it based on solid reasoning. Changing your thoughts and beliefs has an impact on behavior and outcome. It could change your future. If someone becomes stronger financially, they have greater ability to provide security for their family, help people and make the world better for everyone. The skills you learn from taking on another role, can be nurturing and enhance your ability to do your main job better.

If you are at a time when you are counting on your savings to sustain you, and you have limited funds, this is not the time to get into seemingly lucrative deals you don’t understand, play the stock market, or start investing in real estate. Investing is a game that requires years of study. It should not be a knee jerk reaction. Jumping in without doing the homework, will likely cause you to lose some the money you have saved. You could also be more vulnerable to scams.

6. Take care of the people you care about. This can be an unsettling time, but it’s important to realise that people around you have their own problems too, and might need your help. And some of their problems could be greater than yours. When you spend sometime to focus on other people’s problems, it can help you to see that your problems are not so bad that you cannot overcome them.

I struggled with point number 6 myself. When I first told my friends that I might be made redundant, some of them were not extremely sympathetic and rushing to my side. This was my own expectation of them, and I was disappointed. This made me feel angry and hurt at my friends. However, when I had a chance to speak with them properly, I realised that one reason was they were not clear about what could happen to me, I did not give enough details, and the other reason was they had their own lives to struggle with and they had problems too. When I realised this, the anger and hurt went away and I was filled with love and compassion for my friends.

Recently, I came across the poem ‘If’ again, by Rudyard Kipling. I think the lines of the poem are pertinent not only to the global economic situation, they are also relevant in the context of uncertain times and job cuts.

‘If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs…

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you..

If you can wait and not be tired of waiting…

If you can dream and not make dreams your master;

If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same..

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build’em up with worn out tools’..’

Yours are the next opportunities and you will have grown in strength of character.

Just as I wish it for myself, I wish for you that you will find strength and courage within, in the face of uncertainties in your life.

Disclaimer: I am healthcare worker with a passion for personal finance. I am not a qualified financial advisor. It is not possible for my ideas to apply to everyone and every situation. If you are in a difficult financial position, do reach out for help from appropriate organisations and professionals, e.g. mortgage advisor, debt advisor, The Citizen’s Advice Bureau.