Faceless Bureaucrat: It seems that Bad Assed Trader has taken over our blog with her boundless enthusiasm for trading the Forex, but she's forgetting who is supplying her with the money to keep her in trades right now. After all, she hasn't yet turned a consistent profit has she? Hm?
So I'm back to update you on my progress in seeking to escape the axe of Great British Public Sector cuts.
Just to recap: we were told in December that our NHS organisation was likely to close at the end of March 2011 (yes, Thursday). We went through the obligatory 3 month consultation period required when an organisation is making more than 100 people redundant. We thought that our team might be able to survive by becoming self funding but within a couple of months it became apparent that the NHS commissioners of London no longer wanted to pay for training - at least not from an NHS organisation. The Strategic Health Authority of London instead signed a contract with a consortium of private sector organisations to provide training and development support to the new NHS commissioners now emerging - the GP commissioning consortia.
The work of our NHS organisation is now being privatised but most of us it seems are not eligible to transfer to these organisations because of the way the work is being commissioned. They've made sure it isn't a simple case of the work transferring, this allows them to make us redundant and get lots of public sector workers off the national public sector balance sheet.
So I duly received my letter at the beginning of March telling me that I had one month to find other work in the NHS or I would be served notice of redundancy.
Regular readers will know that I'd rather not be made redundant just now. I did rather agonise over this as it looked like I'd get four months' pay and that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get paid without having to work.
However, over the last couple of months it has become clear that this is not a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I can hang on in until September time I may get the opportunity again - and by then I will be eligible for a much bigger redundancy cheque - one that will allow me to trade unhindered by paid work for at least a year.
I have watched many NHS managers taking voluntary redundancy cheques worth tens of thousands of pounds - some of them more than £100,000. Many of these people are really talented managers with a great deal of experience, able to turn their hands to many different management roles and challenges. And the NHS is paying them to go. It seems incredible. I never would have believed it until now, witnessing it first hand.
But it has persuaded me that I too may get this opportunity. I just need to stay in until September.
Well, I admit I've taken things up to the wire a bit, given my redundancy notice is due later this week. However, I've had to be careful not to end up landing myself with a job that does not preserve the unusual working arrangements I currently enjoy. I work 27 hours a week, 3 of them from home, and I'm able to work them flexibly on the days that generally suit me. And yet I get a very good salary for this.
Also, as my career coach, Ciaran, pointed out a few weeks ago, if I want to succeed at trading I need to do a job that allows me the "head space" to trade, rather than one that consumes all my mental powers (not difficult).
So I've had a bit of a balancing act, needing to secure something which would keep me in the NHS for another 6 months but, preferably, no longer and provide me with these specific terms and conditions.
Now I don't want to tempt fate because I have not yet seen a signed contract. So I'm not going to tell you anymore yet. Only to say that I do expect, this week, to receive a signed contract for 6 months more work in the NHS on my current terms.
How I have done it God only knows.
They say it's not over til the fat lady sings. Well I don't think of myself as fat but this lady will certainly be singing once this is in the bag...
So I'm back to update you on my progress in seeking to escape the axe of Great British Public Sector cuts.
Just to recap: we were told in December that our NHS organisation was likely to close at the end of March 2011 (yes, Thursday). We went through the obligatory 3 month consultation period required when an organisation is making more than 100 people redundant. We thought that our team might be able to survive by becoming self funding but within a couple of months it became apparent that the NHS commissioners of London no longer wanted to pay for training - at least not from an NHS organisation. The Strategic Health Authority of London instead signed a contract with a consortium of private sector organisations to provide training and development support to the new NHS commissioners now emerging - the GP commissioning consortia.
The work of our NHS organisation is now being privatised but most of us it seems are not eligible to transfer to these organisations because of the way the work is being commissioned. They've made sure it isn't a simple case of the work transferring, this allows them to make us redundant and get lots of public sector workers off the national public sector balance sheet.
So I duly received my letter at the beginning of March telling me that I had one month to find other work in the NHS or I would be served notice of redundancy.
Regular readers will know that I'd rather not be made redundant just now. I did rather agonise over this as it looked like I'd get four months' pay and that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get paid without having to work.
However, over the last couple of months it has become clear that this is not a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I can hang on in until September time I may get the opportunity again - and by then I will be eligible for a much bigger redundancy cheque - one that will allow me to trade unhindered by paid work for at least a year.
I have watched many NHS managers taking voluntary redundancy cheques worth tens of thousands of pounds - some of them more than £100,000. Many of these people are really talented managers with a great deal of experience, able to turn their hands to many different management roles and challenges. And the NHS is paying them to go. It seems incredible. I never would have believed it until now, witnessing it first hand.
But it has persuaded me that I too may get this opportunity. I just need to stay in until September.
Well, I admit I've taken things up to the wire a bit, given my redundancy notice is due later this week. However, I've had to be careful not to end up landing myself with a job that does not preserve the unusual working arrangements I currently enjoy. I work 27 hours a week, 3 of them from home, and I'm able to work them flexibly on the days that generally suit me. And yet I get a very good salary for this.
Also, as my career coach, Ciaran, pointed out a few weeks ago, if I want to succeed at trading I need to do a job that allows me the "head space" to trade, rather than one that consumes all my mental powers (not difficult).
So I've had a bit of a balancing act, needing to secure something which would keep me in the NHS for another 6 months but, preferably, no longer and provide me with these specific terms and conditions.
Now I don't want to tempt fate because I have not yet seen a signed contract. So I'm not going to tell you anymore yet. Only to say that I do expect, this week, to receive a signed contract for 6 months more work in the NHS on my current terms.
How I have done it God only knows.
They say it's not over til the fat lady sings. Well I don't think of myself as fat but this lady will certainly be singing once this is in the bag...
No comments:
Post a Comment