The long-term impact of redundancy

Julie Robertson* was made redundant in August 2019 when her office closed down and has been looking for work ever since.

Julie, who is 61, worked in office administration for Cigna Insurance in Plymouth for 21 years. She was not on high wages, but says not everyone is motivated by money and the job has varied over the years as the company evolved.

However, she finds it difficult to get interviews for jobs as many of them require formal qualifications and she has picked up much of what she knows on the job. “I have used so many systems over the years and I just pick it up because I am using it every day rather than just doing a qualification in it,” she says, adding that she has trained or buddied many new starters during her working life.

She says she is not fussy about what type of work she does as long as it pays her bills, but feels it is pointless applying for jobs that she clearly cannot do. She has been for many jobs, but reckons that for nine out of 10 she receives no reply or she is told there will be an interview and it all fizzles out. She thinks her age may be a factor and cites one interview she attended where the interviewer was clearly not interested and was rolling her eyes.

No light at the end of the tunnel

Julie says the whole experience of applying endlessly for jobs makes her feel “worthless”. She is still living off her redundancy pay and savings.  While there are more jobs around than during the lockdown months, she says many are part time and not enough to live on. She has taken out any qualifications that ‘age’ her from her cv and her date of birth, but is not hopeful about finding a job any time soon. “I have worked since I was 16 and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel,” she states.

*Not her real name

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