Many people I meet while travelling in Costa Rica have the same abbreviated tag line: "I quit my job, and now I'm travelling". That´s basically what I was saying at the beginning as well. It's a lot easier that describing what a leave of absence is, or what I do that allows me to have that kind of flexibility.
But as of December 1, that statement will be true for me. I have actually quit from my consulting firm, instead of being on an LOA. This has come as a surprise to most people, until I explain the circumstances. My company needs to do some lay-offs in the UK geography. Rather than have any more lay-offs than necessary, they have offered what they call Voluntary Redundancy.
In a weird quirk of the corporate world, what this means is that I get paid a more than reasonable percentage of my annual salary to voluntarily quit. It's on the books as a voluntary redundancy, which is slightly different than me actually quitting and definitely different than being laid off. It doesn't preclude me working for the company again, but I'd have to wait 6-12 months to apply. Not that this is in my plans at the moment, but I like to have options.
The next steps for me are to submit my application for a UK visa on the points based system, where I won´t have to be sponsored by an employer. Once that is approved (and I am in the US long enough to get it processed) I will be allowed to work in the UK for whoever I want. Initially, I will probably try to do contracting. It will be similar work to what I have done the past few years, but with shorter hours and more control over location to minimise unwanted travel. I will take it from there, either switching into something completely different, or re-evaluating again. But, I am not really worried about that at the moment. One step at a time, and the next steps are to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, and then off to Fiji, NZ and Australia!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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Only a consulting firm could come up with the term, "voluntarily redundant." That being said, it is difficult to think of better places to be redundant than on a beach in Costa Rica.
And the best part is, I had to apply for it and be selected! Not everyone who applied for it actually got it. Now, that can be construed a few ways. Either I am crap and they wanted to get rid of me, or more likely, I was an easier person to let go because I was already on leave and not currently chargeable to a client. I´m pretty sure it is the latter. Several people are surprised and disappointed that I have left, but understand my motivation for doing so. C est la vie!
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