What, me worry?
Yesterday was a banner day in my career.
For a few weeks, I have been aware of impending layoffs.
For a few days, I heard foreigners (expat workers) in Prague may suffer most from the layoffs. (That includes me.)
And yesterday, I heard the rest – Yes, it includes me. I’ll be laid off.
So, I thought I would post about it.
How is this different from when someone in the USA gets laid off? Well, in the US, you get what we call your “pink slip” and that’s it. You may have a couple days or weeks to handover duties to someone else, or …you may even be escorted outside immediately. Getting any severance package depends solely on your company.
How about here in the Czech Republic (or in most European countries)?
Czech social law (and thus common practice) demands an employee get two months advanced notice when being laid off. After you work for those 2 months, you also get a minimum 3 months salary (no longer working).
Some companies offer a bit more to entice people to work for them, but the standard is 5 months from when you find out “Damn, I’m redundant.” to when your bank account no longer gets money.
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Sidenote: “laid off” is not the same as being fired for breaking some policy. People are laid off because their position is redundant (two people for one person’s job) or the company is adjusting what they do (we don’t make these widgets anymore)
The bonus is, at least when being laid off in the Czech Republic, if you can find a job within those first 2 months, starting soon after you are out of your first job, — then you’re getting double-paid for 3 months!
(wow, it almost sounds like a good thing to get laid-off, doesn’t it?)
Well, my official notice hasn’t started yet, so my 2 months isn’t yet counting down. I’ll keep you informed…so stay tuned for more.
Related posts:
- Foreigners (Not) Welcome in Czech Republic? Just a few years ago, it was too easy getting a job as a foreigner...
- Got Laid Off hey, I promised an update to my earlier post “Getting Laid Off” – and here...
- Countdown: 5 Weeks to Move Abroad Today, we’re expats in Prague, Czech Republic, but we are planning our move to Canada....
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Just an update — we heard our official layoff date is “somewhere in the first weeks of February.”
That means, say 1 Feb, I get my notice. I will then work for 2 months, then get paid for 3 more months. The family and I are already planning a tour of Europe for at least a few weeks sometime in those 3 months of paid leave.
Where do we go after that? Well, there we’re in a gray area. “How gray? …Charcoal?”
We’ll discover that later.
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