Her Success Coach helps women leaders build confidence, overcome self-doubt, and lead with clarity. Cambridge-trained, evidence-based coaching for senior women in tech, business, and finance.
Being made redundant is one of the most disorienting professional experiences you can face. Even when you know it is a business decision — even when the entire department is affected — it feels personal. Your identity, routine, financial security, and sense of purpose are all disrupted at once. This guide is not about putting a positive spin on redundancy. It is about handling it with clarity, strategy, and self-respect so you can move forward on your terms.
The First 48 Hours
The moment you receive the news, your nervous system goes into fight-or-flight. This is a normal stress response. The decisions you make in this state are rarely your best. Here is what to do — and not do — in the immediate aftermath:
Do
- Stay calm in the meeting. You do not need to agree, negotiate, or respond substantively. "Thank you for telling me. I need some time to process this. Can we schedule a follow-up to discuss the details?" This buys you time without committing to anything.
- Ask for everything in writing. The redundancy terms, the timeline, any support being offered (outplacement, gardening leave, references). Do not rely on what was said verbally.
- Tell someone you trust. A partner, a close friend, a family member. You do not need to process this alone.
- Give yourself permission to feel. Shock, anger, grief, relief — whatever comes up is valid. Research on career setbacks shows that suppressing the emotional response delays recovery.
Do Not
- Do not sign anything immediately. You almost always have the right to take the agreement away and review it. Use this time.
- Do not send emotional emails or messages. The urge to vent to colleagues, post on LinkedIn, or fire off a response to your manager is strong. Resist it. You can always send a message later. You cannot unsend one.
- Do not start job searching yet. There will be time for that. Right now, focus on processing and getting the best possible exit terms.
Negotiate Your Exit
Most people accept the first redundancy package they are offered. Do not. Redundancy terms are almost always negotiable, especially at senior levels.
- Severance pay. The statutory minimum is rarely the best the company can offer. Ask for more. Frame it in terms of your tenure, your contributions, and the disruption to your career. Companies want to avoid legal disputes and negative publicity — this gives you leverage.
- Notice period and gardening leave. Can you extend the notice period? Can you be placed on gardening leave (paid but not required to work) to give you more time to job search while still employed?
- Outplacement support. Many companies offer professional outplacement services (career coaching, CV writing, interview preparation). If they do not offer it, ask for it. If they do, negotiate for a quality provider.
- Reference. Agree on the wording of your reference before you leave. Get it in writing. A strong, agreed reference removes uncertainty from your job search.
- Benefits continuation. Health insurance, pension contributions, stock vesting — understand what happens to each and negotiate where possible.
- Announcement. How and when will the redundancy be communicated internally and externally? You should have input into the narrative. "X has decided to leave to pursue new opportunities" is very different from "X's role has been eliminated."
Consider consulting an employment lawyer, particularly if the package is significant, if you suspect unfair treatment, or if you are being asked to sign restrictive covenants.
Leave with Grace
How you leave a role is remembered as much as how you performed in it. This matters for your reputation, your network, and your own self-respect:
- Complete your handover professionally. Document your projects, brief your successor, and leave everything in order. This demonstrates integrity.
- Thank the people who mattered. Send personal messages to colleagues, mentors, and collaborators who made your time meaningful. These relationships will continue long after you leave.
- Do not badmouth the company. Even if you feel wronged. To colleagues, on LinkedIn, in interviews — the narrative should be professional. You are not protecting the company. You are protecting your own reputation.
- Say goodbye in person where possible. A brief, warm farewell is more memorable and relationship-preserving than disappearing quietly.
Manage the Financial Reality
Redundancy creates financial uncertainty. Address it directly:
- Understand your financial runway. How many months can you sustain your current lifestyle without income? This determines how aggressively you need to search and whether you can afford to be selective.
- Cut discretionary spending immediately. Not because you need to panic, but because reducing financial pressure gives you the freedom to make better career decisions.
- Understand your entitlements. Statutory redundancy pay, unemployment benefits, tax implications of your severance package. Get professional advice if the numbers are complex.
- Set a budget for the transition period. Include job search costs (career coaching, professional subscriptions, networking events) as an investment, not an expense.
Rebuild Your Confidence
Redundancy often triggers a crisis of professional confidence. Even when you know intellectually that it was a business decision, emotionally it can feel like a rejection of your worth. Combat this actively:
- Separate the event from your identity. You were made redundant. You are not redundant. Your role was eliminated. Your skills, experience, and value remain intact.
- Review your achievements. Write down everything you accomplished in your role. The projects, the results, the people you developed, the problems you solved. This is your evidence against self-doubt.
- Maintain your routine. Get up at the same time. Exercise. Structure your day. The absence of external structure is one of the most psychologically destabilising aspects of unemployment.
- Stay connected. Isolation amplifies negative thinking. Meet friends, attend industry events, have coffee with former colleagues. Social connection is protective against depression and anxiety.
Plan Your Next Move
Redundancy, painful as it is, also creates an opportunity that employed people rarely have: the space to think strategically about what you actually want.
- Resist the urge to take the first thing available. Unless your financial situation demands it, use this time to be intentional. What do you want from your next role that you did not have in your last one?
- Revisit your career development plan. Has the redundancy shifted your priorities? Are there industries, roles, or types of organisations you want to explore?
- Activate your network. Reach out to former colleagues, mentors, and industry contacts. Not with "I need a job" but with "I'm exploring what's next and would love your perspective." Most opportunities come through relationships, not job boards.
- Invest in yourself. Take a course. Work with a coach. Close a skill gap. This is both practically useful and psychologically restorative — it shifts your focus from loss to growth.
- Craft your narrative. You need a clear, non-defensive story about what happened and where you are headed. "My role was part of a restructuring. It's given me the opportunity to be really intentional about my next move, and I'm focused on [specific area]."
This Chapter Does Not Define You
Redundancy is a disruption, not a destination. The vast majority of people who are made redundant go on to find roles that are equal to or better than what they left. Many describe it, in retrospect, as the push they needed to pursue work that was more aligned with their values and ambitions.
Handle it with dignity — not for your employer's sake, but for your own. How you navigate adversity reveals your character and builds the resilience that every leader needs.
If you are navigating redundancy and want structured support to process, plan, and move forward with confidence, executive coaching can provide the clarity, strategy, and accountability you need.
Schedule a Consultation