TOGETHER with divorce, the death of a spouse and moving home, redundancy is one of the most stressful experiences that a person living in a western democracy is likely to experience.

As well as entailing obvious financial consequences, sudden redundancy can induce feelings of worthlessness which, in turn, lead on to depression and even despair.

It should also be noted that redundancy often affects people other than the person who has lost a job. The consequences can be dire for whole families as well as individuals.

The new law on redundancy payments which was passed in the States earlier this week is, therefore, to be warmly welcomed. Payments, even at the relatively generous level of a week’s pay for every year of service stipulated in the legislation, might be no substitute for employment, but they will help to address the issue of financial hardship.

In addition, because employers will be obliged to recognise employees’ service in terms of hard cash, the newly jobless could be helped to come to terms with their position more easily. In effect, long service and loyalty will, at least to an extent, have been rewarded.

As Deputy Geoff Southern suggested in congratulating Social Security Minister Ian Gorst on the introduction of this latest piece of employment law, it is perhaps regrettable that it has taken the circumstances of a severe economic downturn to bring a much needed legislative process to a satisfactory conclusion.

However, now that the law is ready for introduction – subject only to Privy Council approval – many Islanders who sense that their jobs could be in jeopardy if the downturn continues will breathe a little more easily.

Quite rightly, businesses will bear the cost of the new payments provided that they are solvent, but because of complementary legislation approved last week, the States will find themselves picking up the bill for redundancy compensation when firms are insolvent.

This will most certainly help to prevent the severest hardship, but some taxpayers will undoubtedly wonder why public funds should be used to compensate for private sector failures.

Fortunately, even in the present difficult conditions, the number of insolvencies will be limited, as will the sums payable. Also, the legislation makes it clear that the States will in all cases seek to recover the cost of redundancy payments
as the affairs of insolvent firms are wound up.