Nearly
a fifth of employees across Europe fear losing their jobs in the very near
future, according to research by global careers website Monster.
A
further 29 per cent of the 14,000 people who responded to the survey did not
feel confident about their job security.
Just
5 per cent of respondents claim they feel very secure over their job future.
Workers
in the UK, Spain, Belgium and Italy feel most insecure, with between 21 per
cent and 24 per cent feeling that redundancy is imminent.
According
to the results, the Dutch and the Danes currently feel least threatened by
redundancy, each with a comparatively high percentage of 23 per cent claming
they feel very secure.
Redundancy
is more daunting for some Europeans than others because of the differences in statutory
redundancy pay.
Generally
payments to those who have been made redundant depend on factors such as an
employee’s length of service, their age, their previous salary, and the type of
work done.
"State
benefits across Europe range from a flat rate of £65 per week in the UK to
figures as high as £291 in Denmark," explained Simon Osborne, managing
director of redundancy insurance specialist SalaryProtect.com which provides
income protection and redundancy insurance in the UK.
In
France, for example, a state-wide unemployment insurance scheme is in place,
which is contributed to by employers and employees.
If
an employee has involuntarily lost their job, the scheme will pay out up to 75
per cent of the previous salary, providing that contributions have been made by
the employer to the scheme while they were working.
Similarly
in Germany, if an employee has contributed to an insurance scheme, they can
claim around 60 per cent of their salary for six months, depending on their age
and how long insurance fees have been paid.
In
the UK, the situation is somewhat different. There is no state-wide insurance
scheme, but companies are obliged to make a one-off payment to an employee who
has been made redundant.
The
basic guidelines for calculation of redundancy pay in the UK are as follows:
•
1.5 week’s salary for each completed year of service while aged 41 to 65
•
1 week’s salary for each completed year of service while aged 22 to 40
•
0.5 week’s salary for each completed year of service while aged 18 to 21
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