Layoffs are alarmingly frequent now. After Twitter and Meta, reports are emerging that Amazon now plans to retrench 10,000 employees. Back at home, startups, particularly in the Edtech space, continue to hand out pink slip
Layoffs psychologicaly devastate employees. An abrupt stop to monthly income compounds the problems, particularly if you have debts such as home loan or auto loan to repay.
As reports of layoffs repeatedly hit headlines, many rush to buy insurance cover against job loss in the hope that it may safeguard finances in the event of losing the job.
There are specific insurance plans that promise to cover this risk. But it is not the best approach.
An insurance policy may not work the best because most policies in this space cover involuntary job losses only.
For an employee, it is difficult to prove that job loss is not voluntary. Instances of employees being asked to resign are not rare.
But it will be injudicious to not renew existing insurance plans for such cover can come handy in case prolonged unemployment. Medical insurance is an apt example.
Retrenched employees will be in further shock when tax personnel knock on their door. Tax officials come calling because the severance package is taxable.
But they claim exemption on meeting certain conditions which are best explained by tax consultants.
For example, leave travel allowance part of the severance package is deductible from taxable income.
In these times of job insecurity, working executives need to follow a prudent approach to personal finance to limit the damages in case of their retrenchment.
Loan repayment will be the hardest part. Devising a debt repayment strategy while in job is therefore essential. Personal finance experts suggest building a contingency fund that can take care of three months of loan repayment.
Retrenched employees will be in further shock when tax personnel knock on their door. Tax officials come calling because the severance package is taxable.
But they claim exemption on meeting certain conditions which are best explained by tax consultants.
For example, leave travel allowance part of the severance package is deductible from taxable income.
In these times of job insecurity, working executives need to follow a prudent approach to personal finance to limit the damages in case of their retrenchment.
Loan repayment will be the hardest part. Devising a debt repayment strategy while in job is therefore essential. Personal finance experts suggest building a contingency fund that can take care of three months of loan repayment.
Dr Conall Watson, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “Flu is now circulating widely and we have seen a sharp rise in the rate of hospitalisations for flu this week, particularly among the under-fives and over-85s.
“Admissions are now at the highest point since the 2017/18 season, and we are expecting case numbers to continue increasing as we move further into winter.”
The UKHSA has urged people to get their flu jabs, warning that uptake in young children is low while admissions in that age group are high. Fewer than four in 10 children aged two and three years old have been vaccinated, while admission rates in the under-fives have more than doubled in a week from 8.41 to 20.70 per 100,000.
Admissions for Covid also rose slightly in the past week, with a number of care home outbreaks, as health experts warned people to stay at home and avoid contact with others if they are unwell.
Hospital admission rates are highest in the South West, at 9.68 per 100,000 people, while flu hospitalisation rates are highest in London, where they have hit 14.24 per 100,000.
Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, the consultant epidemiologist for immunisation and counter-measures at the UKHSA said: “We’re seeing rises in flu, Covid and other winter viruses as people mix more indoors this winter.
“Covid hospitalisations are highest in the oldest age groups, so it is particularly important that everyone who is eligible continues to come forward to accept their booster jab.
“If you are unwell this winter, please try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people, particularly elderly or vulnerable people – this will help stop infection from spreading.”
Penrose also admitted two charges of breaching an interim stalking ban order by sending a letter and a parcel to the Golden Globe winner.
He was due to be sentenced on Thursday at Wood Green Crown Court, which had received a letter described as “jottings and scribblings on a piece of paper” by Judge David Aaronberg KC, who said it was “not a threatening document”.
But he said it was written by someone with “some sort of obsession with Ms Foy and they are likely to write again on occasion although will not persist in ringing her doorbell”.
The court heard Penrose, who has been held in hospital for mental health treatment for almost a year, denies sending the letter.
He said from the dock: “They’ve spelt my name wrong.”
‘Aggravating factor’
Prosecutor Nicki Roberson said the note was an “aggravating factor” in the case and the judge said he may need to make a decision on who wrote it before sentencing Penrose.
“It leads me to the conclusion that if he stops taking his medication, he is likely to start becoming a pest again and he does not necessarily mean to be a pest, I can see that, but he has got an unhealthy obsession with Ms Foy and he can’t stop trying to contact her,” he said.
“It would be wrong to say he has intended, at any point, to cause physical harm to Ms Foy.”
He adjourned the case to Jan 20, seeking further assurances that Penrose, who is in the UK illegally, will be deported following sentencing.
