On Sunday I went back to my old office for my hearing. This hearing is required by law any time an employee is dismissed. Supposedly it is suppose to be some kind of an appeal process. For me it was in the same meeting room with the exact same people as the previous Sunday. I had an opportunity to ask anything I wanted. I requested to skip the hearing and move on with the information I needed for unemployment insurance and finding a new job. After the meeting I went to my old demoralized department to answer any training questions they had. It was more of a chance to say good bye and answer the absolute basics of what I was working on.
I am not unemployed yet. I am technically employed until January 19th even though I am staying home. It is kind of like being a senator. Basically they give 1 month notice and there is no concept of pay in lieu of notice. As I started work in March I have not worked long enough to qualify for full employment. Instead I qualify for 'half benefits' which I am still trying to figure out what that means. I cannot discuss my case with Bituach Leumi until I am unemployed. The best I can tell it is 60% of salary for 3 months. People get one month severance for every year worked. Having extra children is always a bonus when receiving any kind of benefits. Plus the 6 year savings fund gets paid out when employment ends. Not having all these extra cushions is leaving me more panicked then most my former co-workers who in general have been there between 2 - 4 years and have a bunch of kids.
In many ways I am in a lot better position than I was on the search last year. I finally have a job title to apply to my personality and skill set to. I have almost a year experience under my belt and I have proven I am good at QA. The problem is I have no formal training in QA or computers. I don't have 3 years experience. While my Hebrew has improved tremendously it is no where on level to cope in a Hebrew business environment.
At some point down the line I know I will be looking back and thinking that this was a good move. The comptroller of the company told me this week, told me now that I have some experience I should be looking at a 25% raise. I am nervous about how long it will take for things to full into place.
2 comments:
Hang in there Jason.
Are you aware that many companies make you work that last month after they give you notice?
I know this is a tough time for you, but at least they gave you that month off to look for work. :)
I have written before that I had a great employer. Under the unfortunate circumstances they have been a class act including some help finding new employment.
It is just that the circumstances suck. It is harder not really understanding how the system works.
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