Many companies have closed down due to the COVID-19 crisis as they can’t bear daily costs and there’s no income to drive the business further. Some organizations with firm connections may adjust their structures to reduce cost, especially human resources resulting in a layoff of some Departmental employees. The major target is aimed at middle-aged employees as their salary base is quite high and can contribute much to cost-saving. Besides, the technological competence of middle-aged workers can’t beat Millennials who are mostly digital natives. The current generation is more agile and can adapt to the working environment better than the older one. When facing unemployment either dismissal or termination, is there any way to help middle-aged employees handle this challenge?

Check your financial status

Having no job tremendously affects the middle-aged group as most of them are head of the family or carry the heavy burden of leadership to take care of husband or wife and children, or may include their elderly parents. When receiving an unemployment notice, the first thing is checking your current financial status, reviewing the number of assets and debt, monthly fixed expenses, including emergency savings to consider how long you can survive with all that money. Try to cut down unnecessary expenses to manage costs well balanced with your available savings. Or, if you have assets that can convert to cash rapidly like mutual funds or stocks, you may sell them to get a sum of money just enough to make your monthly living smoothly while looking for a new job.

Contact Social Security Office (SSO)

When facing unemployment either by resignment or termination, you need to contact the SSO to protect your rights and benefits. If your Social Security Contributions are more than 6 months, you can submit your request to SSO to get your benefits. For a salary of over 15,000 baht, you can claim unemployment compensation at 150 baht per day (not exceeding 4,500 baht per month). Submit a Requisition Form to SSO with Identification Card, book bank, certified resignation letter from your company, and dismissal letter from your employer (if any). After that SSO will issue a receipt to you and then you can register for an unemployment status at https://empui.doe.go.th to be eligible for receiving compensation money while you’re unemployed.

Update your resume promptly and submit an application to the recruitment website

It’s quite challenging to find a suitable position when you leave the job in middle age. Most companies will rarely hire you even if it’s a general level because your salary base is high. It’d be better if they hire new graduates with lower salaries and are more technology-savvy, except for the Executive position providing that you have remarkable performance. If your profile is outstanding, you may be recruit but your salary will probably be pressed. The salary negotiation may be discussed because you’re considered unemployed so you should make a careful decision. It would be secure to take the job if you get an offer because you still need a fixed income to cover your monthly expenses until you can find a new opportunity.

Manage Provident Fund

After dismissal, your employer will stop paying Provident Fund Contribution to you. Here are some practices of financial management.

1.Receiving full amount of funds: This sum of money is classified as income which has to be taken for tax calculation in the same year. To ease your tax burden, you may arrange some money to buy funds like SFF, RMF or pension insurance that offers a tax deduction.

2.Retaining a sum of money until the age of 55 or waiting for transferring money to a new employer: You’ll need to pay an annual maintenance fee of 500 baht which is considered a membership renewal fee. In this way, you don’t have to pay tax and the money you put in the fund will be taken to invest continually.

3.Transferring PF to invest in RMF: A good point is you don’t have to continuously increase your Provident Fund (PF) investment like general Retirement Mutual Fund (RMF) but you have to hold your fund until the age of 55 in order to get tax exemption.

Reduce your expenses

When unemployed, you must cut down your expenses as much as possible and spend money on necessities only such as debt. Force yourself to pay your debt on schedule to maintain your credibility for the long term. It may take a while until you get a new job or career so you must rigidly control your expense not to buy unnecessary stuff. You never know whether you’ll get a new job in the future.

Find extra income

Don’t just spend your time looking for a new job. During the economic downturn, getting a job is never easy. Thus, finding extra income is the best way to earn monthly cash. Even if it’s not much, it can make a living. Most freelance jobs are selling products online; however, you can take benefit of your experience in a previous job and apply for a student tutor, for instance. Think about what you can do for an extra job. Who knows! That job may become your permanent one in the future.

Keep your big sum of money

You’ll receive a big sum of money from your employer as a shock value for a dismissal case. Don’t rush to spend or pay debt with all that money. You should manage that amount of money most efficiently by allocating some to be enough for living expenses and paying debt for at least 6 months. That will help you survive before you’re offered a new job or when your life plan is settled.

Always upskill and reskill

Don’t waste your time doing anything while you’re unemployed. As you’re middle-aged, your knowledge and ability may be outdated. You should develop your self-potential by joining online courses to achieve new skills needed for your future work such as Digital Skills, Soft Skills, Data analytics, UX/UI, and so on. Also focus on improving your existing skills and weakness so that it’ll be easier to get an offer, and you’ll have a chance to find a better choice than the previous position.

Leave your Comfort zone for a new journey

It’s hard for some middle-aged people to find a new job as aging and a high salary base is not the first choice for most companies unless your potential or profile is more exceptional than general candidates. As being salarymen over 20 years, some people may get bored with an office job. When those people are unemployed, they have moderate savings enough for setting up a new business, and starting a new career when they have good experience would be an interesting alternative. The economy at this time is uncertain for investment; however, it’ll be eventually recovered when the crisis is over. Study the information about investment and adapt your 20 years of experience at work so you can enter into a new journey of an entrepreneur and will no longer be an employee.

Above all, you must accept that this world is always changing like a permanent job. Don’t be disappointed or give up when you’re jobless. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and life is also full of ups and downs. Don’t live carelessly. Reserve your emergency savings that cover at least 6 months of your monthly expenses to avoid unemployment or in case you may be in urgent need of cash. If you’re interested in short term fixed savings account, please see detail at https://scbcw-preprod.scb.co.th/en/personal-banking/deposits/fixed-deposit-account.html

References :

https://sabailey.com/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%89/8-%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B3-%E0%B8%96%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B8/?fbclid=IwAR1GKj9jZNZYAEbz5dI0FhEEPvkkenRfgx86OpDYxYPYrysjzuD5elfpcsg

https://www.prosoft.co.th/Article/Detail/123228

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