Lost your job: first steps

Lesson 6 of 12 in our free Life Events guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.

This lesson is in the full version.

Free with a code from your uni, college, council, landlord or employer (worth £600/year). Lesson 1 of Life Events is free for everyone.

Questions you'll answer

Mo can't afford next month's credit card payment. Best move?

Rent → Priority bill. Missing rent can risk your home. Top priority.
Council tax → Priority bill. Can lead to serious enforcement action if unpaid.
Energy → Priority bill. Losing supply affects your health and safety.
A streaming subscription → Lower priority. Pause or cancel for now.
Catalogue or credit card minimum payment → Lower priority. Still important — contact the lender to arrange a plan — but rent and energy come first.
Fact: “You usually need at least 2 years' continuous service with an employer to get statutory redundancy pay.” — Under 2 years, you may not get statutory redundancy pay — but you're still owed notice pay and unused holiday.
Fact: “Redundancy pay up to £30,000 is usually tax-free.” — The first £30,000 of genuine redundancy pay is generally tax-free. Holiday and notice pay are taxed as normal.
Myth: “You have to wait until your savings run out before claiming Universal Credit.” — Claim straight away — the first payment takes about 5 weeks. Savings under £6,000 don't affect UC.