Starting Again
A layoff comes with a notice period and no instructions
The first weeks decide things that are hard to undo later: what gets signed, what money gets drawn down, what story gets told. People who have been laid off and are working again explain the order they would do things in now, and what they got wrong the first time.
Explore this page6 sections
The first weeks are when the expensive mistakes get made.
A layoff is usually announced quickly and handled in a hurry. People sign separation papers they have not read, withdraw provident fund they did not need to touch, let health cover lapse, and start sending applications in a panic before they have decided what they are applying for.
None of that is a character flaw. It is what happens when something large arrives without a sequence. The point of this session is the sequence.
It is practical, not counselling, and not legal advice. Where the law is involved — dues, notice, provident fund, gratuity — the session explains what to ask and where to check, because the rules change and depend on the role and the employer.
What to deal with, in roughly this order
34 topics across 6 areas. Six things, starting with the ones that get harder after the last day.
Before the Last Working DayWhat is much harder to get afterwards.7
- The separation or termination letter, in writing
- A relieving letter and an experience letter
- Recent payslips and the final salary break-up
- Your UAN and provident fund details
- Form 16 for the year, or the date it will be issued
- Personal contact details for people who can vouch for your work
- Copies of your own work that you are allowed to keep
Read anything you are asked to sign. Ask for a day if you need one, and put your questions in writing.
Dues and SettlementWhat you are owed, and when.6
Under the Code on Wages, in force since November 2025, wages due on retrenchment or resignation are to be paid within two working days. Other items, gratuity among them, follow their own rules. Statutory retrenchment compensation applies to employees classed as workers, which excludes many managerial roles; for everyone else the contract and company policy decide. Check the current rules for your situation, and ask HR in writing for the amounts and the dates.
- Salary up to the last working day
- Notice pay, or pay in lieu of notice
- Leave encashment, under company policy
- Gratuity, if you are eligible
- Any severance or retrenchment compensation
- Bonus or variable pay already earned
Provident Fund and Health CoverTwo things people regret rushing.6
Under revisions EPFO announced in October 2025, part of the balance can be withdrawn soon after a job loss and the rest only after a longer period without work, with the pension portion on a longer timeline still. Rules like these change. Check EPFO's current position before withdrawing anything, and remember that money withdrawn now is money not there later.
- Your provident fund is yours, and your UAN follows you to the next job
- Transferring the balance is often better than withdrawing it
- Withdrawal rules after job loss were revised in 2025
- Group health cover usually ends with employment
- Ask the insurer, before the last day, about moving to an individual policy
- Check who else in the family was covered under your policy
The Money RunwayHow long you can search without panic.5
- Monthly essentials, separated from everything else
- What the settlement and savings actually add up to
- Fixed commitments: rent, EMIs, school fees, parents
- Talking to a lender early, before a payment is missed
- A realistic guess at how long the search might take
The number of months you can last changes how you search. Work it out before you start applying.
Telling PeopleFamily, friends, former colleagues, and the internet.5
'My role was one of several cut in a restructuring' is a complete answer. A layoff is a business decision, and it does not need to be told as a verdict on you.
- One factual sentence you can say without discomfort
- What to tell family, and when
- Whether, and how, to post about it
- Asking former colleagues for specific help
- Not criticising the employer, anywhere
Starting the SearchWeek two, not day one.5
- Deciding what you are applying for before applying
- Updating the resume once, properly
- Reaching out to people before portals
- A weekly rhythm rather than a daily scramble
- Keeping one thing in the week that is not the search
Common mistakes in the first weeks
- Signing papers without reading them
- Withdrawing provident fund by default
- Letting health cover lapse without checking the options
- Applying to everything in the first week
- Telling the story angrily in public
- Hiding it from the family
What participants leave with
- A checklist for the last working day
- A written list of questions for HR
- A rough figure for how long their money lasts
- One sentence about what happened
- A plan for the first two weeks of the search
How the session runs
Two or three people who were laid off and are working again describe their first weeks: what they did, in what order, and what they would change. A short walkthrough of the paperwork and the rules worth checking follows. The rest of the time goes to each participant's own situation, in a small group. Evenings or weekends, in person or online.
What your students leave with
- A written list of what to collect before the last working day
- A clear view of the money: dues, savings and how long they last
- Health cover dealt with before it lapses
- A short, unembarrassed way to tell people what happened
- A plan for a search that starts in week two, not on day one
- Knowing which rules to check, and where, instead of guessing
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
The first weeks are easier with a sequence.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.