Hello, oh great experts of EF. I just bumped into a big nasty wall and would like to ask you guys for some tips on how to climb it.

My father-in-law was offered work as an external in an insurance company while working for another company as an internal. Since this new proposal came from his old boss, to come back to the team he loved and worked for over 10 years, he fired himself and eagerly accepted his new job.

Then the tale of woes starts. The insurance company had been recently bought by an American branch and the big bosses decided it was time to cut some costs. This meeting happened 15 days after FIL started working. Since he was one of the newest members of the team, he was fired.

He has a C permit and has worked at least 12 months in the last 24 months. To my understanding, he should be entitled to some financial aid till he finds a new work. But since he fired himself from the old work and started working as an external, I am not sure...

I would like to give him a kick in the ass and force him to get some help. He is getting into a depressive spiral, and I'd like to give him some tips to help out his work search (I, idiot, have actually written his CV and had to hear I didn’t do it well enough) and financial situation. But since he is an extremely difficult person to deal with (think Cthulhu like), I'd like not to send him into a fools errand in the RAV (because then I won’t be climbing the wall, I’ll be executed by a family firing squad).

Help? Any tips are welcome!

ok, afaik its like this: your fil quit, joined a new team, couldnt forsee the event of him being fired in 2 weeks= no probs as he WAS fired now.
the ex employer has to give a reason in written form in the cancellation letter why they fired him. that he has to show the RAV. i dont think he will get a problem. other the situation if he had quit the first job WITHOUT having a signed contract beforehand!!

That is what I believe too. It was not his fault that he was fired (his Kündigung letter specifically says it is because of financial cuts), so it wouldn't make sense that the RAV refuses him. He did have a valid written contract.

My concerns are about the fact that he was employed as an external. He has his own one-man company to be able to slave himself as an external, so I am not sure if that actually plays a role (not sure if "bosses" are allowed to get unemployment money, though I know he does make contributions to the unemployment insurance).

When I mentioned contacting the RAV he answered quite rudely and let the matter die there. I am not totally sure whether it's because of pride reasons, or whether there is infomation I am not supposed to know. That is why I'd like to know in which point he stands with the information he gave me, so I can pressure him to act (either come clean with us, or just put his damned pride down a notch and ask for financial help when he needs it).

Thanks for the prompt response Flow

1. So just to be clear he was an employee with company A.
2. He became a contractor for company B working through his own company - either as his own employee or as self employed.
3. His contract was unexpectedly terminated by company B.

If that is the case then, depending on his own company type, he is either still self employed or still employed by his own company. He is not unemployed but merely out of contract.

That was a good summary. But I am still a bit lost at sea... Since he still hasn't found a new job (he has been advised to apply for both internal and external jobs), must he keep as "out of contract" or can he change to "unemployed"?

Sorry if my question sounds dumb. I had a really crazy and fruitless personal encounter with RAV. If I wouldn't see my FiL sinking into a depression, I wouln't fight so much, but I want him to get on his feet.

What did the RAV say? Usually they are very helpful. Maybe they want him to go in and deal with it himself. Since he was only working for a few weeks as an "independent" I would say he should be able to collect unemployment. At the very least they can try to help him find a new job.

If he was working as an employee for a min of 12 months over the last 24 he would be able to get unemployment pay. If he has set up a co, he must fire himself from his company to collect.
We need to know his exact status with regard to the new company, then I can comment further

First of all, a deep bow of gratitute to you guys for taking your time to read my silly questions

That is actually the problem: he hasn't gone to the RAV. We noticed he got into tough financial problems, basically because he was not counting on the missfortune of getting fired on the first month of his new employment. We talked to him about it, but it just turned into a screaming "end of discussion".

Yes, that makes sense in the same line like swissbob. I will try to find out what's the situation right now and what are the possibilities to "freeze" his self-employment.



The whole situation makes me look like a meddling hag. Proud, independent men sometimes are really difficult to help, because they refuse to accept they are in need of help, though it is quite obvious to outsiders. I'm just testing my ground here, so I can make a stand and fight for his happiness without getting the relationship cut. I'm a selfish bitch: I care for him and, for my own sake, I want him to get on his feet. BLEH...