Fired/Terminated/laid off/got let go/made redundant (meaning, British, quote)
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I have barely an idea that all this words: Fired/Terminated/laid off/got let go/made redundant refers to the action of "dismissing an employee from a job" but why there are so many words to describe the same idea? What are the differences of each one?
PS. I am not a native english speaker, so please be patient.
The use of RIF in government would make sense.. They tend to use the first letters of words as an attempt ;-) to simply their complex systems. Back when I worked part time in a federal work place, my status was "WAE" (While Already Employed or While Also Employed) which I understood to refer to the fact that I also had a job in the private sector.
Another way of saying I lost my job is "I was canned" or "They canned me."
I wonder how many ways there are to say someone was hired...
Last edited by LilyMae521; 12-05-2018 at 04:44 AM..
"Fired" means you were dismissed from your job for cause (meaning you did something that caused your employer to let you go)
"Terminated" could be for any reason -- fired, or let go because of a reduction in force (usually budget-related, and also called RIF'd).
"Laid Off" means terminated because of reduction in force, usually budget-related.
"Got let go" is the same as terminated, perhaps a bit less formal English.
"Made redundant" -- not sure, unless it means you were dismissed from your job because someone else does the same thing.
Getting fired is much worse than merely getting laid off because of a reduction in force.
The implications of the different terms do have an effect on future employment.
'Laid Off' is also used frequently in seasonal employment such as commercial fishing, construction, and other areas. It often means an employee isn't really fired; he's just furloughed due to the inability to work until the season changes.
This can be important, because a person who is laid off can draw unemployment until the job becomes active again, while a person who was permanently discharged from the same job may not able to draw unemployment.
"Made redundant" is rather similar to being laid off. Either isn't due to a fault in the performance of the worker on the job, or the ability to do the job.
If a business is shrinking for any reason, and there is now un-needed duplication of labor, it's not the fault of the employee.
Since no one can control the seasons, and there are many businesses that grow and shrink continually, being laid-off can mean the employee may be one of the first to be called back when there's work to be done again.
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