And another stomach twister...

As I have said before, the last week and a half or so have been an absolute roller coaster for me. But not just for me, for all my colleagues working directly or indirectly (like me) for the same company. Let me pick up where I left off...

Last Monday I worked for my normal agency, but at the end of the day, the agency said: no more. They didn't get any guarantees that they would be paid for me. So I was basically unemployed. My choices at that point were several and in the end I did pursue two of the avenues open to me. 

First I contacted another agency and they were willing to have a chat. So on Wednesday morning I made my way to their office for a chat. After having left my details (all the official paperwork and such as well), I drove home again. I had barely pulled up at home when the planner called: I was back in and could I go...

So, barely a day after losing my job in one place, I had a new one elsewhere. Albeit working for the same company. That Wednesday evening I left the garage with a coach to go and pick up some people who were in Germany. Deep in Germany. Like, close to the Polish border Germany! The closest at one point was 700 meters! Anyhoo.

My massive room in Germany

I arrived in the middle of the night and as I didn't have to pick up the group until 8 pm, I stayed in a hotel for the remainder of the night/rest of the day. Later that day I picked up the group, drove back (around 700 km) and finally arrived home again around 8 in the morning. Tired!

The weekend was spent recuperating from those three days and then today (ie Tuesday) the news arrived. Bankrupt. The company I have spent most of bus driving life with (nearly 14 years before Emigration and 10 months since coming back) has gone bust. 

For the next six weeks solutions will be sought for complete or partial take-overs. Until then no new work can be accepted and the old work has to be done by the employees of the company before hiring me and other agency workers. It will mean less and less work over the coming weeks.

Giving the passengers a break on a dark service station in the middle of the night

The second avenue I pursued was the unemployment office. I already knew I would be entitled to pay-out, but I wanted to wait until the agency came back to me. However, even after they did, I decided to apply for unemployment, as I don't know how many hours I will make. 

If they do grant me unemployment, they will pay the difference from the average before (around 30 hours a week) to the worked hours in the 'newer' job. So, if I only make 20 hours this week, it will be rounded up to 30, albeit at 75%. 

There are a few strings attached to getting unemployment though: I have to actively search for work. The fact that I already have a job offer is neither here nor there, as it was made before I lost the job and it's not set in stone just yet. 

I might just come and get you...

So, the world is stormy and not just thanks to Ciara (the storm that just passed my part of the world). My head is still okay though...