Seperation and financial difficulties

Hi, I'm after some advice, I'm currently a driver for a TOC. I have recently gone through a very messy separation (financially) from my wife & kids and as a result i'm now suffering with financial difficulties.

I've sought advice from the CAB and they've raised two possible options.

First being in a joint IVA with my ex wife - this means we would be financially tied until after the IVA term ends, 5 Years.

Second being bankruptcy.

The lady at the CAB said that an IVA wouldn't affect my career at all, however, she couldn't comment on whether the bankruptcy option would affect work and couldn't find any relevant info whilst googling.

Does anyone know if bankruptcy is a negative action towards a train drivers career? I'm happy being at driver role and I have no intentions ever of progressing to a management role from driving only.

I'm keeping all options open at the moment but would like all the facts before making a decision.

Thanks.

Heard of quite a few drivers and guards who have been bankrupt in the past and still work on the railways. That was quite a few years ago though so not sure if anything has changed since.

iWanabee said:

Does anyone know if bankruptcy is a negative action towards a train drivers career? I'm happy being at driver role and I have no intentions ever of progressing to a management role from driving only.

Click to expand...

Plenty of messy breakups at my place.

As to bancruptcy, no it doesn't affect your career.

At our place you can/could apply to go on weekly pay if you were in difficulties. Might be worth considering.

While I personally have never heard of a driver being made bankrupt, there are plenty who go through often messy divorces.

I'd be very surprised if bankruptcy made a jot of difference to being a driver, or even an driver manager.

It's probably only when you start having to deal with a budget or company finances I'd imagine it might be an interest.

I doubt your contract even obliges you to tell the company.

Edit. To add, while I doubt your obliged to notify of bankruptcy, if the issues are playing on your mind a lot while at work or not sleeping properly etc, then you should tell them that you have external life issues going on if it's likely to cause fatigue / incidents.

The only way bankruptcy might affect you would be if you were driving for DRS as you would have to hold DV clearance.

Short of that, there aren’t any roles on the railway that would require you to even disclose you were bankrupt to your employer let alone affect your employment.

bankruptcy generally only affects regulated professions - law, accountancy, etc and those which require police/government vetting.

The only thing I would be careful of, is if you choose not to disclose it or that you’re going through a messy breakup, they may get you from the point of view of not disclosing anything that may affect your driving (I.e. in this case your state of mind/stress levels). Best case scenario is they just note it, worst case is they ask you to go in for a chat with OH to make sure you’re all good.

Sadly this comes from experience.

Tell your DMs what is happening. It can affect how you are at work and they can keep an eye on you generally. And heaven forbid you have an incident if you've made management aware it can be a extenuating circumstance.

I told my DM when I was going through this, had a bit of a melt down on a night shift and the next day he pulled me to one side just to have a chat and check I was OK and in the right frame of mind to keep working.

As others have said, tell your DM. Even if you don’t like them. I went through a very difficult time last year and mine was brilliant. It wasn’t money troubles but my head wasn’t in a great place.
Regarding the bankruptcy, it gets published in the local paper for all to see, so I’d tell work. You say you’re looking at all options, so that implies you have others to look at. So tell your DM. Chances are that bankruptcy isn’t an issue but I can’t say for sure. Also, your manager has probably felt with this in the past and could give some advice on this too. I see no downside to telling your DM with this, only positives. You could also speak with your LDC too.

I was bankrupt in 2011 , long before joining the railway as a driver last year. It didn't affect my employment , although I am long since discharged. I would urge you to find a different solution if possible. It didn't affect me much, as I had nothing to my name except clothing and a car , and I rented a place back then. If you own , then they can make you sell the house to pay creditors and belongings and the car. They can't take clothing, work tools , blankets etc. They even made my mum sell the premium bonds she had in my name. Car insurance does , or at least used to go up for bankrupts. I got lucky again with my bank account. When I went bankrupt , they used to freeze the account and you were allowed to open a basic account . This account had a debit card with a much reduced daily limit and I could only withdraw from atms with that bank and no other bank , building society etc machine's. A friend of mine who went bankrupt a year before me , wasn't even allowed a bank card for six year's and they could take a percentage of your wages for three years (official receiver's) . Also , you could write off a tax debt , but not court fines , child support or student loans. As this was 2011 , some information might have changed and circumstances would of course be different for everyone. I hope you get the help you need and it works out for you .

iWanabee said:

Hi, I'm after some advice, I'm currently a driver for a TOC. I have recently gone through a very messy separation (financially) from my wife & kids and as a result i'm now suffering with financial difficulties.

I've sought advice from the CAB and they've raised two possible options.

First being in a joint IVA with my ex wife - this means we would be financially tied until after the IVA term ends, 5 Years.

Second being bankruptcy.

The lady at the CAB said that an IVA wouldn't affect my career at all, however, she couldn't comment on whether the bankruptcy option would affect work and couldn't find any relevant info whilst googling.

Does anyone know if bankruptcy is a negative action towards a train drivers career? I'm happy being at driver role and I have no intentions ever of progressing to a management role from driving only.

I'm keeping all options open at the moment but would like all the facts before making a decision.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

If you haven’t already look at the moneysavingexpert.com forums, there’s sections on debt and bankruptcy. Go ask for some advice from people with similar experiences.

Bankruptcy’s a bit of a dirty word for some, however life’s too short to have debt dragging on and on particularly if you have no assets.

Your credit score is decimated anyhow, so maybe bankruptcy is the way forward.

You won’t loose your job declaring you’re bankrupt, copper, solicitor, financial post possibly but not driver.

And tell your DM about your issues, duty of care and all that.

Good luck, you’ll get through it.

Bankruptcy won’t be an issue for most jobs including railway jobs. There’s a few jobs where it would be a bar to appointment if not discharged (such as policing and jobs in financial services etc where developed vetting or security clearance is required.). It can affect other things such as getting a bank account or credit though, so it’s a method not to be taken lightly.

I don’t profess to be an expert in this field, but have worked hard to get myself out of debt after my first marriage so have an amount of experience in this (to the extent that debt nearly cost me my job due to vetting requirements). I personally would take any route (including an IVA as although it can have a detrimental effect, isn’t as intrusive as bankruptcy).

A big plus side is that all of a sudden, you’re debt free with bankruptcy.

Good luck!

theironroad said:

Edit. To add, while I doubt your obliged to notify of bankruptcy, if the issues are playing on your mind a lot while at work or not sleeping properly etc, then you should tell them that you have external life issues going on if it's likely to cause fatigue / incidents.

Click to expand...

Some very sage advice in the quote above.

OP, you should mention it to your TOC if you’re in any doubt whatsoever about whether your state of mind is a potential distraction while driving.

I'm so sorry to here of your predicament.

Unfortunately, like so many people in the UK struggling with your finances - you are not on your own. What I would say is that I used to
work with two colleagues in separate time periods who were both going through the whole bankruptcy thing. Coincidentally, like yourself, both of their circumstances came about because of relationship breakdowns (which is often the case) and one of them was taken to the cleaners by his ex-wife who he had two kids with. He basically went under because of CSA payments and having to start over again and the ex just kept squeezing him for more money all the time until he had to go down the bankrupty route.

I'm glad to say that both people moved on with their lives eventually and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Most decent employers will offer support and welfare for this sort of thing. I cannot speak for how TOCs would deal with prospective employees with debt issues but I would suggest making a very discrete phone call to the HR people and discussing this in confidence if that would help.

Good luck mate and keep your chin up!!!

All the best.

CJ

TheEdge said:

Sadly this comes from experience.

Tell your DMs what is happening. It can affect how you are at work and they can keep an eye on you generally. And heaven forbid you have an incident if you've made management aware it can be a extenuating circumstance.

I told my DM when I was going through this, had a bit of a melt down on a night shift and the next day he pulled me to one side just to have a chat and check I was OK and in the right frame of mind to keep working.

Click to expand...

for a driving job the finances should be the least of your worries.
your DM would probably want to check you are emotionally OK.
Like some other posters have said on here, the stress of your situation would be a more pressing concern

Thank you to everyone for your kind words.

My line manager will be made aware of my situation on Monday as I'm due in for a welfare/update meeting. Currently off due to stress. So they're aware of my separation at work.

Thank you all again. I will get through this one way or another.

Cheers.

One of my workmates went through this and unfortunately as well split from his partner.

But on the flip side it was an amicable split and he’s just bought a new place. His manager was very supportive.

Good luck, hope you get all the support you need.

I've known quite a few drivers who've filed bankruptcy.

As long as their personal circumstances didn't affect their concentration etc; they were all fine.