'I lost my NHS job of 28 years and became a baker'

An NHS worker says redundancy after 28 years of service was a "blessing", as it enabled her to pursue her dream of becoming a baker.

Tracey Hayes, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, lost her job as a cytology screener at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire in 2020.

She now sells wedding, birthday and Christmas cakes, along with other baked goods, after receiving business support from a programme run by a Christian organisation. "I always had a passion for baking," she said.

In her former job, Hayes examined cells as part of the cervical screening process. Changes to testing meant fewer samples needed screening, and her role was "scaled down".

Hayes said losing her job was "stressful", but she decided to take her pension alongside her redundancy package and use the opportunity to pursue her passion for baking.

At 55, she said she had "quite a nice pension pot" to help get her business, Kingdom Cakes, started.

Prior to leaving the NHS, she had been kept busy creating birthday cakes for her three children, two stepchildren and eight grandchildren.

Support from an entrepreneurial programme run by Christian organisation, The Lions, helped her take the first steps, offering mentoring and seed funding through a process she described as similar to the BBC television show Dragons' Den.

Hayes used the money to buy an edible printer that allows her to print images onto cakes using edible ink.

"To me [redundancy] was a blessing," she said, adding that her husband had taken early retirement and they did not have a mortgage, meaning they "weren't so worried about the financial side".

However, Hayes said it could be frightening for people who were less financially secure.

"I know people are struggling," she said. "There were other girls there who were young and had young families."

Her advice to those facing redundancy is to consider whether the money could help them pursue something they enjoy.

"I'm very fortunate," she said, adding that losing her job was an "opportunity to do that dream".

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