Are you covered by a union contract? Are retrenchment benefits stated in writing in your employment contract? If the answer to both of the questions are no, then if your company is offering you 1 month per year of service you should take the money an run. Seriously.
Unless you are covered by either of the two above, a company is not legally required to pay retrenchment benefits. However, most companies will as they would otherwise get a bad reputation. (a lot, however, don't really care).
My wife was retrenched a year ago after serving the Seletar Base Golf Course faithfully for 13 years as both the head cashier and "the voice" of the course. When the course was closed for the "Airtropolis" she was offered 2 weeks basic salary per month served or she could be transferred to their other golf course at The Seletar Country Club. As she still wanted to work, she took their offer to transfer to the other course. After one year, when she turned 62 they put her on an annual contract and after the first year contract was finished she was let go without any retrenchment benefits at all as she was now a contract employee! So beware of employers bearing gifts! You will get screwed in the end.
Check list? It's the employers' requirement to ensure you follow their protocol when working out your notice. Depending on the company, they may ask you to pack up your things and put you on garden leave (rare here in Singapore). This means you cannot go to work for another company but you will no longer be required to go to the office during the month of your notice. (This is normally used for those who handle sensitive data that a competitor may find useful). Otherwise, you should ensure that you hand over your duties fully and faithfully to whoever is taking over your duties (don't forget, if it is really a cost cutting measure, then the taker-over will be having to do both your duties and their duties as well). Therefore, for your own future here, it would be advantageous to leave with a good reputation as you might need to have them as a reference on the next position or for that matter, they might want you to come back sometime in the future.
You should ensure that they give you a written recommendation (if warranted) and also any certificates that you may have earned during your course of employment. Any testimonials from superiors are also sometimes handy to have.
My best advice is always, "Don't burn any bridges behind you!" You may have to cross them again sometime in the future.
sms