Policy Document
Redundancy Policy and Procedures
Introduction
This policy applies to all employees of the School who hold open ended contracts. Staff who
have been appointed to posts that are of a fixed duration should refer to the policy relating to
fixed-term contracts.
Policy statement
The School is committed to providing job stability for all members of staff, not only to take
account of individual interests, but also to create an environment of continuing creative
scholarship and teaching and one which will foster the continued provision of teaching and
administration. Circumstances may arise, however, where changes in external funding,
technology, organisational requirements or student demand, necessitate the need for
reductions in staffing levels. The School will make every reasonable effort to achieve such
reductions without recourse to the need for compulsory redundancy. Redundancy will only
be used as a last resort.
Definition of redundancy
Redundancy is defined in s.139 (i) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and explains that an
employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if the
dismissal is wholly or mainly attributable to the following:
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The School has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the
purposes of which the staff member was employed by The School, or
the requirements of that business for staff members to carry out work of a particular
kind have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.
The statutory definition also covers employers who have more than one place of business.
However, this does not apply to The School, since the different School’s sites are not
separate places of business.
Where the School proposes that the positions of 20 or more employees are to become
redundant, the School has a duty to notify the Secretary of State at least 30 days (or in the
case of 100 or more redundancies as above, 90 days) before any notices of redundancy are
issued.
Decisions on redundant posts
Approval for posts being made redundant will only be given by Council on the
recommendation of the Executive Committee acting on the advice of the Finance
Committee. This will be in accordance with the Strategic Plan and in the light of The School’s
financial forecasts and after consultation with the Joint Staff Negotiating Committee and the
School’s union representatives concerned and with those individual staff whose posts are
likely to be made redundant. The School will disclose all relevant information to the union
representative(s) concerned.
Stage one: Selecting staff for redundancy
The following procedure will be followed:
Staff members whose positions are likely to be made redundant and their union
representatives will be consulted as early as possible by the Chief Operating Officer (or
nominee), and in any event, as soon as reasonably practicable, after a recommendation has
been made by the Executive Committee (or, if not considered by the Executive Committee,
by the Finance Committee).
The consultation process will seek to establish whether the proposed job reductions can be
achieved by means other than compulsory redundancies. The following options will be
considered and implemented where possible and appropriate, subject to operational
considerations:
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imposing an immediate moratorium on further recruitment of new staff in similar
areas.
restricting the use of agency, temporary and casual staff.
reducing the amount of overtime worked in The School for those staff eligible for
non compulsory overtime where it does not affect the service provision.
redeployment of staff members whose posts are likely to be made redundant,
including re-training.
inviting applications for early retirement and/or voluntary redundancy.
inviting staff to job share.
inviting staff to voluntarily take a reduction in hours worked.
Where, after due consideration of these other alternatives, the Chief Operating Officer or
nominee considers that the need for redundancies still remains, The School will give to the
relevant union representative(s) written details of their proposals.
In circumstances where individuals are not a members of a union, they may elect to
nominate a work colleague to represent them.
Where redundancy is likely to involve a group of staff (selecting which staff members will
continue in employment and which member’s position is to be made redundant) provisional
selection for redundancy will be made by a redundancy panel convened by the Chief
Operating Office or nominee. The redundancy panel will consist of the Chief Operating
Officer (or nominee), two senior members of The School not from the same department as
those staff likely to be made redundant to comprise of Heads of Department (or their
nominees to be of Professorial, Reader or Senior Lecturer status) in the case of Academic
staff and in the case of non-academic staff the Heads of Sections. The Personnel Manager
will be the adviser to the panel. The remit of the redundancy panel will be to consider the
situation, take an overview of the operational needs of The School, decide the number of
employees who should be considered for redundancy, draw up a matrix of skills and assess
individuals against that criteria. The panel in using this objective criteria will seek and
consider the views of line managers and union representatives before adopting the criteria.
The panel will take account of the situation and have a key role in deciding whether the posts
of one or more individuals should be made redundant. This may be particularly the case in
the restructuring or reorganising of work within the School. The Panel will report its
conclusions in writing to the Dean, indicating which staff are provisionally selected and the
criteria by which they were selected.
As far in advance of the proposed termination date as possible the Chief Operating Officer or
nominee will arrange to notify those individuals whose positions are likely to be made
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redundant and their union representative that redundancies are proposed and that
provisional selection has been made. The Joint Staff Negotiating Committee will be kept
appraised of the situation. It should be emphasised that the selection is provisional only and
may be subject to change. The Chief Operating Officer or nominee will then enter into
consultation on an individual basis as soon as possible with those staff members and their
union representative(s). In the course of consultation the staff members concerned and their
union representative(s) will be informed in writing of the basis of their (provisional) selection,
including the criteria used in selection and invited to make representations to the redundancy
panel on the proposed redundancy. The Panel will give consideration to these
representations and in considering what final recommendations to make, the Panel will take
into account representations from the individual staff members concerned and their union
representative(s), including any representations about the criteria used in selection and their
application. Where the Panel deems appropriate, it will amend its recommendations to the
Dean. The Dean in turn will report these considerations to the Executive Committee and
Council.
Stage two: Redeployment
The School will make every effort to redeploy within The School those staff members’
positions which are likely to be made redundant. This will include re-training where
necessary and possible. All staff members whose positions are likely to be made redundant
will be sent information on vacancies in The School.
New posts in relevant areas
Staff members who are informed that their posts are likely to be considered for redundancy
will be deemed as being ‘at risk’ of redundancy. Therefore, where posts of a similar nature
become vacant, and it is felt that the individual meets the essential criteria, or that in the
opinion of the Line Manager the individual could undertake the work with a reasonable
amount of retraining, the post will not be externally advertised before the individual is
informed of the vacancy and given the opportunity of an interview for the post.
The decision on their suitability for the post will rest with the interview panel, at its discretion.
Current advertisements
Those staff members who are likely to be made redundant and who are interested in being
considered for a currently advertised vacancy should contact the Personnel Office. Those
employees who meet the essential criteria for a vacant post in The School, or in the opinion
of the Line Manager concerned, could do so with a reasonable amount of retraining, will be
shortlisted for the post and offered an interview. The decision on their suitability for the post
will rest with the interview panel, at its discretion.
Where alternative posts are offered to individuals whose posts have been made redundant,
the conditions that will apply will be in accordance with the standard terms for the job in
question, except that for the first 12 months of employment in the new post, the individual will
continue to receive the same salary (pro rata if applicable) if higher than that of the new post,
that he or she had previously. Thereafter the salary will be at the level set for their new post.
Redeployed staff who accept alternative employment with The School will be entitled to a
trial/probationary period of one month by either party without, if applicable, the individual
loosing statutory redundancy pay entitlement during that period. Therefore, should the staff
member terminate his or her employment during the trial period, or the School bringing the
trial period to an end, the employee will still be treated as redundant and any entitlement to
redundancy pay will be preserved.
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Stage three: Dismissal
A notice of dismissal may be issued only after the Dean or nominee has approved the
recommendations of the redundancy panel, by demonstrating that it has not been possible to
redeploy the staff member. Council will be informed of the position.
Where the Dean or nominee has approved the selection of staff whose positions will be
made redundant, those individuals will be given notice of termination in accordance with their
contractual and statutory entitlements.
Staff members whose positions are made redundant will, subject to a qualifying period of two
years’ service, receive a statutory redundancy payment. The redundancy calculation can be
found at:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/employment-legislation/employmentguidance/page33157.html
Individuals who receive redundancy payments will be given a written notification of the way
in which their redundancy pay has been calculated.
Subject to The School’s operational needs, staff members will be given permission to take
time off from work during their notice period to look for work or to seek retraining
opportunities in accordance with current legislation. Requests for time off should be made to
the Head of Department/Centre or Line Manager.
The School will also endeavour to assist staff for whom alternative work cannot be found in
The School to find other employment outside The School. Their attention will be drawn to the
University of London’s job bulletin, “Opportunities”. Individual advice can be sought from
members of the Personnel Office, provision of resources, e.g. word-processing facilities,
stationery and pension options will also be made available to staff members.
Stage four: Appeals against notices of dismissal
A member of staff who is given notice of dismissal due to redundancy has the right of
appeal against the decision. Notification of an appeal must be lodged with the Chief
Operating Officer or the Dean, within fourteen days of the written notice of dismissal. An
appeal panel will be convened by the Chief Operating Officer or nominee not earlier than
four weeks after receipt of the notification of the appeal, composed of a Chair, appointed
by the Chair of Council, a second member of Council, two senior members of The
School not from the same department and union representative/s recognised for
negotiating purposes for the member(s) of staff in question. Wherever possible the
appeal panel will meet and reach a decision during the individual’s period of notice. The
individual will have the option to attend the appeal meeting. The findings of the appeal
panel will be approved by Council and the outcome of the decision confirmed to the
individual in writing within seven days.
February 2008
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