REDUNDANCY SELECTION POLICY
1. Purpose
The University aims to ensure, as far as possible, security of employment for its employees. However it is recognised that, from time to time, there may be changes in the internal and external environments (e.g. in public policy and funding, financial and market conditions), organisational requirements and other internal factors
– both planned and unplanned - which affect staffing needs.
This Policy is one of a suite of policies on Managing Change and should be read in conjunction with the following policies

Consultation on the Avoidance of Redundancy

Redeployment

Redundancy Payments

Any live Voluntary Severance (VS) Scheme which may be in operation
Where it is clear that a particular course of action such as restructure, withdrawal of specific course of study, withdrawal/reduction of funding for specific projects or activities or other change, is likely to require a reduction of specific posts or post types and all other reasonable options to avoid redundancy have been explored this policy and supporting procedures provide a framework for managing potential redundancy situations.
2. Scope of Policy
This Policy and supporting procedures apply to all UK-based University employees and are designed to ensure that the University’s approach to redundancy is fair and consistent.
Employees not based in the UK will normally have a separate policy and process due to differing local Labour laws. This will be explicit in the appropriate contract terms and conditions.
This policy does not form part of employees’ contracts and may be amended from time to time.
3. Key Principles
The University is committed to managing any potential redundancy situation with care and sensitivity to all staff, in line with the Spirit of Heriot-Watt Values and in
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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accordance with th e principles set out in the University’s Equality and Diversity
Policy.
Where a redundancy situation arises, the University, in consultation with the recognised Trade Unions, and by seeking to implement the measures contained in the policy on Consultation on Avoidance of Redundancy, will seek to ensure that:

An Equality Impact Assessment is conducted as early as possible on collective redundancy proposals and decisions

the number of redundancies is kept to a minimum, wherever reasonably possible;
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employees and, where appropriate, their representatives are fully consulted on any proposals and their implementation;

selection for redundancy is based on objective, appropriate and clear criteria which are applied fairly and consistently;

every reasonable effort is made to redeploy or find alternative work for employees provisionally selected for redundancy; and

reasonable support and advice is offered to employees selected for redundancy to help them find suitable work when their employment has come to an end
In order to minimise the need for compulsory redundancies, the University may request expressions of interest in voluntary severance and consider requests from employees for voluntary severance if such a scheme exists. The financial terms of any voluntary severance arrangements and the pool from which we may wish to seek volunteers (for example, university-wide or in targeted areas) will depend on the circumstances at the time. Approval for voluntary severance departures and payment is at the sole discretion of the University.
The application of this Policy and its supporting procedures recognise the right of academic freedom as set out in the Statutes and Ordinances.
4. Consultation
Consultation will take place at collective and individual levels as detailed in the
University’s Consultation on Avoidance of Redundancy Policy, and in accordance with the relevant legal provisions.
(Annex A to this policy provides the legal definition of redundancy, together with a note of the statutory consultation periods).
5. Records
All records and information obtained in relation to an individual's voluntary application or selection for redundancy must be passed to the Human Resources
Department. These records will be kept confidential, monitored under equality legislation and retained for a limited period in accordance with the Data Protection
Act 1998 and the University's Records Retention Policy.
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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A summary of volunteers and outcomes, matrices, criteria and scores is maintained and general statistics reported for equal opportunity monitoring and FOI purposes.
Such summaries are kept securely and confidentially with personal data removed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and the University's Records
Retention Policy.
6. Review of Policy
This Policy and related Procedure will be reviewed 3 years from the date of implementation and earlier if legislation dictates. Any proposed amendments will be subject to consultation in accordance with Ordinance 53 . Such amendments will be notified to employees through the normal communication channels and/or e-mail.
The Policy and Procedure will be maintained on the Human Resources Website.
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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REDUNDANCY SELECTION PROCEDURES
When a potential redundancy situation arises, it is the responsibility of senior management within the School/Institute/Professional Service to ensure that these procedures are fairly and consistently applied.
When applying provisional redundancy selection procedures, guidance should be sought from Human Resources at each stage of the process.
1. Provisional Redundancy S election (“At Risk” Posts)
Where there is a reduction in the need to carry out work of a particular kind, and there is more than one employee undertaking that work, a selection process will take place to identify which posts are provisionally “at risk” of being made redundant.
In identifying such "at risk" posts, managers will be able to demonstrate clearly the proposed new structure with indicative grades and FTEs required and there will have already been a period of consultation about the proposed changes to the structure, together with consultation on methods of avoiding redundancy.
2. Selection Pool
Having identified which and/or how many roles are at risk of redundancy, senior management will determine the pool and the criteria from which employees will be selected for redundancy, in consultation with the recognised Trade Unions, [where the number of potential redundancies identified is greater than 19]. Senior management will also have responsibility for reporting key outcomes to the
Consultative Committee on Redundancy Avoidance (CCRA) at relevant stages of the process.
The pool of employees to be selected from will depend on the circumstances and operational/management considerations. The pool will normally consist of employees who carry out the same or similar work and perform jobs that are interchangeable, whether or not in the same School/Institute/Professional Service, or location, or on the same shifts.
In certain circumstances, it will not be appropriate to determine a pool from which to select employees for redundancy. For example where a member of staff is effectively carrying out a unique role, then the pool is limited to that person alone and no further selection procedure would be necessary.
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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3. Selection Criteria
Once the selection pool has been identified, depending on circumstances and affordability, targeted VS may be offered to employees in the relevant selection pool.
This would potentially reduce the number of staff at risk of compulsory redundancy if sufficient numbers in the selection pool volunteered and were accepted.
Following (or in the absence of) volunteers, it would be preferable to carry out a selection process to appoint into the new posts first. Individuals in the "pool" would be invited to express interest in one or more of the posts and a selection process based on normal recruitment into similar vacant posts would then be carried out. The
Redeployment Policy provides further details on this process.
Following calls for volunteers and recruitment into the new posts, if there are still individuals "at risk" in the pool, objective criteria will then be applied to the remainder of the pool to decide which employees will be provisionally selected for redundancy.
Senior management will ensure that, as far as is possible, the criteria applied are objective, in that that they are not based on the subjective opinion of the individuals applying the criteria. As far as possible, the criteria used should be measurable and supported by documentary records, data or other evidence, for example attendance, disciplinary or performance records.
The selection criteria will depend on a number of factors, including the needs of the
University at the time, and the roles under consideration.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the criteria that may apply:
 Performance; (based on quantifiable metrics such as, for academic staff, research outputs, numbers of PG students supervised, student feedback, etc.)
 Attendance (Absence due to pregnancy, maternity, other family-friendly leave or disability will not be taken into account);



Disciplinary records;
 Capability records;
 Qualifications and training;
Knowledge and experience;
Financial Impact on University (e.g. the “pay-back” and savings made)
Senior management will consult with recognised Trade Union representatives regarding the precise selection criteria and, having consulted, will make the final decision on determining the selection criteria.
4. Application of Selection Criteria
The selection criteria will be applied to all the employees in the pool including anyone absent/on leave from work.
Employees will be scored against the selection criteria in a reasonable, fair and consistent manner. Normally, more than one manager will carry out the scoring
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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exercise. The Head of School/Professional Service may request an HR Partner to participate in the scoring exercise.
A provisional redundancy selection matrix will be used to score each affected employee. The matrix will set out the criteria against which affected employees will be assessed in a clear and transparent manner. It will set out the scoring ranges and any weighting attached to each criterion.
The selection criteria will be applied in a non-discriminatory manner. If an employee within the pool is disabled, reasonable adjustments will be made to the selection procedure to remove any disadvantage that the disabled employee would otherwise face.
In certain circumstances, it may be decided that it is appropriate to interview employees as part of the selection process. If this is the case, clear instructions will be given about how the selection will be made and more than one manager, plus a representative from HR, will be involved in the interview process.
5. Provisional Selection for Redundancy
Once the objective selection criteria have been applied and scoring has been completed, there will be a provisional selection for redundancy.
Employees who have been provisionally selected for redundancy will be considered to be part of a Redeployment Pool from which redeployment opportunities may be identified.
Each employee provisionally selected for redundancy will also be provided with a copy of their completed redundancy matrix, showing how they scored against each criterion and their overall score, for the purpose of reviewing the completed redundancy matrix.
6. Consultation
Employees will be invited to attend individual consultation meetings to discuss how their score was arrived at. They will be able to raise any concerns, objections or challenges about their score and raise any other matters that they see fit about the redundancy situation. Employees may be accompanied to the meetings by a work colleague or Trade Union representative. Consideration will be given to any comments raised by the employee, but the ultimate decision on selection will be the
University’s.
During the consultation process all reasonable efforts will be made to mitigate the potential redundancy, including the consideration of redeployment.
Following the individual consultation meetings, the Head of
School/Institute/Professional Service or nominee, will make the final decision and inform the employee of that decision. The employee will be informed in writing of the decision to dismiss on the grounds of redundancy.
7. Redeployment
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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Where an employee is selected for redundancy, the University will make every effort to redeploy that employee to suitable alternative work in line with the provisions of
University’s Redeployment Policy.
8. Appeal 1
An employee who has been selected for redundancy and

is dissatisfied with the way in which the selection criteria has been applied, or,

believes that he or she has been unfairly disadvantaged by the selection criteria, or,

feels he/she has not been given a fair opportunity to put forward representations, or,

for some other reason(s) considers that he/she should not be selected for redundancy, may appeal against his or her selection for redundancy. Such an appeal must be submitted to the Head of HR Services, in writing, within ten working days of receipt of the written confirmation of selection for redundancy, stating the grounds of appeal.
Appeals for Academic Staff:
The Head of HR Services will arrange to convene a redundancy appeal panel which comprises, the Principal, a member of Senate and the Director of Human Resources, or their delegated nominee(s). The panel will be presented with all the documents referred to during the original redundancy selection process. Where specialist technical knowledge is required (including cases where a breach or compromise of an individual’s right to academic freedom is alleged), it will be provided, or an independent arbitrator may be called upon in instances where no appropriate internal expert is available. For some cases, particularly senior members of staff, and in cases involving alleged breach or compromise of academic freedom, it may be appropriate that a lay member of Court is invited to sit on the appeal panel.
Appeals for Professional Services Staff:
The Head of HR Services will arrange to convene a redundancy appeal panel which comprises, the Secretary of the University and the Director of Human Resources, or their delegated nominee(s). The panel will be presented with all the documents referred to during the original redundancy selection process. Where specialist technical knowledge is required, it will be provided, or an independent arbitrator may be called upon in instances where no appropriate internal expert is available. For some cases, it may be appropriate that another senior manager is invited to sit on the appeal panel.
Where a member of staff is “engaged in teaching, or the provision of learning or research” in line with Ordinance 55, AND the appeal includes an alleged breach or compromise of academic freedom, the redundancy appeal panel will include a
1
See also "Management Lines of Responsibility in HR Policies and Procedures" document
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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member of Senate. It may also be appropriate that a lay member of Court is invited to sit on the appeal panel.
Appeals will be heard without unreasonable delay and at a time and place which will be notified to the employee 5 working days in advance. In addition to the Director of
HRD or his nominee, a note taker will be in attendance at the appeal hearing.
The employee has a right to be accompanied at an appeal by a companion who is either a work colleague or a Trade Union representative. Employees should be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal hearing, where possible, within five working days.
9. Time off work
An employee under notice of redundancy will be entitled to a reasonable amount of paid time off to look for alternative work, attend interviews, etc. Employees wishing to take advantage of this right should make the appropriate arrangements with their line manager
10. Termination of employment
The University will require individuals to work the appropriate notice period, unless specific circumstances render this impracticable. Should this be the case, individuals will receive outstanding notice entitlement as a payment in lieu of notice, subject to tax and NI.
11. Redundancy Payments
Employees selected for redundancy, who have more than 2 years’ service, will be eligible to receive a redundancy payment, in accordance with the provisions of the
University’s current Severance/Redundancy Payments Policy.
12. Statutes and Ordinances
In considering the local application of this agreement, parties will note existing institutional Statutes & Ordinances.
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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ANNEX A
1. DEFINITION OF REDUNDANCY
Redundancy occurs where
 the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purpose of which the employee was employed; or
 the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business in the place where the employee was so employed; or
 the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish; or
 the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind, in the place where they were so employed, have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.
There is not a redundancy if the original job remains. For example, where an individual has been employed on a fixed term basis to cover the work of an existing employee (e.g. for long-term sickness, secondment, maternity leave), the fixed term employee is therefore not redundant at the end of his/her contract.
2. STATUTORY CONSULTATION PERIODS
The University will always comply with the minimum legal requirement. This means that the minimum period of consultation depends on the number of potential redundancies* being proposed as follows:

20-99 redundancies: consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect

100 or more redundancies: consultation must begin 45 days before the first dismissal takes effect
* employees on a fixed-term contract which is coming to the end of its agreed duration are not included in this calculation as the collective consultation obligation does not apply
In addition, the University will comply with notifying the Insolvency Service (part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) of proposed redundancies of more than 20 in a 30 day period, using the HR1 form and in line with the Trade
Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 Part IV Chapter II
Author: Lorraine Klimek, Helen Hymers HR
Approved by Court June 2012, Updated July 2013 to reflect legislative changes
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