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Because of the current depression or economic slump (which is what it is though politicians call it a ‘downturn’ because it doesn’t sound so bad) the government has had to borrow billions of pounds just to keep the economy going. It has to pay this money back which means that it has to cut investments in public spending which is by far the biggest area of the economy it can influence. Some public services – NHS, police, schools, etc. – are protected from the cuts: Higher Education isn’t.
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How can employers make staff redundant “just like that”?

There are three legitimate reasons for which employers can make their staff redundant: the money for paying them has run out, the jobs are not necessary anymore because business operations are done in a different way or not at all, or for incapability reasons. What is happening in UK universities at the moment is due to the first two reasons: departments are being restructured because the amount of money invested in universities by central government has fallen drastically and they are having to do things in different ways.
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How do employers in Higher Education deal with this situation?

The universities’ main concern is to survive and to protect their core activities - teaching and research – wherever they can. This means that they have to find ways of doing as much of what they did before to the same quality while, at the same time, reducing costs to meet their budgets, their budgets now being smaller than they were before.
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What happens when a department, division or faculty is restructured?

Department heads call their senior managers together and ask them to identify parts of their operation where financial savings can be made. Unless the department is physics or some parts of biochemistry in which the actual equipment needed can be hugely expensive, the highest cost to a department is usually the wage bill. This is what puts posts at risk. Once areas for potential cost savings have been identified they are all gathered into a proposal for change that is presented to staff in the departments for them to comment on during a consultation period that lasts a minimum of four weeks.
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What does a proposal for change look like?

A restructuring proposal generally begins with the business case for the proposals being presented in it but some may start with a recent history of the department describing how the work has been done before and justify the changes from the historical angle. An explanation of why changes are needed is generally given, a list of posts before the proposed changes and a list of posts after the changes (usually but not always fewer in the second than in the first), flow charts showing the department’s administrative structures before and after, job descriptions of the proposed new posts and a timetable for the process may all be included but not all are always needed. All departments are different so the proposals do not always take the same form although they all have to follow UCL’s Organisational Change Procedure. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/docs/organisational_change.php
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What happens in the consultation period?

In the meeting where the proposals are initially presented to all staff in a department questions can be asked. After this meeting staff can send comments to and ask questions of their managers for the duration of the consultation period. Those directly affected, e.g. those whose posts are at risk, have direct one-to-one interviews with their line managers and a member of Human Resources staff. These are opportunities to make comments or ask questions that are maybe of a more personal nature and would not be appropriate for public consumption, and to find out what your own personal options are. You may be accompanied by a UNISON rep if you are a member or by a work colleague if that’s what you want to do.
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Are staff listened to or ignored?

Staff are listened to and their comments are taken on board. The managers who conduct the consultations want to hear what their staff have to say because they aware that, in many cases, their staff can see things that they can’t. Some suggestions are taken on board and included in the final plan, others aren’t and, in most cases, managers will explain why they aren’t. The managers do need to know what options those whose posts are at risk are prepared to take because they need to know what options are open to them when they come to make their decisions. The final document is always different from the one presented at the beginning.
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What does this mean for staff?

Almost every department in UCL will be restructured in some way in order to meet the demands of the revised financial budget so posts will be lost but far fewer posts are at risk than aren’t. UCL tries to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible. These are some of the things that may be included in restructuring proposals:

the provision of voluntary severance for those whose posts are at risk. These offers are generally more generous than for compulsory redundancies in most cases but not all and people to whom the offers are made are now being given both sets of figures when they express an interest so that they can see what is better for them and make an informed choice. Expressing an interest in the first instance does not mean that you have accepted the offer, that is a separate transaction.

Voluntary severance is not available to those whose jobs are not at risk or for whom there are posts available on a similar grade that they can reasonably be expected to fill.

There may also be the opportunity to take early retirement.

In some cases the number of posts in the proposed structure are the same as in the old one but the gradings of the new posts are different e.g. it may be the case that 12 posts exist in both old and new structures but, whereas before there were 3 on grade 8, 6 on grade 7, 2 on grade 6 and one on grade 5, it is proposed that after there will be one on grade 8, 3 on grade 7 and 8 on grade 6. Or something similar to this.

Those on higher grades who apply for posts on lower grades and get them go to the top discretionary point of the lower grade so the cut in salary is not too great.

If there aren’t any posts suitable for someone at risk of redundancy in their home department they may be put on the redeployment register. This is where individuals’ details of their skill sets and experience (though not their names, sex, race or any other personal information) are held so that managers who have vacancies can check those skills against the job description that would otherwise be advertised externally.

In some cases, Human Resources staff will trawl the register for posts that may be suitable for those staff whose posts are at risk and these will be pointed out to them at their one-to-ones. Staff at risk have access to the redeployment register very early in the process. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/docs/redeployment.php

If a post becomes vacant in the months leading up to a restructuring in a department, the jobs aren't advertised but held as redeployment opportunities for those whose posts are at risk. This may sometimes mean that those jobs are filled by agency staff for short periods but the object of doing this is to increase the opportunities for redeployment for current UCL staff, not to prepare for outsourcing the posts. Only posts which require highly skills that are not likely to be found amongst employees are advertised outside UCL when a period of re-structuring is ongoing.

The calculation of redundancy pay for individuals is based on salary, length of service and age (a legal requirement), and redundancy payments up to £30 000 are not subject to tax. So someone in their 50’s who has been at UCL for 20 years and is on a grade 8 salary will be more likely to receive an amount approaching £30 000 than someone in their twenties or thirties who has been here for five or six years and is on a grade six.

If you accept a voluntary severance package or an an offer of early retirement you forfeit the right to apply for new posts being created in your department as a result of the reorganisation.

If you choose to apply for any new posts created as a result of reorganisation you forfeit the offer of voluntary severance or early retirement if you are not offered the post and you are given compulsory redundancy instead.

You are told what each of these offers are worth to you in your 1 to 1’s and you have plenty of time to make a decision on whether to accept the offer in front of you or apply for any new posts. Managers need to know by the last day of the consultation process.

You should also note that the business case that always accompanies a restructuring plan means that you won’t lose your job just because "your face doesn't fit." That argument doesn't wear any more.

The Organisational Change Procedure and the Redeployment Policy are the two main documents that are concerned with restructuring at UCL but the recognised campus trade unions have regular meetings with Human Resources and the Finance Division so that we are kept aware of the current situation, told what the projections for the future are and given the opportunity to suggest modifications to the procedures.

If you are affected it is in your best interest to know UCL’s Organisational Change Procedure and Redeployment Policy. If you are a member and you want to be represented or if you have any queries about restructuring, redundancy, redeployment or any other work issue please contact unison@ucl.ac.uk
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