Friday 11 February 2011

Yesterday we had the first formal part of the budget process relating to the 2011-12 budget. Scrutiny reviewed the draft Business Plan and Financial Plan including the budget proposals for the next financial year. Key proposals in the budget are to reduce service budgets by an average of 12% next year. In Resources we have gone beyond this and our effective budget could be reduced by 15% if members approve the package on February 22 at Council. This will have an impact on the number of staff we employ, so I thought that I would use my blog this week to reiterate the message that Andrew gave yesterday about the timing and process that we will use to consult with staff on these proposals.

The 90 day formal consultation for the redundancies needed to deliver these savings will start week commencing 28 February 2011.

During this week collective consultation meetings with staff identified as being at risk of redundancy will take place.
The trade unions have been made aware of these arrangements and are being consulted at a department level in advance of these meetings taking place.
Managers responsible for managing this redundancy process and consultation will be briefed on the process next week. Letters inviting staff affected to collective consultation meetings will be given to managers at that briefing. If you are one of those members of staff who has been identified as “at risk” of redundancy you will receive a letter by the end of next week.
The letter will outline the reason your post, and therefore you, have been identified as “at risk” of redundancy. In advance of this, it may be useful to run through how the selection pool of “at risk” positions will be determined: -
· The redundancy policy includes a two stage approach to redundancy - voluntary and compulsory. This gives us the opportunity to seek a voluntary solution to redundancy. Volunteers will be sought from a selection pool of staff placed at risk of redundancy that is wider than those whose posts are deleted from structures.
· The posts that will be placed in the selection pool will include those that are;
o Deleted from new structures, or reduced to a lower number within those structures, or;
o Posts that have substantially changed as a result of other elements of the restructure – for example the addition or deletion of duties, or;
o Posts within the affected service area which are a grade above or below any post which is likely to be removed or substantially changed.
· These posts are included because if the post holder's volunteer for redundancy these posts may provide suitable alternative employment for an employee whose post has been deleted.
Those staff identified as being at risk of redundancy will be invited to attend a collective consultation meeting during week commencing 28 February. Details of the meeting will be included in the letter which will be handed out next week. At the meeting structure charts will be available. You will only be able to attend this meeting if you have been invited, or if you are the department union representative.

For those staff at risk of redundancy they will have the opportunity to attend an individual consultation meeting with their service director, or head of service. Any feedback they may have, including alternative suggestions to deliver equivalent savings, can be given at those meetings.

If you want to make comments, or make alternative suggestions about the proposed changes to structures - feedback will need to be provided by no later than 18 March 2011, to enable any changes to the structure charts to be made and consulted upon meaningfully within the consultation process timelines.

Whilst this news may cause concern, I am not anticipating significant numbers of redundancies. The vacancy management policy that has been in place since June 2010 means that a number of vacancies have been held and can now be deleted to deliver some of the savings needed.

You will be aware of the numbers of redundancies taking place in other large local authorities, which in many cases are in excess of 1,000, and in some cases 2,000. We are not in the same position - careful planning and the ability to deliver savings in other areas means we are better placed to meet the financial pressures we face. This means the number of redundancies that may be needed will be significantly lower than those planned in other local authorities.

Carlton