20. Line managers who believe that redundancies may be necessary in their area of responsibility must, at the outset, discuss the issue with the Head of Personnel to establish whether or not this is the case. Alternatives to redundancy as outlined in paragraphs 7-10 will be discussed.

21. Redundancy will not be used as a substitute for the application of procedures more appropriate to the situation, such as the disciplinary or incapacity procedures.

Written justification

22. If it is agreed that a post or posts are at risk, the manager shall prepare a written justification for the redundancy. The justification shall include:

the reasons why the need for redundancy has arisen (see introduction);
the numbers and descriptions of those it is proposed to dismiss as redundant;
the proposed method of selecting the employees who are to be dismissed (see paragraphs 11-13 above);
the proposed method of carrying out the dismissals, including the period over which the dismissals are to take effect (see paragraphs 24-35 below);
the proposed method of calculating statutory and any non-statutory redundancy payments (see Part 3);
the potential costs of the proposed redundancies (see paragraph 45 below).

23. The justification must be prepared in consultation with the Personnel Division, and approved by the Head of Personnel before consultation with the affected employees begins. Where appropriate, the views of relevant trade union representatives will be considered by the Head of Personnel before the justification is approved.

Announcing redundancies collectively

24. Where more than one redundancy is likely to occur as a result of departmental, service or divisional restructuring, the Convener, Head of Service or Head of Division shall call a meeting of the whole unit, at which the reorganisation and its potential consequences will be explained. Personnel representatives shall also attend the meeting.

25. It shall be clearly stated that redundancies may occur. The steps that the School proposes to take to avoid them shall be outlined, as will the process to be followed if they become necessary. Questions from members of staff shall be encouraged and answered carefully, if necessary, after the meeting.

26. Where one or more of those affected is a trade union member, a representative of the relevant trade union (or individual representatives if more than one trade union) shall be invited to attend the meeting. However, if difficulties on the part of trade union representatives in attending are likely to delay the meeting unreasonably, it may be necessary to proceed without them.

Consultative meetings with affected employees

27. Following the announcement of collective redundancies, or in individual cases, following approval of the written justification, affected members of staff shall be invited to formal individual meetings with their manager. A representative of Personnel shall also attend, and the employee may be accompanied by a colleague or recognised trade union representative (if they are a member). Solicitors or other external representatives may not attend consultative meetings.

28. The manager shall inform the employee that:

his or her post is at risk of being lost, and that;
as a result it is possible he or she may be made redundant.

29. The manager shall emphasise the consultative nature of the meeting, and explain that the purpose of the meeting will be to give the employee an opportunity to find out about the situation, and to make any observations he or she might wish to make.

30. The meeting will also mark the beginning of the process of seeking alternative employment within the School. The employee shall therefore be encouraged to express any initial preferences with regard to alternative locations, working arrangements, retraining, etc (see paragraphs 7-10).

31. At the end of the meeting, the employee shall be given written confirmation of the fact that he or she is at risk of redundancy. The letter shall also confirm the reasons for the potential redundancy and the steps that shall be followed to implement it, including time scales. The letter shall be signed by the appropriate Convener, Head of Service or Head of Division.

Alternatives to redundancy

32. After the initial consultative meeting, the employee shall be invited to meet informally with his or her line manager and/or members of the Personnel Division to discuss in detail, any of the options described in paragraphs 7-10 that may be appropriate. The Personnel Division will also keep the relevant recognised Trade Union advised of developments. Time scales will be agreed in advance for this part of the consultative process.

Confirmation of redundancy

33. If it appears that there are no alternative options to redundancy, a second formal individual meeting will be convened between each of those employees it has been decided to make redundant, their manager and a member of the Personnel Division. Again, the employee may be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative (but not a solicitor or other external representative).

34. At the meeting the redundancy shall be confirmed and a termination date shall be fixed. The employee shall be offered the option of working out his or her notice period or being paid in lieu of notice (see Part 3 below) and shall be provided with a written statement of his or her payments, including statutory redundancy pay and any ex-gratia payment that might be made. The statement shall be signed by the Head of Personnel.

35. Redundancy payments shall be made by BACS, payable to the employee, on his or her termination date.

AJ/ID - 2 November 2001