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Overview of a Redundancy within a School

Issue 34 - February 2010

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With the allocation of the School Budget there may be difficult decisions ahead regarding staffing levels...

General

This will sometimes lead to teaching or support staff hours being cut and the delicate process of making redundancies. Due to the nature of the school term and the conditions that govern staff notice periods it is certainly worth thinking about possible restructures and the timeline required to complete a redundancy process effectively to ensure it is conducted fairly, in good time and minimises any risk to the school by way of potential Employment Tribunal claims.

Policy

Although every redundancy situation will differ depending on factors such as the number of staff to be put at risk, the type of roles that are proposed to be removed from the school’s structure and the timescales that are involved, the Local Authority and/or school should have a policy providing guidance for handling redundancy procedures. It will be essential that the policy is referred to and followed by the school throughout the process and although it will usually provide general principles for managing the procedure, there may be additional factors to consider depending on the individual circumstances of the particular situation.

Consultation 

One of the key areas that has the potential to affect the rest of the process and will vary depending on the number of staff to be made redundant, is the stages of consultation that take place with both your staff and their respective trade union representatives. Getting this right can limit the potential risk to the school and make the whole process a lot easier to manage. The first stage will be to identify the appropriate time to start consultation and this should begin once the proposal for redundancies is being considered, in line with the EU Collective Redundancies Directive. You will be required to provide specific information about the proposal to the union representatives and this will include:

• reasons for the proposal;
• numbers and descriptions of the staff the school proposes to make redundant;
• the total number of staff within the potential ‘at risk’ group at the school;
• proposed method of selection;
• proposed method of carrying out the dismissals and the timescales for this; and 
• proposed method of calculating redundancy payments

The information you provide at the first announcement or group meeting may come as quite a shock, so it may be worth delivering the general proposal and arranging a second group meeting (or individual meetings) to follow so that staff can come back with their questions once they have had chance to deliberate.   Where ever possible, meaningful consultation should be completed with each individual staff member at risk, at every stage of the process. Failure to consult adequately could result in a dismissal being unfair.

Options

The Local Authority or school policy may look at the alternative options available in order to mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies including natural wastage, early retirement and voluntary redundancies where possible.  The non-renewal of fixed terms contracts should be avoided unless you have clear reasons for doing so. This follows on from the Fixed Term Employee’s (Prevention of less favourable) Treatment Regulations 2002. (Watch out for further guidance from NorthgateArinso on the use of fixed term contracts and non-renewal process, in forthcoming updates!)

Selection

Selection is another key area where the redundancy process can result in unfair dismissal if not carried out consistently. Selection criteria should form part of the consultation and when used should be objective; be based on a number of factors that can be scored and backed up with evidence and data, for example:

• Performance
• Skills
• Qualifications
• Attendance
• Disciplinary records

Payments and written particulars

In line with the Employment Rights Act the school must provide a statement to each individual dismissed on the grounds of redundancy to show how any redundancy payment has been calculated. This will avoid any further amount being awarded should the member of staff claim at tribunal that the redundancy payment had not been made. Payments will be based on service and age, with a minimum requirement of 2 years service to qualify for a redundancy payment. Bear in mind that you will also be required to pay notice in line with the contract of employment.

Service

Service with a former employing authority governed by the Local Government Modification Order will be relevant and count towards length of service when calculating redundancy payments. NorthgateArinso can assist with determining whether previous service applies or not, on a case by case basis, where this may be necessary.

Pension

Staff may be entitled to access their pension before the Normal Pension Age (NPA) without incurring a reduction in benefits if they are made redundant from their post at the school. Certain rules will of course apply and therefore NorthgateArinso would recommend that you always encourage members of staff considering voluntary redundancy, and those at risk of compulsory redundancy, to contact the provider of their pension scheme to ensure that they fully understand the terms and options available.

Further Advice and Support

For NorthgateArinso clients, advice and support in terms of managing redundancies, handling consultation, making the initial announcement, communicating with union representatives, and the selection and dismissal procedures can be obtained from our HR Advice Line. Please also contact NorthgateArinso should you wish to discuss the possibilities and benefits of providing ‘survivor’ support to those staff who are not made redundant. If your school is facing a staffing reduction, the NorthgateArinso HR Advice Line, telephone 0845 299 0243, will be happy to assist you throughout the process.