County Council - Frequently Asked Questions on the Voluntary / Compulsory Redundancy Exercise

County Council - Frequently Asked Questions on the Voluntary / Compulsory Redundancy Exercise

Consultation

How long is the consultation period?

How can I takepart in the consultation process?

Who will make the final decision on the proposals at the end of the consultation period?

What will happen to feedback and comments made in the consultation period?

General

When will staff who apply for voluntary redundancy and are accepted leave Hampshire County Council?

Who can I talk to about this?

Will I be expected to carry on as normal during this period?

Will I get time off to attend interviews or look for jobs?

General HR issues

I have staff in my team who are on long-term sick leave or maternity leave. How will they know what is going on in the Department?

I am on a fixed term/temporary contract - what is my position?

Are there special considerations for employees on maternity, paternity or adoption leave during restructures?

If I have more than one role with the County Council (i.e. multiple employment) and one or more of these roles is made redundant (voluntary or compulsory), will my local government continuous service apply to the calculation of the redundancy payment?

If I take VR do Ihave to repay training fees?

If I take VR do I have to repay any Occupational Maternity or Adoption Pay?

What happens with regards to the Statutory Maternity or Adoption Pay the employee is receiving if they are being made redundant?

If a request for voluntary redundancy is rejectedand I subsequently do not getone of theavailable posts, do the enhanced redundancy rates still apply?

Voluntary Redundancy - the benefits

EnhancedVoluntary Redundancy - what benefits will apply?

Compulsory Redundancy - what benefits will apply?

If I am over 55 and made redundant (Voluntary or Compulsory) can I access myLocal Government Pension Scheme / Teachers Pension Scheme?

If I am aged between 55 and 59 years and I am a member of the Teachers Pensions Scheme (TPS) can I access unreduced Premature Retirement on leaving under voluntary redundancy (VR)

Voluntary Redundancy – General Information

Who will be considered for Voluntary Redundancy?

If Iapply for voluntary redundancy, would I still be required to go through the redeployment process?

When would Voluntary Redundancy take effect?

If I am interested, what should I do next?

What details have I been sent outlining the benefits of Voluntary Redundancy (and pension benefits if I am aged 55 or over)

What is the closing date for confirming my interest in Voluntary Redundancy?

When will I be notified of the decision regarding my confirmed interest for Voluntary Redundancy?

Does continuous service with other organisations count towards redundancy?

Where I have transferred into Hampshire County Council (i.e. TUPE from another employer), does continuous service with that other organisations count towards redundancy?

I have retained my TUPE terms from another organisation. Will the enhanced Voluntary Redundancy package apply to me?

I have a car lease with Hampshire County Council and if I leave under Voluntary or Compulsory Redundancy what does this mean for the remaining lease?

If I'm given notice of redundancy and I'm offered another job will I still be entitled to a redundancy payment?

What if I am offered a job within my notice period or within 4 weeks of beingmade redundant?

Which organisations are covered by the Redundancy Payments Modification Order?

If in the past I received a redundancy payment from another Council, before starting work with Hampshire County Council, and I'm now made redundant by Hampshire County Council, what will my redundancy entitlementbe?

Are there conditions which would affect a return to work post-retirement, either in Hampshire County Council, in another authority or in the public or private sector employment?

IfI leave under the grounds of Voluntary Redundancy can I be re-employed in another role within the County Council?

Can I undertake casual workfor HCC if I take Voluntary Redundancy?

If I have more than one post with HCC at the time of leaving under Voluntary Redundancy and my remaining role is temporary can my temporary post be made permanent?

What happens if my remaining temporary role comes to an end?

When the voluntary process has ended and requests for Voluntary Redundancy have been agreed, can I still volunteer later on?

If I have confirmed my interest in Voluntary Redundancy and the County Council has accepted my request, can I subsequently change my mind?

Will my final Voluntary Redundancy payment be different from the VoluntaryRedundancy estimate I have been sent?

Pensions

This section is under review, if you have any questions, please refer to the Local Government Pension Scheme, which can be found by following this link

Other issues

If I take VR what will be subject to tax and NI?

If I take VR will it affect my benefits

Consultation

How long is the consultation period?

The consultation period will be either 30 or 45 days and is dependent on the projected reduction in the number of staff as a result of the process. If the projected reduction in the number of staff is 99 or less then it will be a 30 day consultation period, and if it is 100 or more then it will be a 45 day consultation.

During the consultation period, staff will be asked to offer their suggestions, views and proposals about alternative ways to achieve the savings.

How can I take part in the consultation process?

The consultation process will vary from department to department however could include:

a central email inbox where you can forward any comments for consideration
an opportunity for you to request a meeting with your manager
attend briefings

These are examples of how we will consult but will be dependent on the number of staff being consulted with and the locations of those staff.

In relation to emailing in any comments you may have, a single inbox has been set up for each department, and if you have any comments you would like considered during the consultation period please use the email address supplied.

Who will make the final decision on the proposals at the end of the consultation period?

Final decisions will be made by individual Departmental Management Teams.

What will happen to feedback and comments made in the consultation period?

Every comment received will be considered and passed onto HR or the appropriate Departmental Management Team and will be considered and responded to as required.

General

When will staff who apply for voluntary redundancy and are accepted leave Hampshire County Council?

Typically if your application for Voluntary Redundancy is accepted, you will be invited to a formal meeting where you will be given notice based on your contractual notice period.

Who can I talk to about this?

If you have any questions, please talk to your line manager in the first instance or email your question to the relevant departmental email address as detailed in your letter.

Please remember that the Counseling Service is available for confidential counseling and support. If you are a member of a union, you can also speak to your union representative for support and advice.

Will I be expected to carry on as normal during this period?

During the consultation period a ‘business as usual’ approach applies. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for staff across the County Council, but we need to focus on ‘business as usual’ to ensure we continue to deliver high-quality services during this time of change.

Will I get time off to attend interviews or look for jobs?

Employees, whilst under notice of compulsory redundancy, will be allowed reasonable paid time off to look for another job or arrange training outside the authority. This would need to be agreed with your manager in advance.

General HR issues

I have staff in my team who are on long-term sick leave or maternity leave. How will they know what is going on in the Department?

It is the responsibility of the manager to maintain contact with staff on long-term sick leave or maternity leave, as per normal policy, either by telephone, in writing or face-to-face. All staff in this situation should be informed of the current proposals and of any potential impact to them or their team.

For all staff on long-term sick leave or maternity leave, managers must:

ensure they receive copies of correspondence sent to all staff
offer them the option to attend any team meetings or briefings.

If they would like any personal correspondence sent to their home address (e.g. requests for confirmations of interest in voluntary) please email the relevant email address as detailed in your letter to arrange this:

I am on a fixed term/temporary contract - what is my position?

It has been corporately agreed by the Corporate Management Team that, in order to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies, temporary contracts will not, in most cases, be renewed. There may be some exceptional cases where, for operational reasons, there is a continuing need for the post and temporary contracts will be renewed in those exceptional circumstances. Your manager will discuss your own position with you shortly.

Those staff on fixed term contracts who have:

less than four years continuous service with Hampshire County Council will not be eligible to apply for Voluntary Redundancy. However, depending on their exact length of continuous service with Hampshire County Council they will be entitled to:
0 - 1 years service - redeployee status equal to their contractual notice period
1 - 4 years service - redeployee status for 3 months
a compulsory redundancy package if they have continuous local government service in excess of two years
more than four years continuous service with Hampshire County Council will be eligible to apply for Voluntary Redundancy as they are effectively regarded as a permanent employees and will be treated in the same way other permanent staff.

Are there special considerations for employees on maternity, paternity or adoption leave during restructures?

In order to comply with the law, employees who are pregnant, on maternity, adoption or paternity leave should be included in the pool for selection for redundancy.

The selection criteria should be adjusted so that employees on maternity, adoption or paternity leave are not placed at a disadvantage. However, the adjustment should also try to avoid putting other groups of employees at a disadvantage. If it is not possible to score an employee on certain criteria because s/he is on maternity, adoption or paternity leave, alternative scoring methods should be considered.

Please see Redundancy Procedure and Guidance

or contact the Employment Practice Centre for further advice on 01962 813915.

At the point that notice of termination has been issued on the grounds of redundancy, employees on maternity, adoption and additional paternity leave are entitled to priority as far as suitable alternative employment is concerned.

Assuming you have more than two years continuous service your redundancy calculation will be based on the length of continuous service in the post that is being made redundant, and not to the date of the original continuous start date for any other separate employments.

Where the entire employment relationship with the County Council is terminated (i.e. you do not have any other active roles / multiple employment contracts with the County Council) then if you your contract is terminated on the grounds of redundancy then the redundancy payment will be calculated on the entire length of any continuous local government service.

This is outlined in the diagram below:

Example A - Role A is made redundant but Role B continues

The redundancy calculation would be based on the start date on Role A (1) and end date of Role A (2) as there is another role (Role B) which continues the employment relationship between the individual and Hampshire County Council.

Example B - Assuming Role A has previously been made redundant and then Role B is subsequently made redundant (and no other contracts exist with the County Council)

The redundancy calculation would be based on the start date of the continuous local government service from another employer - if applicable (5) - to the end date of Role B (4) as this is the only employment relationship between the individual and the County Council.

If there was not any continuous local government service from another employer then the redundancy payment would be calculated from the start date of Role B (3) to the end date of Role B (4)

If I take VR do I have to repay training fees?

If you have signed a form of undertaking to repay expenses in relation to qualification training you will be aware that the requirement is to pay back the expenses in line with the following time frames:

Within 18 months you be required to repay 100% of expenses

Between 18 and 24 months 50% of expenses

If you are in a voluntary or compulsory redundancy situation you will not be required to repay your expenses.

If I take VR do I have to repay any Occupational Maternity or Adoption Pay?

If you are in a voluntary or compulsory redundancy situation you will not be required to repay any Occupational Maternity (OMP) or Adoption Pay (OAP) you have received.

What happens with regards to the Statutory Maternity & Adoption Pay the employee is receiving if they are being made redundant?

There are 2 options for the employee to choose from, but the choice is the employees.

Payroll could continue to pay the employee to the end of her MPP/APP, or
The employee receives a termination payment on the redundancy date if earlier.

There are tax implications in the case of the second option and would likely result in the employee overpaying tax and she would then need to claim back any overpayment the following year.

If a request for voluntary redundancy is rejected and I subsequently do not get one of the available posts, do the enhanced redundancy rates still apply?

When considering whether or not to submit a Voluntary Redundancy request employees need to give this careful thought. The DMT (or whoever is making the decision) will give serious thought to VR requests and take every possible care to aim to ensure that if a request for VR is rejected that the employee concerned will not be in a compulsory redundancy situation as part of the same restructure. The VR figures are only applicable to those staff who exit the organisation on VR, however in the rare event that a VR request is not granted and the employee later finds themselves in a compulsory redundancy situation as part of the same restructure then there may be some exceptional circumstances when consideration will be given to the payment of the VR figures dependant on the justification and reason for not granting the VR.

Voluntary Redundancy - the benefits

Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy - what benefits will apply?

Your redundancy quote has been calculated using the Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy package for Hampshire County Council staff approved by Cabinet in 2010. The enhancements to entitlements only relate to Voluntary Redundancies for which specific approval has been given in connection with a restructure. The former scheme remains in place for all other Compulsory and Voluntary Redundancies outside of this.

Where approved, redundancy payments will be made for those individuals who volunteer and who have two years or more continuous service.

Redundancy payments will be calculated as follows:

1.0 week’s pay for each full year of service where your age was under 22
2 0 week’s pay for each full year of service where your age was 22 or above, but under 41
3.0 week’s pay for each full year of service where your age was 41 or above

Each completed year of continuous service, up to a maximum of 20 years service, will count towards the calculation.

The maximum number of weeks pay that an employee can receive is 40.

You may wish to explore Voluntary Redundancy in order to avoid a future selection process that may result in compulsory redundancy.

Your Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy estimate has been calculated using your average weekly pay over the 3 months prior to the estimate being calculated, and has been based on all contractual pay (excluding any market supplements where notice has been given that they will be withdrawn).

Your final Voluntary Redundancy payment may be different to this estimate, as it will be calculated on your average weekly pay over the three months prior to your leaving date. If your pay were to change in the three months before you were made redundant, your redundancy payment could go up or down. Your redundancy payment could change as a result of the following:-

you stop receiving a market supplement,
you start to receive an acting-up allowance, or
the County Council changes premia payment rates.

Therefore, before you volunteer for redundancy you should consider whether there will be any changes in your pay that could affect your final redundancy payment.

We are unable to calculate voluntary redundancy estimates on future salaries, and as such your current estimate will not be based on any increase that you may receive as a result of salary increments paid from April 2013. Before you volunteer for redundancy you should consider whether there will be any changes in your pay that could affect your final redundancy payment.

Compulsory Redundancy - what benefits will apply?

Redundancy payments will be calculated as follows: