ISSUE OF SECTION 188 LETTER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ADDITIONS MADE - 1/12/10 Version 2 1. Why has the Council issued letters to staff about potential redundancies and possible changes to terms and conditions of employment?... 3 2. What is a Section 188 letter to the Unions?... 4 2a. What is meant by 90 days consultation?... 4 2b. Does this mean that I will get a letter about redundancy during the 90 days?... 5 2c. If I accept voluntary redundancy, will I be expected to work out my notice or will I be paid in lieu of notice?... 5 3. How does this tie in with the Senior Management restructure and how does this link to those people who have already had a letter about the separate Section 188 letter regarding the withdrawal of grant/externally funded posts?... 5 4. Will there be compulsory redundancies and will the Council be offering people the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy?... 6 4a. Can the employees affected by the previous Section 188 letters in relation to the Senior Management Restructure or withdrawal of grant funding apply for voluntary redundancy? ADDED 1/12/10... 6 5. How long do I have to have worked for the Council to receive a redundancy payment?... 6 6. How do I find out what my redundancy payment would be?... 7 7. How do I find out what my pension payment would be? Marginal amendment to response at 1/12/10... 7 8. What do I do if I have looked at my estimated figures and I am genuinely interested in taking voluntary redundancy?... 7 8a Is there any difference between the payments I would receive if I was made compulsorily redundant or if I volunteer?... 8 9. Will the Council be offering voluntary reductions in hours?... 8 9a. If I request a reduction in hours, will this be on a temporary or permanent basis? ADDED 1/12/10... 9 9b. If I request to reduce my hours and the Council has to make me redundant in the future, will this reduce my redundancy payment? ADDED 1/12/10.. 9 9c. How does a reduction in hours affect my pension benefits?added 1/12/10... 9 10. Will the Council be offering any other voluntary options e.g. unpaid leave, career breaks etc?... 10 10a. Where can I find more information about flexible retirement? ADDED 1/12/10... 10 11. How do I apply for any of these other voluntary options?... 10 Version 2-1/12/10 Page 1 of 14
12. What changes to the Terms & Conditions of Employment is the Council proposing?... 11 13. I am not a member of a trade union, how will I be consulted? ADDED 1/12/10... 11 14. When will I know if I have a job? ADDED 1/12/10... 11 15. The Council has to carry out statutory functions. Why has everybody been issued with a letter? ADDED 1/12/10... 12 16. How will the Council determine which posts will be cut? ADDED 1/12/10 12 17. What if I apply for voluntary redundancy, then I find my service / team / job is not affected? ADDED 1/12/10... 13 18. What if I am selected for redundancy and I do not want to leave on voluntary redundancy? ADDED 1/12/10... 13 19. When will the voluntary redundancy arrangements commence? ADDED 1/12/10... 13 20. I am due to commence maternity leave, will I still be entitled to receive the 12 weeks at half pay maternity pay? ADDED 1/12/10... 13 21. What else is the Council doing to reduce costs and minimise redundancies? ADDED 1/12/10... 14 Version 2-1/12/10 Page 2 of 14
1. Why has the Council issued letters to staff about potential redundancies and possible changes to terms and conditions of employment? From June 2010 various announcements have been made by central government about significant reductions in the funding to public sector organisations. The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announcement on 20 October 2010 requires real and substantial savings to be made by the Council. The reductions are front loaded which means that a higher amount of savings have to be achieved in the first and to a lesser extent, second year rather than being equally spread over 4 years. The current estimates are that the financial effect of the CSR cuts on Council funding amount to 65m in 2011/12 and 15m in 2012/13 with 25 million being removed in the following two years. This means that the money made available to Bradford Council will be significantly cut and difficult choices will have to be made about Council services -which are to be scaled back and to what extent, which services the Council will deliver differently and how this is to be done and more fundamentally which services the Council will no longer provide. The Council will not have any further information about the extent to which the cuts will affect Bradford Council until early December 2010 when the Government announces the financial settlement for local authorities giving us a clearer indication as to how much Bradford will lose. Having reviewed the planned budget it seems we may not be able to sustain the current staffing structure of the Council in future and must look at a possible reduction in the number of people we currently employ. In addition the Council also wishes to examine with the Trade Unions some of the terms and conditions of employees to see if any significant savings can be made to reduce the risk of redundancies. Version 2-1/12/10 Page 3 of 14
The Council has issued a letter to the trade unions about this (known as a 'section 188 letter' see Q2). The Council has also held meetings with employees and provided letters and information. 2. What is a Section 188 letter to the Unions? To comply with Section 188 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Council has sent a letter to its recognised Trade Unions formally notifying them that the Council considers that it may be necessary to make employees redundant and that there may be a need to change employees terms and conditions of employment. It contains information about the proposed number of job losses, which are estimated to be 2,000 full time equivalents in addition to those proposed in the previously issued Section 188 letters in relation to the withdrawal of grant funding and the senior management restructure. Full time means 37 hours per week of saving so if 2 part time (18.5 hour) jobs are lost, this is only 1 full time equivalent job. It also sets out the reason for the proposals. It signals the start of a process of consultation with the trade unions and sets out how a redundancy payment will be calculated for those people who might be made redundant. The Section 188 letter starts a formal period of consultation with the recognised trade unions which will last for a minimum of 90 days. 2a. What is meant by 90 days consultation? ADDED 1/12/10 The Section 188 letter commences a statutory period of consultation with the recognised trade unions. This consultation has to be for a minimum of 90 days. The Council s proposals and any alternative proposals from trade unions are what will be under consideration during the consultation period. The main focus of the consultation is to determine whether redundancy dismissals can be avoided or reduced in number and to look at ways of minimising and mitigating the consequences of these proposals. It will also involve discussions about possible changes to terms and conditions of employment as a means of making savings to reduce the risk of redundancy dismissals. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 4 of 14
2b. Does this mean that I will get a letter about redundancy during the 90 days? ADDED 1/12/10 No, the 90 day period is the minimum period for consultation with trade union representatives. During the consultation period, various types of information may become available. This may include more information from central government which will influence the decisions that might need to be taken about job reductions. You may receive correspondence concerning the progress of these discussions and any particular developments arising from them during the consultation period. See questions below regarding the process to follow. 2c. If I accept voluntary redundancy, will I be expected to work out my notice or will I be paid lieu of notice? ADDED 1/12/10 Council employees whether volunteers or not will be expected to work their notice. If you apply to take voluntary redundancy and at the end of the consultation period, the Council accepts your application if you wish to leave before the end of your notice period, then you should discuss this with your manager, but you will only be paid up to your leaving date. 3. How does this tie in with the Senior Management restructure and how does this link to those people who have already had a letter about the separate Section 188 letter regarding the withdrawal of grant/externally funded posts? A new senior management structure has been agreed, which will deliver approximately 1million saving. The restructuring process is well under way and you will be informed when appointments are made. Further consultation will then take place with all support staff directly affected by these changes. The previous Section 188 process will still continue in respect of the possible job reductions and associated risk of redundancy. Work is continuing to identify the total effect of the reduction in grant funding and discussions are taking place between the Strategic Directors and colleagues Version 2 1/12/10 Page 5 of 14
within Financial Services. As soon as there is a complete picture in any area of grant funding further consultations will take place with the employees affected and their trade union representatives. The new Section 188 process will also include these employees in respect of any possible changes to terms and conditions of employment. 4. Will there be compulsory redundancies and will the Council be offering people the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy? The Council will work with the trade unions to see if ways can be found to avoid compulsory redundancies but compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out. Compulsory redundancies will be a last resort when all other options have been explored fully. The Council is asking for genuine expressions of interest from employees interested in voluntary redundancy. Any decisions on employees being allowed to take voluntary redundancy will be subject to the needs of the service. Staff employed in schools and key Council posts in child and adult protection will be excluded from this process. 4a. Can the employees affected by the previous Section 188 letters in relation to the Senior Management Restructure or withdrawal of grant funding apply for voluntary redundancy? ADDED 1/12/10 Yes. As with anyone else, whether this application is accepted will be subject to an assessment of the needs of the service. 5. How long do I have to have worked for the Council to receive a redundancy payment? To qualify for a redundancy payment, you must have worked for Bradford Council continuously for a period of two years or have continuous service of at least two years with certain other public sector organisations specified in the Redundancy Payments Modification Order, immediately before taking up employment with Bradford Council. In such cases, you may qualify for a payment even though you have less than two years qualifying service with Bradford Council at the time you are made redundant. Your letter of appointment will tell you when your continuous service commenced for redundancy purposes. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 6 of 14
6. How do I find out what my redundancy payment would be? You should have received a copy of the redundancy payment calculator (called a ready reckoner ) which is also available on the HR site on BradNet, which will enable you to calculate the approximate redundancy payment that you will be entitled to. 7. How do I find out what my pension payment would be? Marginal amendment to response at 1/12/10 If you are aged 55 years or over and have at least 3 months membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund at the date of redundancy, you are entitled to receive immediate payment of pension benefits under the current Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations. You should refer to your Pension Benefit Statement that you received from the West Yorkshire Pension Fund earlier this year. The section headed value of your benefits at: 31.03.10 provides an estimate of the pension benefits you would receive if you leave the Council due to redundancy. If you do not have access to this statement and you are seriously interested in voluntary redundancy you can ring the HR Service on 01274 435313 and you will be provided with an estimate of your pension benefit over the telephone. You must provide your National Insurance number or your payroll number, which you can find on your payslip. Please only ring this number if you do not have your pension benefits statement to enable us to process telephone requests for estimates as quickly as possible. If you are under the age of 55 and a member of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund at the date of termination of employment due to redundancy your pension will be frozen. The West Yorkshire Pension Fund will contact you 3 months before your 65 th birthday to arrange payment of your benefits. You can claim your benefits anytime after your 60 th birthday but these payments may then be at a reduced rate. This is how things stand at present, but the pension scheme regulations could change. 8. What do I do if have looked at my estimated figures and I am genuinely interested in taking voluntary redundancy? You must first of all use the above information at Questions 6 & 7 to explore this option. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 7 of 14
When you have considered the estimated payments you could receive and you are genuinely interested in taking voluntary redundancy, you can register your interest by: Contacting the HR Service on 01274 435313. You must provide your National Insurance number or payroll number, which you can find on your payslip. Complete an expression of interest in voluntary redundancy form. This form is available on BradNet or from your line manager. If submitting this online you will need to send it to email address: ExpressionOfInterest.VoluntarySeverance@bradford.gov.uk If submitting the form by post, please mark the envelope Expressions of Interest Team, Human Resources, 6 th Floor City Exchange, 61 Hall Ings, Bradford, BD1 5SG DUE TO THE POTENTIAL VOLUME OF INTEREST, THE COUNCIL CANNOT SUPPLY INDIVIDUAL FINAL REDUNDANCY & PENSION ESTIMATES AT THIS STAGE. You will need to submit an expression of interest by Friday 10 December 2010. Even though you may request voluntary redundancy, the Council may decide that you cannot be allowed to leave because of the needs of the service. No decisions will be taken until after the minimum 90 days consultation period. 8a Is there any difference between the payments I would receive if I was made compulsorily redundant or if I volunteer? ADDED 1/12/10 No. The amount of the redundancy payment is the same whether an employee leaves voluntarily or is made compulsorily redundant. The pension scheme regulations are being reviewed by the Government and could change in future, but we do not know what those changes will be. 9. Will the Council be offering voluntary reductions in hours? Yes. The Council will be offering people the opportunity to voluntarily reduce their working hours. Managers will decide whether such a request can be accommodated depending on the needs of the service. No decisions will be taken until after the minimum 90 days consultation period. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 8 of 14
This option relates to reducing your working hours for example from 37 hours, to 25 hours etc. It does not relate to compressing your current working hours into fewer days. 9a. If I request a reduction in hours, will this be on a temporary or permanent basis? ADDED 1/12/10 At the current time, we are asking for expressions of interest only, there is no firm commitment by you or the Council at this stage, so you can register your interest on whichever basis you prefer. The Council will then assess the total potential savings it could make through voluntary initiatives, such as this one before deciding whether to take the discussion further. Should the Council wish to consider your expression of interest further, a discussion will be held with you on the detailed arrangements, which will include whether the reduction is on a temporary or permanent or trial basis. 9b. If I request to reduce my hours and the Council has to make me redundant in the future, will this reduce my redundancy payment? ADDED 1/12/10 At the current time, we are asking for expressions of interest only, there is no firm commitment by you or the Council at this stage, so you can register your interest in as many options as you wish. The Council will then assess the total potential savings it could make through voluntary initiatives. Should the Council wish to consider your expression of interest further, a discussion will be held with you on the detailed arrangements and implications before any new working arrangement is agreed. 9c. How does a reduction in hours affect my pension benefits? ADDED 1/12/10 There is no impact on your pensionable pay - that is the pay that is used to calculate your pension benefits. Your pensionable pay is based on the pay you would have earned if you worked full time. However, it does affect the length of service that you can count towards your pension benefits. Your pensionable service builds up at a slower rate than a full time (37 hour) employee because you are working less hours and your pensionable pay is the same as a full time employee. For example, if you work 18 ½ hours per week, your service accrues at half the rate of a full Version 2 1/12/10 Page 9 of 14
time employee who works 37 hours per week. In this example, you would need to work for 2 years to accrue 1 year of pensionable service. 10. Will the Council be offering any other voluntary options e.g. unpaid leave, career breaks etc? Yes. The Council is also willing to consider requests from employees, which result in a financial saving to the Council as follows:- unpaid leave career breaks flexible retirement flexible working patterns eg. part time, job share or term time working No decisions will be taken about any expression of interest until after the minimum 90 day consultation period. 10a. Where can I find more information about flexible retirement? More information can be found on the Human Resources Pages on Bradnet: http://bradnetdocuments.bradford.gov.uk/hr/conditions%20of%20service% 20Docs/Documents/Flexible%20Retirement%20- %20Further%20Information.pdf 11. How do I apply for any of these other voluntary options? If you are interested in taking forward any of the above voluntary options you can do this by completing an expression of interest in varying working pattern form. This will be available on BradNet or from you line manager. If submitting this online you will need to send it to email address: ExpressionOfInterest.ReductionInHours@bradford.gov.uk If submitting the form by post, mark the envelope Expressions of Interest Team, Human Resources, 6 th Floor City Exchange, 61 Hall Ings, Bradford, BD1 5SG Alternatively, if you want to register your interest in one of these options you can contact the HR Service on 01274 435313. You must provide your National Insurance number, which you can find on your payslip. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 10 of 14
You will need to submit an expression of interest by Friday 10 December 2010. If submitting an interest in any of these options you must also advise your line manager and provide a copy of the form to your line manager 12. What changes to the Terms & Conditions of Employment is the Council proposing? Changes to Terms and Conditions have not yet been agreed. From the 24 th November 2010 Management will be meeting with the Trade Unions to start considering all the options available to save money. As these discussions progress the Council we will issue communications about any proposals. 13. I am not a member of a trade union, how will I be consulted? ADDED 1/12/10 Due to the structure of industrial relations within Bradford Council, the recognised trade unions are in law the appropriate employee representatives to be collectively consulted within this Section 188 process. They are responsible for leading the consultation on behalf of all employees who might be affected by these proposals, whether such employees are trade union members or not. All employees, whether members of trades unions or not, will receive communications from management about all the issues being consulted on. Bulletins will be issued regularly as the discussions progress. Summaries of the main issues will generally be available via BradNet. 14. When will I know if I have a job? ADDED 1/12/10 Decisions will be made after the consultation period has ended and there has been an opportunity to factor in the results of that consultation and any other relevant information that comes to light during that time. This principle will apply both to those volunteering and to any decisions that have to be made on compulsory redundancy. The Council is working on a range of measures that will contribute towards making the necessary savings to try to avoid any compulsory redundancies. However, compulsory redundancy cannot be ruled out. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 11 of 14
However, if you are interested in voluntary redundancy you do not need to wait until the end of the consultation period, to express that interest. However no decisions on any such applications will be made until after the minimum 90 days consultation period. We do appreciate that this is a difficult time for all employees and we will continue to update employees as soon as things become clearer. 15. The Council has to carry out statutory functions. Why has everybody been issued with a letter? ADDED 1/12/10 Due to the level of savings that need to be made, all employees in the Council (other than employees employed in schools and nurseries )have been issued with a letter to inform them that 2000 full time equivalent posts are potentially at risk of redundancy and that their terms and conditions of employment may need to change. Those Council employees employed through Facilities Management and deployed in schools have also been issued with the letter. Even those teams providing services that are statutory will need to examine the way in which the services are currently provided to try and reduce expenditure. 16. How will the Council determine which posts will be cut? ADDED 1/12/10 Currently the Council has identified that 2000 full time equivalent posts are potentially at risk of redundancy from these proposals. The Council is inviting expressions of interest in the first instance from those employees who might be interested in taking voluntary redundancy. Any decisions made about those expressing interest, will be subject to the needs of the service. At the same time, the Council is consulting widely on what are seen as priority services within the Community. This process of prioritisation will shape the size and focus of the services to be provided directly by the Council in future, which in turn will affect the numbers of people to be employed and in what roles. The Council will also be examining ways in which the services can be provided and will have to make very difficult decisions about which services we do less of, which services we provide differently and which services we Version 2 1/12/10 Page 12 of 14
may have to stop providing. Your views and the views of local people will be taken into consideration in making those decisions. 17. What if I apply for voluntary redundancy, then I find my service / team / job is not affected? ADDED 1/12/10 Applying for voluntary redundancy does not automatically mean you will be made redundant. For example, even though you may request voluntary redundancy, the Council may decide that your post is not one that can be released under voluntary redundancy. However, even if your service / team is not affected it may still be possible for the Council to agree to your application for voluntary redundancy. This would be for example where there are other people in the Council, who are at risk of redundancy and who do not wish to leave the Council and where it is possible to redeploy them to your post. All such cases would need to be determined on an individual basis and subject to a person with the right competencies being available for redeployment to the post. 18. What if I am selected for redundancy and I do not want to leave on voluntary redundancy? ADDED 1/12/10 The Council will attempt to redeploy people who do not wish to leave, wherever this is possible. This will be done using sets of skills and competencies to match people to new roles. If there are no redeployment opportunities, you may be made redundant compulsorily. However, this will only be as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted. 19. When will the voluntary redundancy arrangements commence? ADDED 1/12/10 After 10 December 2010 the Council will consider all submissions of interest in voluntary redundancy however no decisions will be take until after the minimum 90 day consultation process 20. I am due to commence maternity leave, will I still be entitled to receive the 12 weeks at half pay maternity pay? ADDED 1/12/10 Version 2 1/12/10 Page 13 of 14
Yes. If you opt to receive the 12 weeks at half pay and you are selected for redundancy you will not be expected to repay this money. 21. What else is the Council doing to reduce costs and minimise redundancies? ADDED 1/12/10 The Changing our Council programme is expected to deliver millions of pounds of savings through focused work by an internal team of Council employees. We are restructuring senior management to reduce costs and deliver efficiencies. We have been practicing a policy of strict vacancy control since December 2009 that has already delivered substantial savings. We are looking at reducing the number of Council buildings and using the remainder more efficiently. With our Bradford district partners and other West Yorkshire councils we are continuing to look at opportunities for shared services. The employee Suggestion Box scheme on BradNet has identified some potential savings which are being investigated further. A public consultation has just started via our website and Community Pride newsletter to get citizens' views on where we should prioritise and what we could stop doing. Our elected members are working with officers on a prioritisation process, which will make recommendations to the budget process. We will be encouraging all our employees to take responsibility for identifying savings in their own service and budget areas. The Council is reviewing the use of all agency staff and consultants and has put in place procedures to ensure that these are not used unnecessarily. The Council also wishes to examine with the trade unions some of the current terms and conditions of employees to see if any significant savings can be made by making changes. Version 2 1/12/10 Page 14 of 14