DRAFT Fifth Guiding Principle and Associated Recommendations - Voluntary Severance Arrangements

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

FIFTH GUIDING PRINCIPLE AND ASSOCIATED RECOMMENDATIONS

VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE ARRANGEMENTS

Introduction

1. The Commission’s role is to safeguard the interests of staff and to ensure their smooth transfer to new organisations established as a consequence of Government decisions on the Review of Public Administration, taking into account statutory obligations, including those arising from Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
2. In pursuance of that role, a core aspect of the Commission’s approach to making preparations for the staffing structures required in new organisations is represented in the Guiding Principle and associated recommendations described below. In formulating the Guiding Principle and associated recommendations, the Commission has also had due regard to the Secretary of State’s commitment, as set out in his statement of 22 November 2005, that “Every possible effort will be made to avoid redundancies.”
3. The Public Service Commission has consulted Government, employers in the RPA Affected Group, the sectoral Staff Commissions and representatives of NIC/ICTU about the most appropriate way to make preparations for the staffing structure required in new organisations. This is part of a wider set of arrangements which will be required to achieve the Secretary of State’s commitment to make every possible effort to avoid redundancies in bodies affected by RPA and to safeguard the interests of staff and ensure their smooth transfer into new organisations.

Guiding Principle

4. While noting the Secretary of State’s commitment to make every possible effort to avoid redundancies, the Commission recognises that when the Review of Public Administration is fully implemented, there is expected to be an overall requirement for fewer staff than are currently employed in the RPA Affected Group. The Commission recommends that a core aspect of how Government manage this position should be through the use of voluntary severance arrangements[1], where there is a justifiable need to reduce staff numbers and a willingness amongst staff to participate in such schemes. The Commission further recommends that Government state that there should be no compulsory redundancy in the RPA Affected Group, at least until all the new organisations envisaged as coming into being in the Secretary of State’s announcements of 22 November 2005 and 21 March 2006 have been established.

Associated Recommendations

5. The Commission recommends that:
  • · Immediate consideration be given to the organisational structure and staffing requirements in each of the new organisations.
  • · Where justified, voluntary severance arrangements, should be applied within each sector well in advance of the appointed date of the transfer of staff. In compliance with statutory obligations such arrangements should not necessarily be restricted to the RPA Affected Group.
  • · To ensure consistency in the treatment of staff, the terms of a single Voluntary Severance Scheme should be applied throughout the implementation of RPA. As a minimum the scheme should reflect the benefits payable in a compulsory redundancy situation.
  • · Government should ensure that appropriate funding is available to facilitate voluntary severance arrangements.
  • · Government should ensure that staff affected by the application of voluntary severance arrangements are provided with high quality support on matters such as careers advice, skills analysis, training for new careers, financial planning etc.

Commentary

6. The Commission recognises that the issue of aligning existing staff numbers with those required in the new organisations could be highly complex. The Commission is aware, however, that staff have concerns about their future employment position. The application of this Guiding Principle and the associated recommendations will go some considerable way towards clarifying the position for staff and re-assuring them that every possible effort will be made to safeguard their interests.
7 Arising from central government decisions there will be an unprecedented scale of re-organisation across the public sector with significant efficiencies anticipated. Given that the Government’s stated aim is to implement the Commission’s recommendations consistently across all sectors, the Commission considers that this can be achieved by the application of a single scheme. This would also be fair to staff and would assist in their smooth transfer to new organisations. The Commission recognises that the introduction of voluntary severance arrangements is only one of a number of Human Resource mechanisms which will help avoid a compulsory redundancy situation.
8 The Commission is also aware that Government is proposing to amend existing “pension schemes”. Any such developments on pensions should not impact on the terms or application of a single Voluntary Severance Scheme during the implementation of RPA. The Commission expects that the construction of a single scheme will be the subject of established consultation and negotiation arrangements with Trade Unions and other representatives of staff.
SID McDOWELL
CHAIRMAN
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Xx xx 2006
[1] Voluntary severance is used as a generic term covering arrangements that enable staff to leave employment voluntarily.

Latest News