Public services - wave of redundancies?

u1bd2005

Well, been in town for past few hours asking everywhere and handing out loads of cv's, had a short informal chat with one guy, got to apply for that job online but i think i made a good impression in person, now just gotta keep trying lol...

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

it's sounding positive for you getting a nibble so soon...!



have to say i think it was a bit harsh that my post was deleted...

AnnaLicious_2

Miss_Penny_Pincher wrote: »

What made me so jumpy is the announcement that the cuts would be in the 2010/11 tax year! I just came across this on the BBC websites about the cuts:

'local authorities - which will be expected to save £1.165bn - will be given more "flexibility" to find savings as "ring-fences" around government grants are being removed.' So am I right in thinking that would mean that councils will have a lot of say about where they make the cuts?

I wouldn't depend on the BBC when it comes to statements regarding public sector spending. I'm often surprised they even spell various grants correctly! Removing a ring-fence around a grant just means it's removing a barrier as some grants are usually underspent. That way underspends are retained by the council for other overspends, and not returned to central government.

Councils were asked to look at savings and cuts in this financial year. A lot of that will be giving notice on contracts, halting capital builds, and so on. Some councils will start redundancies in this year, as they will have set aside money in certain grants to cover redundancy/early retirement costs. It depends on how good your council is in pre-planning.
But as they will have to go through all the hoops of consulting, restructuring, interviewing, realistically it won't happen till near the end of next financial year. And while you're at risk or have lost your job, you will go on a list and get a guaranteed interview for any other relevant council job. I was at risk before I went on maternity leave. I had special permission that if I lost my job, my 6 month notice period would start after I return to work. Try negotiating for that if you can.
My work rushed the process for a restructure and it took 9 months. Just remember, you work for the council. nothing happens quickly.
I

AnnaLicious_2

Mr_Falling_Star wrote: »

The Fixed term contract issue is the "elephant in the room" issue for this Goverment.

It's the easiest way for an employer to get a full-time employee without any of the pain of redundancy payouts. I think every job outside of QTs at the council I work for has been fixed contract for over a year. Without knowing what future funding is, it's a sensible way to run a service. Crap for the employee though. No job security, no training, and no investment in you as a long-term employee.

sagalout1954

Our LA has already started hacking away at the staff. Children & Young People's Services restructuring has taken a bit of a beating, dispensing with staff on the lower tiers. Those offered redeployment opportunities can either take them of leave.

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

woody01 wrote: »

Don't worry...soon enough you will have all day to post (and all day to report mine)

How kind!

Anyway, it wasn't me who reported your post

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

AnnaLicious wrote: »

Removing a ring-fence around a grant just means it's removing a barrier as some grants are usually underspent. That way underspends are retained by the council for other overspends, and not returned to central government...

I had special permission that if I lost my job, my 6 month notice period would start after I return to work. Try negotiating for that if you can.
My work rushed the process for a restructure and it took 9 months. Just remember, you work for the council. nothing happens quickly.
I

Thanks Anna - good tip re the negotiating and the reminder of the speed of these things.

Re: ringfencing - the point I was trying to make was that removing the barrier could allow councils more freedom to use spends on areas that they haven't been allocated the money for e.g. if there is a project that was grant funded under Labour but which will no longer receive funding then previously ring-fenced funding could be allocated to continue this project that central government no longer supports, at least in the short-term.

rebeccak

I'm another local government employee and, even before the Tories got in, major 'efficiencies' were being planned (and taking place) following on from the Gershon Review. Now it looks like the cuts are going to be even more severe. We went through one re-structure last year where I managed to keep my job but this year is when the cuts really start in earnest. My service is one of the first to be done and myself and all my (non-management) colleagues within my team have been told that our jobs are definitely going. In other teams within our service, about 50% of the jobs will remain so people will have to be interviewed to see who stays and who goes. I don't know if it will be the same at all Councils but at ours it is mainly the lower grade jobs* which are going with not so many cuts of jobs above £30,000. (*I'm not suggesting that anything up to £30,000 is a 'low grade' - just that it's below that level that the cuts are largely happening.)

Different Councils will have different attitudes to compulsory redundancies - The one I work for is currently trying to re-train and redeploy anyone who has lost their job whereas other Councils have already started making compulsory redundancies. However, I think it will probably be inevitable for all Councils in the end. :-(

LondonDiva

I work for an NHS trust & we have been told this week we have to make just under double the planned 'efficiency savings' this year.

We have to save 15% in 'managements cuts' this year - so all services are looking to make 15% cuts this year; 15% next year and by 2012/13 have shaved 51% in staffing costs ('management', but that basically means all non clinicians)

Good news is that becqause it's evil managers and administrators, not clinicians or consultants (holding the service to ransom IMHO), no frontline services or quality of pt care will be affected.

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

I imagine that the tories think it's utopian but surely reducing NHS administrators will have some affect on the service?

in our local authority frontline services will definitely be affected particularly those affecting the elderly and long term sick, those who most need help, as they are facing the severest cuts at the moment.

Well we've been offered voluntary early redundancies as we've been told that in my LA around 2,500 jobs need to go within 4 years!! VER works out to be 5 weeks pay for me personally so i'm holding in to the bitter end...


in terms of notice in LAs... i've heard that from announcing redundancy they are required to have a 90 day consultation period, then it's 3 months' notice and then 9 months redeployment! I was astounded - as if I was told tomorrow my job could go it could then be 15 months before I was officially redundant - these terms sound extremely generous so don't know how true that is!

how are you faring? any more developments?