Shropshire Council to Sack All Its Staff

bap98189

Dismissal letters have been sent to about 6,500 Shropshire Council employees.

The letter states that all council staff will be dismissed on 30 September and immediately rehired, but only if they agree to a 5.4% pay cut.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-14028188

How on earth can this be legal?

RuthnJasper

Is this for real? It's obscene!! Will the leaders/chief executives also be dismissed and "re-hired"? What about teaching and school staff?! And how much is it costing the council in terms of writing to ALL members of staff and processing the applications of those who are to be re-hired?

What about those staff who have worked for years and years and accumulated greater pension and annual leave allowances? They'll all have to start from scratch again!

I can't imagine how demoralised and distressing this must be for the staff. And I'll bet my own pension that some jumped-up "consultant" or "Team Leader" was paid a vastly overblown fee for coming up with such a nonsense scheme.

The council staff and taxpayers of Shropshire have my sincere sympathy. x

bap98189

I'm assuming they have sent redundancy notices, rather than dismissal notices. Can you do that - make everyone redundant except those who agree to accept a new contract?

suicidebob

Not the first time this has happened. Derbyshire did it last year.

http://www.gmbyorkshire.org.uk/downloads/pdfs/Dismissal_and_Re-Engagement_Letters.pdf
http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/working_for_us/single_status/implementation/default.asp

HurdyGurdy

bap98189 wrote: »

I'm assuming they have sent redundancy notices, rather than dismissal notices. Can you do that - make everyone redundant except those who agree to accept a new contract?

Same thing has happened at Central Bedfordshire Council. Everyone earning over £21,000 (and change) has to accept a 2% pay cut. We were all sent letters saying that if we didn't sign and return the letters accepting this, then they would dismiss the staff who didn't accept it, and re-hire them with new contracts.

Those who hadn't returned their letters by the deadline date, have indeed been issued with letters of dismissal.

The new T&Cs are due to come into force in October, I believe.

agrinnall

Let me see, what do Derbyshire, Central Bedfordshire and Shropshire councils all have in common? Oh yes, they're all Tories, no doubt 'call me Dave' will be backing them all the way.

Mudd14

It can happen as stated. If employees do not agree to a variation of a contract then dismissal is the last route. The employer leaves them self open to a claim for unfair dismissal but the employees claim would be minimal if a fair procedure has been followed and the employee can only claim loss of earning for the difference. Its a risky game but they have obviously done their sums and worked out the savings will outway the potential risk long term.

SarEl

bap98189 wrote: »

How on earth can this be legal?

I am afraid it is. Immoral yes, but illegal no. But the really excellent news is that they learnt this trick from the private sector who have been doing it for years. So it is great to see that the public sector is finally catching up with the sterling employment practices of the private sector, and getting rid of their namby pamby ways. I hope to see it followed by some other private sector practices, which people often seem to associate with the public sector rather than the private sector, in which they are actually much more prevelant - generally referred to as the strike, the work to rule, and the "up yours guv'nor" syndrome. Despite general opinion to the contrary, public sector workers have a poor record of industrial action because they have been just about comfortable enough to avoid it. I doubt that will continue for much longer.

patman99

In most industries, if you are re-hired within 11 weeks of being laid-off, you are deemed to have a continuation of service going back to the day you first ever started with the employer and including any period worked as an agency worker.

Do the public sector have similar protection?, if so, then surely those that are re-hired would still legally be entitled to a continuation of pension rights etc.

dark_lady

i saw a post on the benefits and work website last year. The username was pug i think. And he said that one council had made fifteen people redundant and then replaced them by taking on unemployed people on unpaid work placements from the Job Centre under New Deal.

SarEl

patman99 wrote: »

In most industries, if you are re-hired within 11 weeks of being laid-off, you are deemed to have a continuation of service going back to the day you first ever started with the employer and including any period worked as an agency worker.

Do the public sector have similar protection?, if so, then surely those that are re-hired would still legally be entitled to a continuation of pension rights etc.

This isn't entirely true - it depends on the conditions of the rehiring. A break in service of a day is a break in service - and agency staff timje is never counted as continuous. But that isn't what they are doing - they are not "laying off" - they are dismissing. They are enforcing a change of contract and will not rehire unless the employees sign new contracts with new conditions. That is why their unions are advising the "signed under protest" - to leave a possible space for unfair dismissal claims. Although I wouldn't be hopeful of them.