unsure what is really going on following consultation

choccymoose

Hi not sure if there is anything in this but please bear with me, stressfull time.

I work for the local authority we have been put into 30 day consultation and shown a restructure chart for our department.

For the level above me it is going from three full time roles and one .2 role to two full time roles and one .2 role, resulting in the deletion of one full time role. These roles are all the same but cover different areas of our authority.

At my level there are currently five full time roles and this is being reduced to two full time roles and two .6. Of these five roles two people do the same job, covering different areas and the other three cover the whole authority, each having specialisms within their role.

At the consultation meeting it was made clear what services needed to be retained and which services would be retained if at all possible. Only one of my specialisms were mentioned as being retained if at all possible, however of my two colleagues that have the other authority wide roles two/three of the their specialisms need to be retained.

We were all informed that new Job Descriptions were being written and that all five of us were able to apply for any of the 4 roles.

My concern is that the two full time position job descriptions will be heavily weighted towards my colleagues as their current roles are what has been said is needed, its not that I can't do their roles as I cover whilst they are on leave and before we went authority wide with our specialisms I did parts of their roles anyway.

The part time roles will again be heavily weighted to my colleagues that currently do that role.

Hope this makes sense

Am i worrying unjustly or am I being unfairly treated, have had a really bad week which if you read my other post you will see why and so this may be nothing but I don't know!

Annoyingly I left my union after the last round of strikes in November as felt bullied into striking and didn't take up a new membership and I guess its too late.

So just after some impartial advice really

mcfisco

I've no idea what .2 or .6 etc mean

Is it public sector speak?

London18

Sorry to hear about this. In my view you are probably not worrying unjustly - if there are 5 people in the pool for 3 jobs then inevitably some people will get made redundant. However it doesn't sound like you are being treated unfairly. If the business case is to retain certain services and not others, and the new job descriptions reflect that, it is unfortunate but not necessarily unfair.

Having said that all you can do is make yourself as suitable for selection as possible up against the competition. When you apply look hard at the job and person specifications and match yourself to what is required. Point out your experience in the other specialisms and try to demonstrate your knowledge and versatility. Emphasise your personal qualities and other skills you could bring to the role.

If they plan to do interviews then prepare for it as much as you can, be ready for questions and think about how you want to come across.

At the same time you should be considering any redeployment opportunities and looking outside to see what the job market is like as well. Feeling in control of your destiny will help you enormously in this period. Get your c.v up to date, write some covering letters (as practice even if you don't actually apply). Maybe this process will result in you not getting one of the new jobs, so thinking about what that might mean for you and taking action is far more positive than just worrying about it.

Your union might be prepared to have you back in return for backpaid fees, worth checking. Otherwise make sure you have a work colleague (obviously not someone also affected by these changes) in with you for any one to one formal consultation meetings, for personal support if nothing else.

Best wishes

choccymoose

mcfisco wrote: »

I've no idea what .2 or .6 etc mean

Is it public sector speak?

As far as I am aware no it's not public sector speak, it was used in my previous job 10 years ago.

.2 is point 2 of a full time equivalent, so 1 day a week
.6 is point 6 of a full time equivalent, so 3 days a week

HTH

choccymoose

London18 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about this. In my view you are probably not worrying unjustly - if there are 5 people in the pool for 3 jobs then inevitably some people will get made redundant. However it doesn't sound like you are being treated unfairly. If the business case is to retain certain services and not others, and the new job descriptions reflect that, it is unfortunate but not necessarily unfair.

Having said that all you can do is make yourself as suitable for selection as possible up against the competition. When you apply look hard at the job and person specifications and match yourself to what is required. Point out your experience in the other specialisms and try to demonstrate your knowledge and versatility. Emphasise your personal qualities and other skills you could bring to the role.

If they plan to do interviews then prepare for it as much as you can, be ready for questions and think about how you want to come across.

At the same time you should be considering any redeployment opportunities and looking outside to see what the job market is like as well. Feeling in control of your destiny will help you enormously in this period. Get your c.v up to date, write some covering letters (as practice even if you don't actually apply). Maybe this process will result in you not getting one of the new jobs, so thinking about what that might mean for you and taking action is far more positive than just worrying about it.

Your union might be prepared to have you back in return for backpaid fees, worth checking. Otherwise make sure you have a work colleague (obviously not someone also affected by these changes) in with you for any one to one formal consultation meetings, for personal support if nothing else.

Best wishes

Thank you for your post it is very helpful.

I am looking at this as an opportunity, and I am going to use the fact that I am the worker who always has to adapt to the new initiatives as a positive, in that it demonstrates my versatility etc , also reports from Ofsted on my areas of work that are outstanding as mentioned in a national report (only parts that were outstanding are those I am solely responsible for).

Redeployment opportunities not looking promising at the moment but I am keeping my eye open.

I am having an initial interview on Monday with a private company, it will be a slight pay drop and is further away but is something I am interested in pursuing and it unofficially forms part of my current role. After seeing my CV the HR lady contacted me and said we can't afford you, as much as we like your skill set. I was able to say we have worked out our budget and the wage is above the minimum I would need, and that I would welcome the opportunity to be a part of the company. She then asked me to go in for an initial interview on Monday and a key skills test!!!!!


So fingers crossed x

getmore4less

In these situations check what the others want to happen,

If there is a decent package knowing who is looking to leave gives you an edge.

Sometimes the bosses underestimate those that want to leave.

choccymoose

getmore4less wrote: »

In these situations check what the others want to happen,

If there is a decent package knowing who is looking to leave gives you an edge.

Sometimes the bosses underestimate those that want to leave.

Unfortunately I have the best package and that's not great! I will have 9 years service, annoying thing is that employment will end on the 31st April and on the 14th May I would have had 10 years service! The next best package is the worker that we all reckon is safest!

getmore4less

choccymoose wrote: »

Unfortunately I have the best package and that's not great! I will have 9 years service, annoying thing is that employment will end on the 31st April and on the 14th May I would have had 10 years service! The next best package is the worker that we all reckon is safest!

April only has 30 days

Have they given you notice of termination allready?

Consultation is not notice.

Whats your notice, statutory is minimum 9 weeks.

30 days + 9 weeks gets you close to another year even if they pay PILON the 9 weeks counts


They may be safest but do they want to stay?

Remember reality is the workload usualy increases for those that stay.

gibson123

You will likely have to be given at least a 2 months notice period if you do not get one of the new posts in the restructuring. In terms of who gets what job. There is often an assumption that those currently in the job would get the job. However in reality the people doing the job, not only has the advantage of knowing the job, but also have their track record to contend with, and as anyone knows if you have been doing a job for a number of years for the same manager you can be undervalued or over-looked. (familiarity can indeed breed contempt).

So a bit of advice, if you really want to keep one of the jobs, start to compete, forget that your colleagues are also your friends and start working on your credibility and start fitting yourself into the new role/s. Be very supportive of the management, have them believe you trust their judgement and support the re-organisation. keep your thoughts to yourself and do not discuss the situation with colleagues, particularly do not say anything that could be used against you. keep your head down and your professionalism up and start working on perfecting your applications and interview skills. Having the best package is also an advantage, you are more expensive to get rid off, and yes this may be a consideration.

choccymoose

Hi sorry, yes the calculation date being used for redundancy package is 30th April, so not actual notice but that is the date we will be out if we are going.

I have kept very level headed and am supporting management in the decisions being made etc.

Job interview for job with a private company went well, have 2nd interview next week, slightly less money but a new direction to maybe go in with an established private company, decisions decisions.

Thanks guys some useful advise there.

getmore4less

choccymoose wrote: »

Hi sorry, yes the calculation date being used for redundancy package is 30th April, so not actual notice but that is the date we will be out if we are going.

I have kept very level headed and am supporting management in the decisions being made etc.

Job interview for job with a private company went well, have 2nd interview next week, slightly less money but a new direction to maybe go in with an established private company, decisions decisions.

Thanks guys some useful advise there.

BE CAREFULL,

Have been given proper notice of redundancy, untill you have you can't resign and still get the redundacy package.

MAKE SURE no one knows you have been looking, and don't let them call in references.


Once you have been given notice you can then counter notice if you need to leave a bit earlier

The use of the termination date of 30April can only be approximate if they have not issued termination notices since statutory notice could take you to another years service if it goes beyond 30 April.