CRC Dispute Latest 10

Thanks go to the reader for supplying the following from Working Links management and published on their intranet:-

Questions and Answers

Early Retirement

We have had numerous questions relating to the Early Retirement option and have captured the answers to these collectively below. To mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies, in areas where we have identified the need for fewer employees, we have put forward two offers for those who may choose to leave the organisation. One is a voluntary severance type of offer which is 3 weeks’ salary, capped at 52 weeks, paid as a lump sum – and the other one is an opportunity to consider early retirement. These two proposals are offered as an alternative.

If you are in an age group that qualifies for early retirement (individuals aged between 55 and 64) you have the option of early retirement as an alternative to the severance offer we have put forward. Early retirement taken now would enable you to access your unreduced pension (subject to the scheme rules). Where strain costs arise, these are calculated by the Pension Fund, and in order to allow you immediate access to your pension, are met by us. We do though take on board their value before accepting applications. This is because we do take affordability into account in connection with every individual application. If we do not agree to your application for early retirement, you will not be able to access your pension immediately.

All applications for the voluntary severance package that we have put forward are subject to affordability, and we don’t have funds to cover both voluntary severance and early retirement for any one individual. We will therefore look at applications we receive in the round, and will take affordability into account.

Voluntary Severance Scheme

When will I get to know if I have been accepted? 

Wales CRC: All applicants will be advised of the decision on their application by 21 October.
BGSW CRC: All applicants will be advised of the decision on their application by 9th November
DDC CRC: All applicants will be advised of the decision on their application by 9th November

What is the selection process for applications? 

The following factors will be taken into account when considering applications: the number of people in the employee’s area of work, business continuity, retention of skills and expertise, organisational and business needs of the future operating model, maximisation of effectiveness and efficiency and affordability and cost.

Why is this scheme not as generous as previous schemes that have been run? 

We believe that by offering a revised voluntary exit scheme for the remainder of our transformation programme we can continue to manage any exits from the business on a voluntary basis, mitigating the need for any compulsory redundancies.

If I am accepted for voluntary severance can I change my mind? 

Wales CRC: Employees who have been offered a voluntary exit will need to decide whether they want to accept this offer by 26 October. Anytime up to 26 October employees can change their mind. However, once an offer has been formally accepted the decision becomes binding.

BGSW CRC: Employees who have been offered a voluntary exit will need to decide whether they want to accept this offer by 16 November. Anytime up to 16 November employees can change their mind. However, once an offer has been formally accepted the decision becomes binding.

DDC CRC: Employees who have been offered a voluntary exit will need to decide whether they want to accept this offer by 16th November. Anytime up to 16th November employees can change their mind. However, once an offer has been formally accepted the decision becomes binding.

If I apply for voluntary severance and are not offered it, what role will I then have? 

You will remain in your substantive role.

Are voluntary severance decisions going to be based on local area needs? 

Yes, any decisions will be based on local staffing requirements and area needs.

Can I apply for a voluntary exit if I am on maternity leave? If I do, will I need to repay the half maternity pay as I would not be returning for three months? 

Yes, people on maternity can apply for this voluntary severance scheme. We would not expect the half pay element of maternity pay to be repaid 

Other

Is the Change Policy a contractual requirement that cannot be changed without agreement from the NNC? 

The Change Policy is not a contractual requirement.

If I take a lower grade post will my pay be protected? 

Yes, your pay will be protected in line with your local CRC policy. Please review this for more information.

What rationale has been used to map people into roles? 

Individuals will have been mapped into a role if their current substantive role is contained within the new structure and there is no significant change in the duties and responsibilities of the role following restructuring. Where roles are not an exact match but are broadly similar based on the job content, competencies and qualifications if applicable, people will be matched to roles.

How much opportunity is there for me to move from my role to another job variation? 

Once we have completed this transformation process, where vacancies exist going forward these will be advertised and employees will be able to apply in the usual way.

Can I apply for a reduction in hours? 

 Any individual can apply for a reduction in hours in the usual way via your local CRC policy

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Probation union updates

As we move forward with our transformation plans we are continuing to consult with the probation unions about our proposed changes and new ways of working – and ultimately what impact this will have on people. We’re sharing this information with you too, and earlier this year you will have attended a briefing where our proposals were discussed and you also had the opportunity to have your say to help shape and influence the changes. More recently you have had the opportunity to dial into regular calls where each area of our proposed new model has been discussed in greater detail, and we’ve continued to share information through Justice News and our management teams.

Because of the changes we need to make to the business to ensure our future success, you will be aware that we feel we have more people than we need in certain areas of the business and this is something we are discussing with the unions. We are keen to ensure everyone is kept informed on these discussions as we work to try and minimise this impact. And as we have the group intranet in place, and a platform that is accessible to all people working across the business, we have created this area which is dedicated to our ongoing dialogue with the unions to ensure you are up to date.

The below table outlines the current concerns the unions have raised and how we are addressing them. In the table opposite you can view the supporting correspondence.

Voluntary Severance scheme

The unions have requested that we put the Voluntary Severance scheme we have recently opened in the CRCs on hold and refrain from agreeing to any of the existing Voluntary Severance applications until further dialogue has taken place.

We feel that this scheme is in the interests of our people, who have already responded on a voluntary basis and in good numbers, and we will continue with the scheme as per the proposed timescale that has been shared locally. We do not feel it is fair or reasonable for the unions to prevent our people being able to take up this voluntary scheme, which has ultimately been put in place to mitigate the need for any compulsory redundancies.

Work with the Arbitration and Conciliation Advisory Service

At a recent Joint Secretaries meeting, which was held to try and resolve our ongoing dispute, it was suggested that our consultation activity would benefit from the intervention of a third party in the form of the Arbitration and Conciliation Advisory Service (ACAS). We are fully supportive of this and welcome the approach.

We are currently arranging a meeting with ACAS and hope that this intervention will allow us to end the ongoing dispute and continue with our national, and local, union meetings as normal so that we can continue to consult on our proposals.

The unions requested we withdraw the Section 188 notification we submitted to them in January advising of the proposed employee reductions

We are concerned that the removal of the Section 188 could give a confusing message to our people in that headcount reductions are not being considered, when they are. However, we recognise that the information in the Section 188 is now out of date and needs to be refreshed. We also recognise that we are not actively considering compulsory redundancies. We wish to continue to mitigate the risk of making any compulsory redundancies by seeking volunteers to exit in line with our headcount reductions.

Proposed headcount reductions and revised Voluntary Redundancy Scheme 

We have recently undertaken a further session with the unions to ensure they fully understand our proposals and the reasons for them. We have discussed a revised Voluntary Redundancy (VR) scheme and it is our intention to use this revised scheme for the remainder of our transformation programme, when offering VR in certain parts of the business where we know we have more people than we need. By doing this it means we can continue to manage any exits from the business on a voluntary basis, mitigating the need for any compulsory redundancies, which is something we are really keen to do.

We are disappointed that the unions have asked us not to progress with this revised VR scheme but instead continue to offer the EVR scheme which would mean we would have no other option but to move to a compulsory redundancy situation at this point, due to affordability of the current scheme. We do not agree with this request and our intention has always been to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever we can. We have now submitted our plans to the NNC Joint Secretaries for consideration. While this process is running we will be discussing with our people across the three CRCs the proposed VR scheme, including what the scheme is, who is currently eligible for it and how to apply.

Commencement of consultation if Compulsory Redundancy happens

We have confirmed with the unions that should compulsory redundancies become necessary then we would undertake a 45 day formal consultation period and would wish to engage with them in accordance with the CRC local redundancy policies.

Halt the process of transformation to enable reflection

We have made clear that we cannot alter our end point of March 2017 and we believe our people are extremely keen to move ahead so that they can resolve their own positions, whatever that might be. We do not think it is in our employees’ interests to delay our plans and we are very keen to offer certainty and clarity. However, we have reviewed our timetable and have built in added time for reflection.

Announce an early retirement scheme

We already have an early retirement scheme in place and, as it always has been, information is available on our local intranets. If people would like to discuss the scheme in more detail please contact your local HR lead.

Use of temporary and agency employee

We have committed to avoiding using temporary and agency employees, subject to maintaining business effectiveness. We have an enormous geographical area to cover and have shortages in some parts of the geography that we cannot cover by redeploying people from other areas. Nevertheless, we are already reducing our use of agency personnel where operationally this is feasible.

Introduce a recruitment freeze

This is something we introduced a while ago, and we will continue a freeze on all permanent recruitment where the role may provide opportunities for redeployment. Only business critical roles, approved by a member of the Executive Team, can be recruited for. Our preference is to recruit to these roles using internal people where possible.

Consider secondment opportunities

Secondment opportunities will be pursued where appropriate as a way of reducing job losses. We are also sharing all opportunities across the wider Working Links group and a number of employees have taken up permanent and secondment roles through this route.