Employee Guidance
Purpose, Scope, Principles, Roles & Responsibilities
Application and Selection
- How do I know if I am eligible for redeployment?
- What do I need to do to progress my redeployment status?
- Do I wait for suitable jobs to become available?
- What type and range of jobs will be available for redeployment opportunity?
- What grades of job can I apply for?
- I missed an opportunity to apply for a job beforeit went out to external advert, can Istill apply with preferential status?
- What assistance is available to me during this process?
- Mock Interview Training
- Training Opportunities
- How will I be notified?
- How long will my trial period last?
- How many trials can I undertake?
- Can I extend my trial period?
- What happens at the end of the trial?
- Can a trial period be terminated early?
- What protection am I eligible to?
- Can I request flexible retirement?
Compensation
- What grounds can redundancy be withheld?
- What additional time off canI have?
Purpose, Scope, Principles and Roles and Responsibilities
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What is the purpose of the policy?
This policy sets out the arrangements to deal with the redeployment of staff and the circumstances where action may be taken. The policy is designed to facilitate the redeployment of staff within the County Council and to provide guidelines on the treatment of staff that require redeployment.
There will be occasions when the County Council will need to redeploy staff following a restructure or reorganisation and indeed times when staff will need to be redeployed as a result of their personal situation; such as following medical advice, domestic circumstances, professional circumstances or other appropriate circumstance.
Redeployment is a positive action which enables the County Council to retain the skills and experience of valued employees, as well as meeting legislative requirements.
The redeployment policy and procedure is designed to assist, advise and encourage all employees requiring redeployment to achieve an appropriate outcome to their situation. The aim is to ensure consistent and fair treatment for everyone finding themselves in a situation requiring redeployment.
Who does it apply to?
The policy and procedure applies to all employees, (including temporary staff with at least 2 years service), of Leicestershire County Council where they meet the eligible criteria.
This policy is not applicable to casual workers or employees based in schools and colleges with delegated budgets.
What will my manager do when they become aware of my redeployment status?
The manager will support you through the redeployment process themselves or identify a suitable officer within the Department to do so. This support will include assisting you in the completion of your redeployment profile, providing advice and guidance as necessary throughout the process and submitting your profile for job vacancies at your request.
Application and Selection(Back to Top)
How do I know if I am eligible for redeployment?
There are two categories of redeployment; ‘At Risk’ and ‘Other’, within each is identified eligibility for redeployment as follows:
- Redeployment – ‘At Risk’.
- Redundancy/Organisational Change.
- Medical Capability.
- Expiry of a Fixed Term Contract (the duration of which must have been at least two years).
- An apprentice in the last 6 months of training and not employed in a permanent post. (For posts at Grade 6 or below)
- Redeployment – ‘Other’. (Eligibility to be agreed by Director)
- Breakdown of working relationships.
- Change in domestic circumstances. (once all other options have been explored)
- As advised by a Director.
What do I need to do to progress my redeployment status? (Back to Top)
You will need in the first instance to obtain and read the Employee Assistance Toolkit. This will assist you in completing the Redeployment Profile, which will need to be submitted to your line manager or nominated officer. You should ensure you keep a copy of the profile for reference at interview.
Following this you will receive a copy of the redeployment vacancies list for the duration of your redeployment status, this list is issued on Thursday afternoon each week. Additionally and following the list you may receive notification by e-mail of any available jobs that have been identified as possibly being suitable for you,this would be a simple matching process (based on grade, hours and location) from details provided by you within your redeployment profile.
Once a job has been identified to you or you have identified a job, you should inform your line manager/nominated officer of the job details, who will submit your redeployment profile to the appropriate Recruiting Manager for review/ shortlisting.
If your profile meets or comes close to meeting the essential job requirements as detailed in the person specification you can expect to be interviewed. Should you not meet the necessary criteria you will receive written explanation from the Recruiting Manager of the reason for this. Equally, following any interview for the job you will receive written notification if you have not been successful.
Do I rely on my line manager or HR to identify vacancies for me?
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Absolutely not; you have a direct responsibility to manage you own career and seek alternative employment. The County Council will make every effort to assist you in seeking alternative employment, but you need to be active and timely in this process. This will include you reviewing the Redeployment vacancies list and regularly checking advertised positions with LCC. You are also encouraged to review any vacancies in other local and neighbouring authorities, links to which can be found on CIS. Please note that preferential status is not available for jobs external to the County Council or to vacancies within schools.
What type and range of jobs will be available for redeployment opportunity?
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It is the intention jobs at all grades are initially advertised internally and exclusively to redeployees. These jobs will be placed on the redeploymentvacancies list about one week before submitting for external advertising. The timeline is therefore quite tight, so it is important that you progress your application in a timely manner. That said you will still retain preferential status in most cases for vacancies that have gone to external advert.
What grade of job can I apply for? (Back to Top)
You will receive preferential status for jobs of an equal grade or below, in competition with any other employee on the redeployment list at your grade. You may apply for jobs at a higher grade, but these applications for promotion will be in open competition with other applicants and you must apply for these jobs with a standard application form. If you are at risk of redundancy and apply for a job at a lower level, you will be entitled to pay protection for a period of up to 3 years. For apprentices seeking redeployment, preferential status will only apply for jobs at Grade 6 or below.
I missed an opportunity to apply for a job before it went out to external advert, can I still apply with preferential status? (Backto Top)
Yes, in most cases you will retain preferential status for vacancies that have gone to external advert. This may however be dependent upon the stage in the recruitment process the vacancy is at, i.e. if the vacancy has closed and shortlisting has already commenced.
What assistance is available to me during this process? (Back to Top)
In addition to your line manager/nominated officer, you will receive a copy of the Employee Assistance Toolkit;all employees have access to the Employee Welfare Service which can provide counselling support and information. In addition there may also be opportunities to undergo some interview training.
Mock Interview Training (volunteers) (Back toTop)
There are opportunities throughout the year for employees to undertake interview training as part of the Manager’s Recruitment and Selection Training Course. Only volunteers for this process would be required and you would act as a candidate undergoing a ‘real time’ interview, this could prove to be invaluabletool, gaining interview practice in a less pressured environment. Useful feedback is provided to you by the course tutor. This mock interview training would normally last approximately 2 hours. Priority would be given to ‘at risk’ staff if there are a high number of volunteers.
Training Opportunities (Funding until December 2010)(Back to Top)
To assist redeployees to learn new skills or enhance existing skills, the Council allows employees’ reasonable time away from the workplace to undertake training courses which are part of the ‘Response to Redundancy – Getting Back to Work’ programme. Training is free and covers a variety of different areas including IT, finance and customer service training and has been designed to ensure employees under threat of redundancy can access an extensive range of training courses to help them on the next steps of their career. The flexibility of the program allowsemployees to work at their own pace and courses can be delivered in the workplace or on line. Further details can be obtained from Mandy Baughurst Learning and Development Adviser (3057546).
Trial Period(s)(Backto Top)
How will I be notified that I have gained a trial period?
Following your interview for a job you will be informed directly by the recruiting manager. A start date for the trial period will then need to be agreed with your current line manager, yourself and the manager offering the trial period.
How long will my trial period last?
Trial periods are subject to a statutory four week period, but a longer period up to 12 weeks could be set depending on the nature and complexity of the role. Trial periods may be extended beyond four weeks, by agreementwith the manager and yourself, for the purposes of retraining only. Any extension will be confirmed to you in writing.
How many trial periods may I undertake? (Backto Top)
There are no limits to the number of trial periods, however it will be limited to the length of your stay on the redeployment list and any notice period you are subject to. You will be expected to complete each trial period undertaken.
Can I extend my trial period? (Backto Top)
Trial periods can be extended but this would need to be jointly agreed with the recruiting manager and would be to cover a period of retraining required to undertake the job. Trial periods may also be extended if you have had a period of absence during the trial period; this extension should be equitable to the length of the absence. Any periods of extension must be confirmed in writing, specifying the date on which the trial period is to end and setting out the terms and conditions after it ends.
What happens at the end of a trial period? (Back to Top)
For the duration of the trial you will be subject to a number of regular meetings to chart your progress. At the end of the trial period the following options are available:
Extend the period if retraining is required.
A contract offer is made following successful completion.
You will be informed that you have been unsuccessful and will not be offered a contract for that job.
If the latter option is the outcome, then the options will be:
‘At Risk’ Employees - Return to the redeployment list if your notice period has not been reached and your length of stay on the list has not been exceeded.
‘Other’ Category Employees - If your length of stay on the redeployment list has been exceeded and your Director has not agreed for this to be extended, then you will return to your substantive post, or your contract will be terminated in accordance with any notice already issued, depending on the stage reached in the process.
Can a trial period be terminated early? (Backto Top)
There is a statutory obligation that employers must allow a trial period of at least four weeks to be undertaken. That said if you consider that you are not suitable for the job, or the job is not suitable for you, you must discuss this with the manager.
Please give considered thought about terminating any trial period. If, in the view of the Director, you have unreasonably terminated a trial period any redundancy payment may be negatedand/or your redeployment status may be terminated. The decision as to whether the refusal is unreasonable will take account of:
whetheryou can reasonably be expected to do the work, taking into account your level of seniority and skills
whether the terms and conditions are substantially less favourable
the rate of pay and value of any contractual benefits
the duties, level of responsibility and status
the place of work and its proximity to your current workplace (and whether there is a mobility clause in your contract)
the number of hours and working pattern
the working environment.
How will I know how I am progressing during my trial period?
The manager should be conducting regular reviews, at least weekly, to allow them to make an informed decision at the end of the trial period and tomake you aware how you are progressing – there should be no surprises at the end of your trial period.
What pay will I receive whilst undertaking a trial period?
You will continue to receive the salary that you would normally get in your original post. Following any appointment, if you are at risk of redundancy then seebelow regarding pay protection. If you are a redeployee for a reason other than redundancy then your salary will be adjusted on appointment to the grade and paypoint of the new post.
Pay Protection(Back to Top)
What pay protection will I be eligible to?
Pay protection will only be available to you if your job has been put at risk of redundancy and if the post to which you are to be appointed is one grade lower than you currently hold. In such circumstances and following any successful redeployment your salary will be protected for 3 years or until the maximum salary for the new post becomes higher than the frozen post, whichever is earlier. During this period you will receive no incremental progression or pay award.
If the post to which you are to be appointed is more than one grade lower than your current grade then your salary will reduce to the maximum of one grade above the grade of the new post and be frozen as above.
Only salary will be protected and there will be no protection of any other payments (e.g. allowances, enhancements) and all other conditions of service will be those pertaining to the new post.
Pay protection will not apply where Flexible Retirement has been agreed.
Flexible Retirement(Backto Top)
Can I request flexible retirement?
Where eligibility exists all County Council employees who are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme may request flexible retirement. This will need to be discussed with your new line manager and further informationcan be found on CIS.
Losing managers would not be expected to approve any flexible retirement requests that would need to be honoured by your new line manager.
Please be aware that if any entitlement to pay protection will cease to apply once flexible retirement has been agreed.
Excess Travelling and Care Expenses(Back to Top)
What additional expenses am I eligible to claim?
Please see the policy regardingDisturbance.
Compensation(Backto Top)
I have an entitlement to a redundancy payment, are there any grounds on which this payment could be withheld?
There are a number of reasons for which any redundancy payment would be withheld:
If, in the view of the Director, you unreasonably refuse an offer of suitable alternative employment, including declining confirmation in post, unreasonably terminating a trial period or refusal to submit an application or redeployment profile, for a suitable alternative job(s).
There is no entitlement to a redundancy payment if an employee accepts an offer of a new contract of employment with this authority, or another employer covered by the Redundancy Payments Modification Order:
- where the offer is made before their redundancy notice expires; and
- the new contract is to commence within four weeks of termination.
If you resigned at any time during a trial period or following successful appointment to an alternative post then the employment will be considered to have terminated by reason of voluntary resignation rather than redundancy and no payments will be made.
If you work beyond the end of the four week trial period (or initial agreed duration), or any jointly agreed extended period, any redundancy entitlement will be lost because you will be deemed to have accepted the new employment.
You would be advised in writing of any decision to withhold a redundancy payment.