Information for Sussex Staff
Schools Under Threat
The following Schools are under the most immediate threat of redundancies
- Life Sciences
- Informatics
- History, Art History and Philosophy
- English
- CCE
Many other departments are being placed under future threat of redundancy. So even those not hit now face a very uncertain future. In Life Sciences there are proposals to cut up to £400k from the technical support budget (i.e. yet more jobs).
Support Areas Under Threat
The following areas are variously facing job losses, closure, reduction in terms and conditions
- Student Support (redundancy)
- IT services (redundancy)
- Technical staff (redundancy)
- Porters (loss of terms and conditions/pay cuts)
- Security (redundancy)
- Creche (closure or privatization)
- Administration (redundancy)
- UNISEX student advisory service (closure) - read update information
Summary of cuts by area (pdf). We will shortly be publishing an analysis of the management proposals.
Who is at risk?
Staff have been placed in 'redundancy pools' and been told they are 'at risk', subject to selection criteria. In some cases the 'pool' consists of a single person and no selection criteria are proposed. It is unlawful for the university to discriminate on grounds of the type of contract you are employed on. Therefore you are not protected from redundancy by reason of 'permanency' and equally cannot be targeted because you are on a part-time or fixed term contract. If you believe you are under direct threat of redundancy, contact your union rep immediately for advice. Unfortunately even those not 'at risk' at the moment might be 'at risk' in the future. University management has already indicated to several departments that a further round of cuts is possible.
Redundancy
Redundancy is defined in law, and is also covered by University statutes for some categories of staff. Redundancy relates to dismissals where there is a reduction in need (i.e. reduced planned activity in a particular area, or in some cases a reorganization of how work will be carried out). All members are encouraged to scrutinize any local plans extremely closely. In particular be wary of plans that create redundancies simply by piling the work on those who will remain. Such strategies can be challenged and are unlikely to deliver the sustainable growth the University needs. The local union branches will be organizing meetings to work through local plans.
Voluntary v Compulsory Redundancy
The University has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. We are absolutely committed to fighting to ensure that no-one is forced to leave Sussex under a compulsory scheme. Compulsory redundancy payments are paltry and will have a devastating impact on those directly affected. Payments are limited to one week per year of service (1.5 weeks per year age related if you are over 41), and assume a maximum weekly rate of pay of £380. Statutory Redundancy Calculator The USS pension scheme has a variety of calculators and modellers (more detailed).
We are seeking a voluntary scheme at least equivalent to that offered previously at Sussex and are currently compiling information about the schemes in place across the sector. We are also negotiating to make access to a voluntary scheme more widely available and to include staff 'not at risk' as this will allow more opportunity for redeployment of those at risk but who do not want to leave.
It is essential that those facing redundancy are provided with adequate resources to minimize the absolute distress caused by their loss of job, especially in a time of recession. Many of our staff, including most academic staff, work in specialist areas and the prospects of alternative local employment are very small indeed. And for the rest, the options for local employment are very poor in the current ecomomic climate. A properly funded voluntary scheme will allow those who do leave to have sufficient time to consider the best options for their future without facing an immediate and potentially devastating financial crisis. We believe that a decent voluntary scheme is affordable and note consistent and repeated claims by university management that this is not a 'cash crisis'.
UPDATE: ERVS calculator:
The Council of the University approved an ERVS scheme at its meeting of 26th March 2010. The terms of the scheme are significantly worse than those previously offered at Sussex, and are poor in the context of the sector. The offer is complex, based on the statutory calculator but using your real rather than the capped salary used for statutory redundancies. It involves a multiplier which varies according to your age, broadly being 2x the statutory calculator for those up to age 49, but this can reduce to 1x the calculator for those 50-59 if you are in the pension scheme (currently the ERVS will trigger your pension automatically and the University will claw back the cost of it), and 2x the calculator for those age 60 and above. The further complexity is that the calculator operates at 1 week per year of service worked up until the age of 40, and 1.5 weeks for years worked age 41 and above. To make all this relatively straightforward we have uploaded a spreadsheet calculator (provided by colleagues in UNITE) which will do the various sums for you! If you are affected by the age-related pension issue (age 50-59) please contact us for more detailed advice.
ERVS Automatic Calculator
Bullying
The last time we had a redundancy crisis at Sussex, the then Vice Chancellor was forced to apologise for bullying by managers. The current Vice Chancellor has given a public commitment that the University's bullying and harassment policies, and legal provisions, will be fully respected in 'letter and spirit'. If you feel you are being bullied, unduly pressurised to accept redundancy (this can be subtle), or feel that in any other way your position at Sussex is being undermined by the behaviour of others you should keep notes of incidents and seek assistance from your union at the earliest opportunity. Details of the University policy are held on the HR website (pdf)
When will the redundancies happen?
Nothing will happen immediately. We are at the beginning of a negotiating period which is scheduled to end in March. Management proposals must be approved by the Council of the University and the date scheduled for that is 12th March 2010. Management has stated that no redundancies will occur before July 31st 2010. The trade unions will be using this period to ensure that a viable and adequate voluntary scheme is put in place, and that attacks on terms and conditions of some staff groups are withdrawn.
I have been told I will definitely lose my job
If you have been told that you will definitely be made redundant at the end of the process, then you have been wrongly informed. No firm decisions can be made before the end of the consultation period. If you are in this position contact your union representative as it may be that your manager has pre-empted the required process.
What if I am wrongly identified in redundancy pool?
In the first instance you need to put together a dossier of your functions over the last three years (see also the end of this section) that clearly demonstrates you have been wrongly identified. You should also contact the branch office as you will need our support to submit information into the formal process. If there are a number of known instances of this in your department, please collate this information and pass it to the UCU office (Arts B119).
Update: 9/1/2010 We now have further clarification of the process for submitting claims of incorrect inclusion in a redundancy pool.
Claims of wrong inclusion in a pool for staff at risk of redundancy will be raised centrally with Human Resources; this may be by one of the following routes:
- via the local Personnel Officer (where the individual sees them direct) - in such cases, the Personnel Officer knows to let the Director of HR (Jane Summerville) know of the issue;
- via the Head of School (where the individual raises the matter with them direct) - in such cases, Heads of School know to let HR (locally and centrally) know of the issue being raised;
- via the individual's union representative, who will normally inform the local Personnel Officer and from them to the Director of HR.
All such issues raised are being/will be logged centrally in HR, considered and a response made, following discussion with relevant members of management.
UCU would encourage members to submit through UCU, and where possible to hold a preliminary meeting with the relevant manager (with UCU in attendance). There are no specific deadlines, but we would encourage colleagues to move sooner rather than later. None of the above compromises the right of appeal should a redundancy decision ultimately be made.
In the opening of this section we recommend listing your role/activities for the past 3 years. This advice was based on early casework, which suggested that it was this information that managers were themselves using to identify staff. In some cases colleagues may also usefully include information going further back in their career; much depends on individual circumstances and the precise formulation of the 'proposal' outline. Please contact the UCU office for individual support in preparing information.
Sample templates:
Request for information
Submission template
I'm suffering from stress
The immense uncertainty can be very stressful. The University has a legal obligation of care, and anyone suffering stress as a result of the current situation should seek advice. Union officers will be able to assist in accessing the Occupational Health service on campus or the Welfare Officer. Link to the University Stress Management Policy
Redeployment
In some cases staff may be offered redeployment. This will usually be at an equivalent or lower grade. We are seeking assurances on a period of pay protection for any lower-grade redeployments. We are also seeking to open up the option of voluntary severance more widely and to ensure that proper skills-mapping is carried out to enable those at risk of redundancy to have the best possible opportunity for redeployment. We believe that if management act in good faith redundancies can be avoided.
How can I help?
We can all do something to help the campaign. Departments can lobby professional and academic societies for support, publicise the risks to provision, and explain to students the risks to their future if staffing levels are further cut. Write to your local MP. The local union branches are developing resources to assist in this process.
All local plans need to be checked, scrutinized, analyzed. Things to look for include:
- Is the student number information correct?
- Are international student targets viable? Too high? Too low?
- Is the research income correct?
- Will there be be adequate technical support left to maintain the department's research profile?
- Are the future plans viable?
- What are the risks to health and safety if the plans are carried out?
- What options haven't been considered? Third-stream income? CPD courses? Consultancy?
Communication
We will be using this site and the individual trade union sites to provide further information. UCU has also established a Twitter feed.
Getting Help
We expect a lot of requests for assistance over the next few months. Each Union will have slightly different ways of managing things and we will publish further guidance here as soon as we can. As a general rule though it will help if you use email to make contact if possible and put the nature of the enquiry in the subject line (eg, redundancy advice; or terms and conditions; or bullying etc). Also in the email outline the basic questions you have and provide basic information about your job/department.
Departmental Support (UCU)
- Departmental Reps - a current list of UCU departmental reps is available on the Sussex UCU website.
Union Membership
A successful campaign requires a unified approach and the three campus trade unions are working closely together to coordinate action and support our members.
- We are working to save all jobs at the University of Sussex, but we can only provide direct support to our own members. If you are not a union member you should join now.
- UCU represents academic and academic-related staff. Join UCU here
- UNITE represents technical staff and Estates Maintenance. Join UNITE here
- UNISON represents professional, administrative and operational staff. Join UNISON here
And for completeness, the University has published information, including details of the consultation process and FAQs, over here. Just watch for the spin.
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