This procedure applies for employees with more than 21 months' service and/or where the reason for the non-renewal of the fixed term contract is redundancy. However, to be eligible for statutory redundancy compensation payments, employees must normally have two years' service or more at the point the contract comes to an end.
Prior to implementing any redundancies a Business Case must be submitted and approved. The Business Case will set out the reasons for the potential redundancy and identify whether there are other employees in the area carrying out the same role and/or have the same skill set. It allows HR to advise whether any other employees in the area should be included in the pool for selection for redundancy (ie the group of employees from which those who are to be made redundant will be drawn) or whether there is a "pool of one" (ie there is no one else carrying out the same or similar role, or has the same or interchangeable skills).
The Business Case must be approved by the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, HR Director and Provost for academic positions or by the Director of the Professional Services Division, HR Director and Registrar for professional services positions. To make this process easier and more efficient for all involved a Business Case pro forma has been created. Managers should complete and submit this on line form with all the requested information at least 6 weeks before the employee is due to receive notice (ie 18 weeks before their end date).
For reasons of fairness HR will aim to provide 3 months' notice for all employees on fixed term contracts that are ending, regardless of their contractual notice period. If your employee is not contractually entitled to 3 months' notice, HR can delay issuing notice, however you must contact your HR Advisor to seek agreement.
The Business Case form will be received by the HR Advisor team who will assess the information and take the appropriate next steps including advising managers whether "pooling" is required. If everything is clear and straightforward the HR Advisor team will ensure the Business Case gets all appropriate approval. If additional information or clarification is needed, the HR Advisor team will contact the manager for further details.
Managers will be informed when the Business Case has been fully approved and the redundancy process can be implemented. The next step will be completing the appropriate consultation meetings.
At least one month before the employee is due to receive notice, the manager is required to write to the employee explaining the circumstances which may result in their dismissal and inviting them to a meeting to explain why they have been selected for redundancy. The meeting is to provide them with an opportunity to ask questions about their selection for redundancy, make representations and propose alternatives to dismissal. A template letter is provided for use which includes the key points to cover.
Guidance on holding the meeting can be found in the section below.
Please note: you should not hold this meeting until your HR Advisor has confirmed that the Business Case for redundancy has been fully approved or that approval has been received to proceed pending full sign off.
After the meeting, the manager should consider all the points made by the employee and their representative before reaching their conclusion, taking advice from their HR Advisor if appropriate and should complete the Consultation Meeting pro forma PD29.
The manager make take one of the following courses of action, according to the circumstances of the case:
Following receipt of form PD29, where the decision is dismissal, HR will write to the employee normally within one week of the meeting. The letter will:
Managers should retain copies of notes of discussions and communications with the employee relating to the fixed term nature of their employment, the circumstances in which it may or not be extended, the progress of new applications for funding etc
At least one month before the employee is due to receive notice, the manager is required to write to all those employees falling within the pool for selection to explain the circumstances which may result in their dismissal and to confirm the following:
A template letter is provided for use which includes the key points to cover.
Selection may be by scoring those employees in the relevant "pool" against an agreed set of objective selection criteria or by competitive interview or other assessment appropriate to the nature of the role. Taking account of guidance of the HR representative, the nominated manager shall decide who shall be provisionally selected for redundancy.
Employees who have been provisionally selected for redundancy will be invited to attend a meeting to explain why they have been selected for redundancy and to provide them with an opportunity to ask questions about their selection for redundancy, make representations and propose alternatives to dismissal. A template letter is provided for use which includes the key points to cover.
Guidance on holding the meeting can be found in the section below.
Please note: you should not hold this meeting until your HR Advisor has confirmed that the Business Case for redundancy has been fully approved or that approval has been received to proceed pending full sign off.
After the meeting, the manager should consider all the points made by the employees and their representatives before reaching their conclusion, taking advice from their HR representative if appropriate and should complete the Consultation Meeting pro forma PD29.
Following receipt of form PD29, where the decision is dismissal, HR will write to the employee normally within one week of the meeting. The letter will:
Those employees within the relevant group of affected staff not provisionally selected for redundancy shall be advised in writing that, although not provisionally selected at this stage, that position could change as a result of meetings with, or appeals by, provisionally selected employees under this procedure. A template letter is provided for use which includes the key points to cover.
Managers should retain copies of notes of discussions and communications with the employee relating to the fixed-term nature of their employmnent, the circumstances in which it may or not be extended, the progress of new applications for funding etc
Members of staff employed on fixed term contracts will be eligible for consideration for redeployment under the University's Redeployment procedure when the University has confirmed that the appointment will not be renewed and provided they have been continuously employed by the University for at least 24 months as at the expiry date of the fixed term appointment.
In cases of redundancy, employers must offer suitable alternative work to redundant employees. If an employee unreasonably refuses the offer of suitable alternative work, they may lose their entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment. So that informed decisions about the suitability of the alternative work can be made, a trial period of four weeks must be arranged to start from the date the employee takes up the alternative work. If the employer and employee agree during the trial period that the role is not suitable alternative work, the employee will revert to being redundant and may be eligible to receive a statutory redundancy compensation payment.
The University calculates redundancy compensation in accordance with statutory limits. Guidance on the calculation of statutory redundancy compensation is included in the Government calculator.
A redundancy compensation payment will be payable on the expiry of a fixed term contract in most but not all cases where the employee has been continuously employed by the University for a minimum of two years. An employee on a one year fixed term contract may be eligible for a redundancy compensation payment if they have previous continuous employment with the University which takes them beyond two years' service by the final day of their employment.
A redundancy payment will not be paid in cases where the reason for the fixed term contract was to cover the absence of another employee - for example on study leave, maternity leave or secondment - and the reason the employment has ended is that the employee who has been absent/seconded is returning to their substantive position since, in thise case, there is not a reduction in the requirement for work. This is one of the reasons why it is important that the purpose for each fixed-term contract is clear and recorded at its commencement. This issue should also be clarified before steps are taken to terminate the fixed-term contract since this determines which procedure should be followed. Faculties/Departments and Professional Services Divisions should check with their HR Advisor in cases of doubt.
The redundancy compensation payment will be charged to the employing Faculty or Professional Services Division. Most research grants do not allow redundancy payments to be charged to the grant, but the Faculty should check this point with Research Accounting.