- Redundancies and job re-evaluations coming in new round of cost-cutting
- Scrutiny Panel told that States moving into next phase of public-sector reform
- UIltimate aim for most departments to fit into one building the size of Cyril Le Marquand House
STATES workers are likely to face another round of redundancies, changes to terms and conditions and a re-evaluation of job roles over the next three years as the States moves into the next phase of public-sector reform, a Scrutiny Panel heard on Monday.
Answering questions at a Public Accounts Committee hearing, States chief executive officer John Richardson refused to estimate how many job losses would be required, but said the ultimate aim was to reduce the workforce sufficiently so that most departments would fit into one building the size of Cyril Le Marquand House.
Committee chairman Deputy Andrew Lewis: ‘Is there a vision statement? If there is, what is it?’
Committee member Deputy Judy Martin: ‘Will we see a reduction in costs? Why have you gone through all this if there is not going to be a reduction in costs?’
Earlier this month voluntary redundancy offers were sent out to over 7,000 States employees as part of a plan to cut £60 million off the payroll.
Mr Richardson said that a lot of work had been done aligning jobs to new terms and conditions, as well as rewriting the voluntary redundancy programme.
Human resources director Richard Stevens, who was also questioned, said that new job descriptions had now been compiled for over 80% of States employees, with 70% of policies on terms and conditions also rewritten.
Mr Stevens said that having gained an understanding of the complexity of the rules and ‘reward framework’ applying to over 4,000 different roles, the next stage would be to validate the results and negotiate the ‘reward structure’.
Asked to give more detail about the management of the project, Mr Richardson said: ‘This is very sensitive – it affects a lot of staff, a lot of grades will be affected. I can’t go into it in public – there has not been any discussions with the unions yet.’
Earlier, Public Accounts Committee chairman Andrew Lewis asked what had been achieved so far in terms of public sector reform and what the money had been spent on.
The hearing had been prompted by responses to a request submitted by the JEP under the Freedom of Information legislation earlier this year, which revealed that, by the end of January, £6 million had already been spent of a budget totalling £16.1 million to the end of 2015.
Mr Richardson said that the process had started back in 2012 and overlapped with the previous attempt to cut States spending – the Comprehensive Spending Review. He said that progress was mainly on track – apart from the e-government project to move more States business online which had fallen five months behind over a delay in the tendering process – with £355,000 shaved off the Health budget and 6,430 hours saved, another 700 staff hours saved at Social Security.
‘The service redesign is where the savings will be made,’ he said.
‘2012 to 2015 has been about getting the organisation into the right state for change; 2016 to 2018 will be about making that change. If you do not get the culture right and start taking people with you, if you’ve got the workforce we have got, it will be very difficult to make things stick. We have substantial savings to achieve, but we have had good results already.
‘One of the positives is that for the first time ever all the major unions are all sitting around one table. In the past we had to negotiate with all of them. It would have taken months.
‘I do not see the costs going down – a lot of the costs are still to come,’ he added.
Voluntary redundancy, severance and early retirement is open to all permanent States of Jersey employees across all pay groups who have a minimum of two years’ continuous service.
The schemes are not available to you if you:
- are within five years of your normal retirement age (normally 65 or 55), unless you’re applying for voluntary severance
- have already been served with your notice of termination of employment, eg a dismissal
- have already tendered your resignation
- have notified in writing of your intention to retire
- are undergoing final formal employment proceedings for managing attendance, capability or disciplinary action
- are on a zero hours agreement
- work for the States of Jersey through a contract for services on an interim, locum, self-employed, or agency basis
- are a volunteer or on an honorary contract where there is no implied contract of employment
Voluntary early retirement isn’t available on some pension schemes. If you make an application, you’ll be told if you’re eligible.
