1. The document provides guidance on restructuring staff to improve efficiency in schools facing budget cuts. It outlines the need to avoid redundancies and tips for conducting a fair restructuring process. 2. A step-by-step guide is given for the restructuring timeline, including notifying unions, consultation periods, and selection criteria. Redundancy payments and supporting displaced staff are also addressed. 3. Key recommendations include designing the new structure to keep the best staff, offering voluntary redundancy to reduce compulsory layoffs, and ensuring proper notice periods are followed to make redundancies legal.

1. Restructures
Tom Wallace - HR Consultant
Tips on improving efficiency and effectiveness of your
staffing structure and balancing the books
#BJHR15
HR and employment conference for
school leaders 2015

2. Introduction
• identifying the need for a restructure
• avoiding redundancies/reducing the number of redundancies
• a step by step guide to a restructure
• top tips and pitfalls to avoid
• questions.

3. Tough times ahead
Statement from the Schools’ Minister, Lord Nash:
“Education in schools has operated in a relatively benign
financial climate for a long time. But a new generation of
school leaders is going to have to emerge to cut their cloth to
drive efficiencies. This is one of the biggest challenges facing
the school system: schools will increasingly have to do more
with the same money.”

4. The need for a restructure
- Rising costs and shrinking budgets:
1. Reduction in funding
2. Increase in employer contribution to the TPS and LGPS
3. The abolition of the NI defined benefit contracting out –
April 2016
4. Top heavy staffing structures.

5. The need for a restructure
- Staffing structure/Drive for improvement:
1. Change to National Curriculum/Code of Practice – e.g. SEN
2. Clearer lines of accountability – crucial for PRP and in
removing any barriers for improvement.

6. Top tip
Pay protection: Normally three years for teachers and one year
for support staff:
• savings will not be made for at least 1-3 years.
• think ahead and give yourself plenty of time.

7. Avoiding/minimising redundancies
• ending fixed term contracts
• all vacancies being carefully considered and only filled if it
could be proved that to not do so would be to the detriment
of students
• expense reduction analysts
• reviewing/renegotiating supplier contracts – ICT etc.
• changing hours/FT to TTO.

8. A step by step guide to a restructure

9. Timeframe
• contractual notice periods
‐ teachers – October, February and May
‐ support staff – no specified dates.
• if restructure involves teachers must work back from the
above notice dates and ensure dismissal meetings happen in
time
• don’t forget half term – often lose a working week at the
end of October, February and May.

10. Timeframe
Action Date
Trade union officials notified w/c 5 January 2015
Formal collective consultation meeting 12 January 2015
Announcements to staff w/c 12 January 2015
Individual consultation meetings w/c 19 January 2015
Consultation ends 27 February 2015
Selection process begins 9 March 2015
Outcome of selection process communicated 17 April 2015
Formal dismissal meetings w/c 5 May 2015
Appeals (if applicable) June 2015
Outcome of appeals (if applicable) June 2015
Termination date 31 August 2015

11. Top tip
Timings:
• don’t forget relevant notice for dismissal hearings –
normally five working days – can be up to ten
• where possible don’t give exact dates – week
commencing is a safer option.

12. The business case
• this is the document which summarises the case for the
restructure and who and how staff are affected
• must go to unions
• staff also receive a copy
• begin drafting once timings have been internally agreed and
before mentioning restructure to unions.

13. The business case
• Contents:
‐ introduction, background and rationale for changes
‐ proposal and numbers and type of staff affected
‐ consultation
‐ avoiding redundancy
‐ selection criteria – interview or scoring matrix
‐ voluntary redundancy
‐ timescales
‐ redundancy payments
‐ support for displaced staff.

14. The business case
Introduction, background and rationale for changes:
• why is there a need for the restructure (Financial/Structural/Drive
for Improvement).
• include financial information (not full budgets) but sufficient
detail:
This means that compared to the 2014/15 academic year the school is facing
a total challenge through reduced income and increased expenditure of
£302k in 2015/16 plus a further £88k in 2016/17.

15. The business case
Proposal and numbers and type of staff affected
Direct Match - If the new job description is considered very similar to the old
job then it will be deemed to be a direct match. As a result the post will not be
opened up for applications.
Ring-fencing - Ring-fencing will apply where the essential requirements of the
new and old job do not match but where there are some similarities in terms of
area of expertise, job content and grade. Such posts will be reserved for re-
deployees within eligible groups without wider advertisement. These posts will
be held to constitute suitable alternative employment. The selection methods
will establish whether a re-deployee is suitable for the vacancy/new post. There
will be no guarantee of an appointment.

16. The business case
Proposal and numbers and type of staff affected:
Ensure you have finalised new job descriptions, salary, working hours
etc. for all new posts.
Direct match/ring-fencing is based on old and new job descriptions.
Consider who you would prefer to keep and
design restructure around that.

17. The business case
Proposal and numbers and type of staff affected
Job Title Numbers Proposal New Job Title / New
Contractual Hours
Current Staff Posts at Risk
School Business
Manager
1 0 Direct Match Full time Scale PO 7
Points 50-53
Finance Officer 2 1 At risk – ring
fenced change
to hours
Term time only plus 5
days
SO1 Points 29-31

18. The business case
Proposal and numbers and type of staff affected continued:
• justification for each staff area/position:
e.g.: There is no longer the need for the same number of finance
officers. This is because of the improved efficiencies and
benefits of PS Financials – the new accounting system which has the
ability to e-mail receipts, invoices and statements as PDF files
and an improved bank reconciliation process and more efficient
reporting.
• need to demonstrate either a reduced or diminished need for the
work.

19. Top tip
• staff want to know how they are affected and what their
options are - ensure this is as clear as possible
• consider ‘bumping’ – if employee is unsuccessful in post they
are ring-fenced for can they go for another post that has
been ring-fenced for a separate employee group
• strongly advise against this.

20. Consultation
• timing – statutory or policy
• one-to-one meetings with staff, school and union rep
• have redundancy figures ready
• staff can raise very genuine points/proposals during
consultation which may alter the new structure.

21. Avoiding redundancies
Detail all steps taken to avoid/reduce redundancies –
demonstrate it is a last resort.

22. Selection criteria
How will you select for the new posts:
• interview
• scoring matrix.
Consider number of roles, internal capacity - Interviewing is the
preferred option but may not be practical with large
restructures.
Declaration of interest form if staff can apply for more than
one role.

23. Selection criteria – scoring matrix
Example scoring criteria:
Total score available = 100 points
Teachers
• student progress (40 points)
• quality of teaching (30 points)
• behaviour management (10 points)
• subject and key stage experience (10 points)
• contribution to whole school life (10 points).

24. Selection criteria – scoring matrix
Example scoring criteria:
Support staff
• job skills
• job knowledge
• experience
• efficiency.
Achievement Points
Points
awarded:
Unsatisfactory 2
Satisfactory 4
Good 6
Excellent 8
Total =

25. Top tip
Consider how to keep the best staff – design interview/scoring
around this.
Best practice is to have a panel of three scorers.
Never use attendance unless two employees have scored the
same, it can then be used as a deciding factor (must exclude
maternity, paternity, disability related absences).

26. Voluntary redundancy
• during any restructure Voluntary Redundancies (VR) should
be offered as this will reduce the number of compulsory
redundancies
• must state they will be accepted on an individual and case
by case basis ensuring the needs of the school and pupils are
met
• can incentivise by paying in lieu of notice.

27. Top tip
• ask for VR ‘declaration of interest forms’ to be completed
during the consultation period
• number of accepted VR requests will impact on other areas –
may improve chances of current staff/result in them being
direct matches
• this will allow you the chance to meet with these staff to
update them – without having to extend the consultation
period and timeframe.

28. Timeframe
• see slides 9 and 10
• consultation period – normally Redundancy Policies mirror
the statutory timeframe but some state a minimum of 30
days even if less than 20 employees are at risk.

29. Redundancy payments
• statutory or enhanced – check policy and previous
precedents
• ensure calculations have been run for all at risk staff
• support staff in the LGPS who are over 55 and under 60 are
entitled to have their pension ‘topped’ up – big additional
cost
• ensure continuous service is correct.

30. Support for displaced staff
• suitable alternative roles in other academies if trust
• paid time off for interviews
• support with interview tips/c.v.
• be aware some staff (in particular support staff) may not
have applied for a job in a number of years.

31. The Modification Order
• staff either receive redundancy pay and lose continuous
service or keep continuous service and pay bac redundancy
pay
• if staff are made redundant with effect from 31 August they
cannot start a new job in a school (or body covered by the
Modification Order) until 1 September, unless they pay pack
their redundancy pay
• there are ways around this!

32. Next steps?
• business case has been finalised – send to unions for
comments – 1-2 weeks for comments
• invite unions to staff announcement
• consider timing of announcement to staff and how they are
affected
• if staff are not direct matches and no ring-fenced positions –
consider telling them first, rather than in a large meeting.

33. • HR1 Form – must be completed if 20 or more staff are at risk
– if you miss their notice periods you cannot make any
redundancies
• academies – Check your Funding Agreement (normally Clause
65) – may be a clause that the EFA will fund some of the
redundancy costs
• review policy – does it need amending before any
restructures?

34. Questions for the audience
1 Are you planning a restructure this
academic year?
2 And, if so, how well equipped do you
feel to manage this?

35. www.education-advisors.com

36. Talk to us…
Tom Wallace | 020 7871 8513
tom.wallace@brownejacobson.com
Please note
The information contained in these notes is based on the position at October
2015. It does, of course, only represent a summary of the subject matter
covered and is not intended to be a substitute for detailed advice. If you
would like to discuss any of the matters covered in further detail, our team
would be happy to do so.
© Browne Jacobson LLP 2014. Browne Jacobson LLP is a limited liability
partnership.