Managers/Administrators

At the point where an employee is 3 months from their end date* and no alternative has been confirmed, HR automatically issue notice of termination (as per the contract of employment).

In cases where no alternative outcome has been secured, consultation should continue (as outlined above) until the employee’s end-date.

During the notice period itself, employee’s retain a right of appeal against the ending of their contract. This is outlined to them in their notification from HR. Managers may need to participate in appeals processes as necessary.

*3 months is the typical notice period. In some cases, only 1 months’ notice will be issued however the same principles of the process apply.

The flagging of staff at this point (in the monthly data) is intended as a pre-emptive step to ensure that HR do not send notice of termination letters to staff who should not be receiving one (e.g. because further funding has been secured). It is intended as a prompt for Managers to advise HR of any changes which mean that notice should not be issued by HR.

Relevant managers should note that the large majority of staff 4 months from their end-date will be written to by HR in approximately 1 months’ time (i.e. 3 months from their end date, as per the requirements in a typical contract) to give notice that their employment will end on the noted end-date. This action will progress unless HR are notified of any alternative outcome (e.g. additional funding being secured) therefore it is important that managers continue to consult as per the previous stage and notify HR via a Manager Request in the HR Core System if the outcome is to be any different.

Note – The above is not applicable in every single case and managers should check specific ‘notice date’ details within the monthly data and act accordingly within the principles of the above.

Those who receive notification of staff who are 6 - 5 months from their end dates should:

• Be aware that an automated message will have been sent to the noted employees at the 6-month point to inform them that a period of consultation has now begun
• Commence proper consultation with the noted employees (if not already done so), referring to Guidance – Carrying out Individual Consultation as required (in conjunction with the relevant PI/Budget Holder or line manager)
• Note that the consultation period should continue until an extension is confirmed, an alternative option is secured or the employee reaches the end of their contract (i.e. consultation should continue once the employee has been issued notice as per the section below)
• Where no extension is likely, consider the scope for securing employment through other channels such as:
  • Encouraging the use of the University’s vacancies pages (through which job alerts can be created)
  • Eligible staff ‘at risk’ are automatically added to the University’s Redeployment Register and given a priority interview where they match the grade and demonstrate the potential to meet the essential criteria for any role to which they apply
  • Opportunities known to the PI/Budget Holder or line manager within their own specialist areas or through connections/links to other units or institutions

• Take brief notes or records of the consultation meetings for future reference
• Follow any HR advice given in situations where a wider redundancy pool was identified at the 10 – 7 month point (above).

Those managing the process may find the following helpful at this stage:

Template Letter - Invite to Individual Consultation Meeting

Checklist - Individual Consultation Meeting (Contract-End Process)

Those who receive notification of staff who are between 10 and 7 months from their end-date should:

• Consider, in conjunction with relevant others (e.g. PI/Budget Holder), whether the role in question is likely to continue (or not):

If yes, consider:

• On which basis? (e.g. additional funding will be secured)
• The degree of confidence behind the expectation
• Whether or not it is possible to formally confirm the extension at this stage (via a Manager Request)

• If no, consider:
  • What are the alternatives? (e.g. redeployment to another role)
  • Whether other staff perform the same, similar or interchangeable work and if so, seek advice from the relevant local HR Team on whether or not the creation of a redundancy pool may be appropriate

• Where possible, communicate any known information to the relevant employee(s) as early in the process as possible, whilst managing expectations appropriately
• Give particular consideration to how staff with longer service will be consulted
• Plan the forthcoming consultation process accordingly depending on the circumstances of each case to ensure that consultation happens in good time ahead of HR issuing formal notification of the contract ending (usually 3 months from the end date)