Published on:
09
February 2017
The ongoing pressures and challenges facing the Council's budget were discussed by councillors today.
In order to deliver financial stability in these challenging times the Council has agreed that statutory compulsory redundancy measures can be used after alternative approaches to severance have been exhausted.
Consequential amendments to the Council's severance and redeployment policies and procedures will be made to reflect the decision.
The move comes following a targeting voluntary redundancy exercise in which there was a take up rate of just under a third of that needed to deliver planned savings within this financial year.
Council Leader Bobby McGill said: "Today's report to Council clearly states how extremely serious our financial situation is; so radical measures have had to be considered. Compulsory redundancies will only be used as a last resort once all alternatives have been explored and exhausted. Today's decision will allow us to move forward, redesigning Council services around our communities' priorities."
At the same meeting, Council also agreed to commission an external organisation to come up with options for a Council-wide redesign.
Significant savings in employee costs will be proposed as part of the review, in line with the Council's Workforce Strategy which noted the need for the Council to lose up to 350 posts over the period 2016-2019.
Councillor McGill added: "What services need to be delivered, how we deliver them and how many staff we need to do that must be looked at and it is best that someone impartial makes those recommendations. Without that direction, workforce reductions cannot be effectively targeted. We need to ensure that the Council is fit for purpose and financially sustainable going forward."