1. Policy statement

1.1 The University recognises the contribution of all staff to delivering its aim of providing outstanding teaching, research and supporting services. It is committed to maintaining staff in employment where this is consistent with its overall aims and statutory obligations and this policy outlines the University’s approach to supporting individuals who are subject to redeployment.

2. Scope

2.1 The policy applies to all staff employed by the University.

2.2 With the exception of section 4.5 below, the provisions of this policy apply only to staff in the circumstances detailed in section 3 below and not as a result of individual requests.

3. Aim

3.1 The policy aims to ensure that the University meets its moral and legal obligations to maintain staff in employment in the following circumstances:

• When, by reason of disability and/or other medical reason, the individual is no longer able to continue in his/her current role, despite consideration of reasonable adjustments to that role.
• Where, as a result of organisational restructuring, the individual’s job no longer exists in its current format.
• When a potential redundancy situation arises for reasons other than organisational restructuring.

3.2 It aims to ensure that all staff subject to redeployment are treated in a fair and consistent manner and in accordance with relevant employment legislation*.

*Employment legislation may require that specific categories of staff are considered for redeployment opportunities before consideration of other redeployment candidates.

4. Principles

4.1 Suitable alternative employment

4.1.1 Wherever possible, the University will seek to maintain individuals in employment in work of a broadly comparable nature. The following criteria will be used to determine the suitability of alternative employment:-

• The nature of the work
• The qualifications, skills and experience required to carry out the work
• The aptitude or capability of the individual to undertake the work
• Working arrangements i.e. hours of work, shift arrangements etc.
• Level of responsibility relative to previous role
• Grade and pay
• Location

4.1.2 Redeployment opportunities will usually be restricted to posts at the same grade, although posts at a lower grade will be sought at the request of the individual. Pay protection will not be provided in the event of an individual voluntarily accepting a post at a lower grade.

4.1.3 The University will not support requests for redeployment to a higher graded post, except where required to do so as a reasonable adjustment in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. In all other cases the provisions of section 4.2 below will not apply to individuals who wish to be considered for redeployment to a post at a higher grade. Individuals subject to redeployment may, however, submit applications for higher graded posts in the normal way.

4.1.4 There is additional consideration against redundancy during pregnancy and on return to work from maternity leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave. This applies:

for pregnant employees from the point they inform the University that they are pregnant

for employees returning from maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave, until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth, date of the child's birth, or date of the adoption placement.

in the event of a miscarriage, the period extends until two weeks after the end of the pregnancy.

During the protected period, these employees will be offered suitable alternative employment before other employees affected by redundancy and whom do not fall into these categories.

4.2 Redeployment procedure

4.2.1 Staff subject to redeployment will be considered for vacancies before other internal or external applicants.

4.2.2 Heads of Department will be encouraged to identify suitable opportunities for redeployment for individuals within their own department. In such cases, individuals may be assimilated to a new role where it is deemed to be suitable alternative employment in line with the criteria above and there is no difference in the grading of the post. Such opportunities should, however, be publicised to all staff subject to redeployment within the Department and a structured assessment process undertaken where more than one individual wishes to be considered for the position.

4.2.3 If no suitable opportunities for assimilation exist within the department, or an individual wishes to be considered for alternative roles across the University, he/she will be required to register to receive the redeployment e-bulletin.

4.2.4 The HR department will issue details of forthcoming vacancies on a regular basis to staff registered for redeployment via the redeployment email group. Individuals subject to redeployment will be required to advise the HR department, within 5 days of receipt of the relevant e-bulletin, if they wish to be considered for any of the vacancies included on it. They will also be required to submit a CV/application form for consideration by the recruiting manager. The HR department will determine their eligibility for consideration for the vacant post in accordance with the criteria outlined above (see paragraph 4.1.1). If the post is deemed to be suitable alternative employment, the CV/application form will be forwarded to the recruiting manager who will assess the redeployment candidate against the relevant criteria for the post.

4.2.5 Where an individual meets the essential criteria for the post, she/he will be given prior consideration for the post, i.e. will be interviewed in advance of other internal or external candidates as long as the timescales detailed above are met by the redeployee. In order to prevent any undue delay in the recruitment process, it is anticipated that this interview will take place in the week following application and should, in any event, take place within a reasonable timescale.

4.2.6 If, following the recruitment exercise, the individual meets the essential criteria for the role, s/he will be appointed to the post before consideration of any other candidates. If the individual does not meet the requirements for the role, the recruiting manager will be responsible for providing feedback to the individual to enable him/her to analyse his/her own competencies and present him/herself effectively in future interviews.

4.2.7 If more than one individual seeking redeployment expresses an interest in a particular post, a competitive selection process will be undertaken in accordance with the University’s recruitment policy.

4.3 Redundancy situations

4.3.1 In cases of redundancy, the provisions of the redeployment policy will apply from the point at which an individual’s post is deemed to be ‘at risk’. Eligibility for redeployment will cease on expiry of a fixed-term contract or the expiry of notice issued in relation to redundancy or ill-health. Individual employees should therefore put themselves forward for consideration for any suitable vacancies prior to expiry of their notice period.

4.3.2 In cases of redundancy, individuals have a statutory right to a trial period of four weeks in any suitable alternative employment to which they are appointed by the University. If, during this period, the employee or University concludes that the alternative job is not suitable, the individual will remain eligible for a redundancy payment. If, however, the employee unreasonably terminates the contract, he/she will not be entitled to a redundancy payment. Eligibility to a redundancy payment may also be lost if an individual unreasonably refuses an offer of suitable alternative employment. The trial period of four weeks may be extended by written agreement with both parties.

4.3.3 If an employee is re-deployed to a fixed-term post, which is not extended or renewed at the end of the fixed-term, the University will make a redundancy payment to the employee, in accordance with the Redundancy Policy, on the basis of total continuous service with the University.

4.4 Support

4.4.1 Wherever practicable and reasonable, the University will consider the possibility of providing training and development or other forms of support to help employees to adjust to change and prepare themselves effectively for suitable alternative jobs within or outside the organisation. Many staff subject to redeployment will already have a personal and career development plan (PDCP). Managers and individuals should use the PDCP process for short-term development planning to support redeployment preparation.

4.5 Requests for redeployment

4.5.1 It is recognised that there may be occasions when individuals wish to seek redeployment to an alternative role within the University. While there is no requirement for the University to support such requests, Departments may wish to give sympathetic consideration to redeployment in the following circumstances:

• Where a request for flexible working, made in accordance with statutory provisions, cannot be accommodated within the current role.
• At the request of an individual who wishes to reduce his/her level of responsibility.
• In accordance with a recommendation made following formal action under the guidelines for dealing with poor performance.
• In accordance with a recommendation made following formal action under the Code of Practice on Harassment.
• Where the opportunity for the acquisition of new skills and experience is part of a personal development plan

4.5.2 In such cases Departments would usually be expected to manage the redeployment process internally and the individual would not have recourse to the provisions of section 4.2 above.

4.5.3 Exceptionally the University may support a request for redeployment in other circumstances where it is just and equitable to do so. The procedure to be followed in such cases will depend upon the circumstances of the case.

5. Responsibilities

Role	Responsible for
Individuals subject to redeployment	Registering to join the redeployment email group Putting themselves forward for suitable vacancies Considering reasonable changes in working arrangements, pay and responsibilities Preparing for interviews Not unreasonably turning down an offer of suitable alternative employment
Heads of Department	Providing support to individuals subject to redeployment Seeking appropriate opportunities to assimilate individuals subject to redeployment to alternative posts within the department Accepting a corporate responsibility for University staff by responding positively to requests to consider staff subject to redeployment
Recruiting Managers	Shortlisting redeployment candidates against the essential criteria for the post Arranging to interview redeployment candidates at the earliest opportunity Assessing candidates against the essential requirements for the post as detailed in the job description and person specification Providing feedback when redeployment candidates do not meet the essential criteria for the role Determining suitability during a trial period
HR Department	Advising staff on the redeployment process, as appropriate Maintaining a register of staff subject to redeployment Notifying redeployment candidates of forthcoming vacancies Determining the eligibility of redeployment candidates for specific posts Liaising with the recruiting manager to ensure prior consideration for vacant posts

6. Approval

• Approach approved in principle by VCAG 24 April 2007.
• Policy approved by HR Policy Committee 27 June 2007.

Employment legislation may require that specific categories of staff are considered for redeployment opportunities before consideration of other redeployment candidates.

In exceptional circumstances, individuals may be appointed to a post with the University without undergoing a competitive selection exercise. In such cases the provisions of section 4.2 may not apply.

In circumstances where individuals are unable to comply with this timeframe due to ill-health, prior consideration may still be given subject to the merits of the case.

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• Last reviewed and updated: 1 September 2024