1 / 6

Redundancies in a Cold Climate – and what ETHICS?

Redundancies in a Cold Climate – and what ETHICS?. Presented by Vinod Kumar Jean Li Kelvin Ng. Key Points. Under UK’s two-tier economy, employees in manufacturing get the short end of the stick compared to service sector come redundancy (eg Reed)

gefjun
Download Presentation

Redundancies in a Cold Climate – and what ETHICS?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Redundancies in a Cold Climate – and what ETHICS? Presented by Vinod Kumar Jean Li Kelvin Ng

  2. Key Points • Under UK’s two-tier economy, employees in manufacturing get the short end of the stick compared to service sector come redundancy (eg Reed) • Many companies, especially global firms, react to over capacity in downturns by cutting jobs – mostly through voluntary redundancies (Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs) • EU countries have restrictions on withdrawing manufacturing facilities, UK doesn’t (Marks & Spencer) • Increasingly favourable environment for legal action when made redundant

  3. HR Practices in Downturns UNETHICAL ETHICAL Enforced redundancy Retraining/reskilling for other roles Voluntary redundancy Redundancy disregarding procedures and law Explore other options – redundancy as a last resort Unlawful dismissal Renegotiate terms and conditions to avoid redundancy

  4. Over-Capacity in Downturns • People strategy needs to be CONGRUENT with business strategy, organisational culture and values • People strategy is largely driven by budgets and bottom line • Take a “real options” view before deciding on appropriate strategy

  5. What to do? Underlying belief – It’s harder to recruit good staff than to retain them • Redundancy as the last resort – explore other options eg • Pay cuts • Compulsory leave • Half pay, and look for other employment temporarily • If redundancy is the last resort, handle the process with dignity and respect • Deciding who to let go comes down to market value of the person to the firm • Differential treatment between manufacturing and service sector is inevitable

  6. Redundancy, particularly voluntary redundancy has been used widely in recent times • Ethical issues arise not because of redundancy itself, but HOW it is implemented • Dignity and respect are the key • Communication, transparency of process and perceived fairness are critical in parting with employees on good terms

More Related