Dorset proposes requiring employees to take unpaid leave for 12 days
Dorset County Council is proposing to require employees to take 12 days of unpaid leave as part of a radical shake-up of their terms and conditions.
The requirement to take unpaid leave will be limited to 2012 and 2013, with a review being held in December 2013 that will consider an extension depending on the council’s financial position.
The net effect is a salary reduction of 4.6% across the board, but the move will be accompanied by a reduction in working hours.
The proposals come as the local authority wrestles with the need to save £54.9m by 2013/14. Dorset said it had to find savings of £31.1m in its budget for 2011/12, an increase of £4m on the expected £27.1m.
The council said it hoped that a significant reduction in its workforce would be achieved “so far as possible” through freezing vacancies and voluntary redundancies. It admitted that there would need to be some compulsory redundancies.
Dorset’s staffing committee is to formally consult trades unions on a number of changes to staff terms and conditions in addition to the unpaid leave plan. Expected to save £4.4m a year from January 2012, these include:
- A reduction in payments made for unsocial hours work, such as payments for overtime, night, weekend, bank holiday, and standby working. The consultation will address a number of potential options
- Withdrawal of the authority’s subsidised lease car scheme from 1 January 2012
- A reduction in the period of salary protection from three years to one year in cases of redeployment to a lower paid job from 1 January 2012 onwards.
The consultation period will begin on 24 January 2011 and will end on 26 April 2011. The council said it would analyse any equalities issues carefully.
Dorset’s member for corporate resources, Spencer Flower, said: “We see this as a constructive way forward in dealing with our financial challenges and in doing so preserving jobs and services. It is crucial that we seek to save as much as possible in ways that protect jobs and the valuable services we provide for the people of Dorset.
“The public quite rightly expect us to do all we can to protect frontline services, and these proposals are part of that. We will of course be talking in detail with staff and trades unions about the plans before any final decisions are made.”
Chief executive David Jenkins acknowledged it was a difficult and anxious time for staff.
He said: “Savings of this level are unprecedented and will inevitably lead to the council having to manage with fewer people. By reviewing the terms and conditions of employees, we hope to be able to protect services and reduce the number of further redundancies required.”