These are tough times – tough choices have to be made, apparently. One of the (no doubt) tough choices that Orkney Islands Council management has made in recent weeks is that my post (IT Development Manager in the Information Services team within Corporate Services) is “at risk of redundancy”. It is not clear yet what the eventual outcome for me will be, but (having discussed the situation with my union representative last Wednesday) I have a formal meeting with my line manager and a representative from Personnel this afternoon to “discuss the options available to [me] including retirement, redundancy and redeployment”.
I am not alone: the Council is aiming to reduce its staff numbers by approximately 80 full-time-equivalent staff during the next financial year. Strict vacancy management since the summer has led to a situation where approximately half of these posts are already vacant, leaving letters like mine to go to about 40 full-time-equivalent staff. These letters went out on Thursday or Friday, 17 or 18 February, and were received in the post on Friday or Saturday (I was fortunate in that my line manager decided to explain the situation, and hand me my letter in person, on the morning of Friday 18 February).
It is not clear how final the decisions on which posts are to redundant are, as the statutory consultation period with the unions expires around 12 March. It seems very unlikely, though, that the final decision will be significantly different in respect of my post. This year's reduction in numbers will not be the last, either. With inevitable (but not yet, in Scotland, announced) budget cuts of a similar magnitude expected in each of the years 2012/13 and 2013/14, there will be a lot more anxiety and uncertainty for public sector workers for the foreseeable future.
I am hopeful that some suitable redeployment will be found for me within the Council's new slimmed-down structure. Some other people are (in some ways) in a worse position than I am: for example, those in the private sector whose employers fail, and very suddenly lose their jobs (like the AH Wilson case in Orkney last year). Also less fortunate than me are those who have short-term Council contracts ending next month. It seems that some of the “vacancies” in the 80 redundant posts are currently actually filled with temporary staff, and that temporary staff have been used to fill most vacancies (at risk of redundancy or not) since the summer, until the redundant posts have been identified. These temporary staff (who might in happier times have expected to have had their contracts extended, or to be able to apply for a similar permanent position) will either see their post disappear, or their position sacrificed to provide maximum scope for redeployment of those (like me) with non-temporary contracts in redundant posts.
I have decided to be entirely open about what is going on: that way I hope that the scope for the rumour mill to produce inaccurate stories about me might be diminished! I sent all my immediate colleagues an email on Wednesday, detailing what I think is going on, and now I am blogging about it. I am also reviewing my strengths and weaknesses, and trying to think creatively about a future inside Orkney Islands Council AND, alternatively, a future outside it. My track-record in applying for posts during the 16 years I have been with the Council is not good: 2 applications (one about 10 years ago, and one last year), and 2 occasions when NO-ONE was appointed to the position. This must just be co-incidence, mustn't it?
I'm very happy to talk about the situation if and when I meet you – and equally happy not to let this subject dominate all conversation in the coming weeks, either! If you think there is something I should be thinking about as all this unfolds, please let me know what it is.
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