PSA: O'Farrell's "Excess Employees"

The O’Farrell Government has issued a new Managing Excess Employees policy which dumps Labor’s long held position of no forced redundancies.

The PSA was not consulted about the change and is vigorously opposing the move.

The Government has offered “incentivised” (not a word) voluntary redundancy to those staff deemed to be excess as of 22 June 2011.

Upon receipt of an offer, those employees have two weeks to:

• accept the offer and leave the public sector within a further two weeks or;
• decline the offer and fall under the terms of the new policy which comes into effect from 1 August.

Those employees then enter into a three month retention period for possible redeployment.

If they are not redeployed at the end of that period the employee will be forcibly retrenched and given a package that is the equivalent of the minimum redundancy payments applicable in the private sector - well below the package for voluntary redundancy.

If the excess employee fails to notify their employer which option they wish to choose within the two week offer period they will be deemed to have declined voluntary redundancy and elected to pursue redeployment.

The PSA’s immediate concern - apart from the broader implications of the Government dumping no forced redundancies - is that some employees are receiving a letter of offer who technically may not yet be excess or unusual circumstances may apply. (For example, employees from the Department of Health sent to the Federal system who have a two year period before they have to make a decision on their employment.)

The PSA believes that only genuinely ‘excess’ employees should have received a letter.

The PSA has informally taken up the issue with the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) who agree that mistakes may have been made.