Prospect responds to new guidance on government exits and redundancies

Prospect has welcomed new Cabinet Office guidance on civil service exits and redundancies, while urging departments to fully consider the impact on services and remaining staff.

The report’s section on “Challenges for Government” highlights the need for careful planning and strong union consultation, with a recommended framework.

The document also confirms details of Mutually Agreed Exits (MAEs), a non-bulk exit payment under Civil Service Compensation Scheme voluntary terms, now in a “test and learn” phase. Prospect has attended recent meetings on MAEs and will continue to gather feedback.

Steve Thomas, Prospect’s Deputy General Secretary, said:

“Prospect has always been clear that blunt reductions in civil service numbers must be avoided, and that arbitrary headcount reductions are no substitute for proper evidence about the impact of cuts, so we welcome the emphasis on evidence-gathering this this report.

“We have engaged thoroughly with the Cabinet Office and across government on these issues and have always argued that where job losses do occur, they need to be as part of a proper process with serious consultation with trade unions early in the process so that fair and transparent redundancy schemes can be designed and implemented.

“The cost of getting this wrong is severe, for example it is essential that the civil service does not end up losing scare and valuable specialist skills in areas like science and technology through scattergun redundancy processes. In fact more needs to be done to retain these skilled workers that the civil service will rely on even more in the future, including through enhanced pay flexibility.”