From April 1st, WSCC has withdrawn its outplacement service from staff needing support when the council makes them redundant.
The cut was announced in public budget papers but not discussed with UNISON. The budget saving this cut will make is £85,000 per year.
This externally-commissioned service supported staff with careers advice and job-hunting skills at a critical time in their lives when being made redundant. Redundancy is recognised to be one of life’s most stressful events, and this is compounded if you are being made redundant from a long-held job later in life. UNISON understands the value of this service, but unfortunately the council has now cancelled it.
If you are currently at risk of redundancy or working your notice of redundancy and the withdrawal of the outplacement service is impacting on you, please approach the branch. This applies to members who work in West Sussex schools.