The election of a Coalition government will have significant consequences for the Commonwealth Public Service.
The Coalition has indicated that it can accumulate approximately $5.2 billion in savings by shedding 12,000 jobs in the public sector. This estimate is based on a reduction of 6,000 positions by June 2014 and a further 6,000 positions by September 2015.
The Prime Minister elect has stated publicly that the reduction in the size in the public service will come from natural attrition and a "freeze" on new public sector jobs. The Community and Public Sector Union has however argued that large scale redundancies are inevitable if the reduction is to be achieved1.
The Coalition has indicated that the freeze in public sector employment would apply to a large number of agencies outside of the main departments. Agencies that may be affected by the freeze include the AFP, Customs, Future Fund, Austrade, Australian Research Council, National Water Commission, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, ASIC, ATO and Productivity Commission2.
With significant reductions in public sector employment in recent years Departments and Agencies will need to consider the implications of further staff reductions from a legal risk management and organisational health perspective.
Managing change and managing risk
Job uncertainty and workplace change can have significant impacts on a workplace. We know that these factors can have an impact on workplace stress, workplace bullying and performance. How well an organisation manages change will largely depend on its engagement with employees and union representatives and compliance with legal obligations.
As APS Departments and Agencies prepare for more workplace change some key industrial and legal considerations for planning and implementing change include:
- dealing with employee grievances when they arise in a timely and transparent way,
- compliance with enterprise agreement requirements, particularly consultation obligations,
- ensuring that if there are redundancies, they are genuine redundancies for the purposes of the Fair Work Act (FW Act) unfair dismissal provisions, and
- ensuring that selection processes for those employees affected by change do not give rise to bullying, adverse action or discrimination claims.
We also recommend that difficult issues with employees get dealt with sooner rather than later. Public sector employers should not hold off dealing with difficult employment management issues, such as poor performance or illness unless there are good reasons to do so. There is significant legal authority making it clear that an employer can effectively manage difficult workplace issues so long as there are sound and genuine processes in place: Sluggettv Commonwealth of Australia [2011] FMCA 609; Hodkinson v The Commonwealth [2011] FMCA 171 (31 March 2011).
Communication key for managing risk
As a risk management strategy, as well as supporting the health of the workplace, we recommend that sound decision-making and communication are a focus for dealing with workplace change.
It is important that Departments and Agencies form clearly articulated grounds for making changes that impact on employees. These grounds must not be for reasons that include dissatisfaction with employees' workplace rights (including the right to make complaints; employees' entitlements and responsibilities under industrial instruments and laws; or employees 'rights of participation in proceedings); employees' actual involvement, or otherwise, in industrial activities; or a prohibited (discriminatory) reason.
In our experience, consultation that includes one on one discussion about the possible impacts of change on employees, as well as an opportunity to receive feedback from impacted employees, can make a significant difference to how successfully a change process is implemented and whether claims or grievances are made.
Key take-away: It is critical that public sector employers have effective strategies in place to manage the legal risks of workplace change including the management of difficult employment situations.
Footnotes
1http://www.cpsu.org.au/campaigns/news/31876.html
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