HR Services. Employee Handbook. STAFF VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE AND EARLY RETIREMENT SCHEMES: (to apply from 1 November 2011 until further notice)

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1 HR Services Employee Handbook STAFF VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE AND EARLY RETIREMENT SCHEMES: (to apply from 1 November 2011 until further notice) INTRODUCTION Occasionally there may be changes at UEL, for example in the curriculum, through organisational restructuring or in working practices which mean that the University may find that the particular skills of a staff member are no longer required. In these circumstances UEL will follow its relevant policies, including the 'Managing Organisational Change and Redundancy Policy' and, where appropriate, will attempt to redeploy such staff to a suitable post in the University. Where redeployment is not possible, the staff member's Dean of School or Director of Service will request, via the Director of HR Services (or nominee), that the staff member be considered for a severance payment or early retirement, as appropriate, on the terms set out below. Only in exceptional circumstances would any higher severance payment or a more financially expensive package be entered into. In accordance with its duties as a Higher Education Corporation, UEL is required to ensure the proper use of its funds. Accordingly, any re-employment or consultancy arrangement entered into with an individual following termination of employment must be fair and proper in all the circumstances. A severance payment or early retirement package is intended to compensate a staff member for the loss of their employment. Only in exceptional circumstances will immediate re-employment to another role or consultancy arrangement following termination of employment be appropriate. In such circumstances a pro-rata return of severance payment may be applicable (as set out below) and the re-engagement of the member of staff must normally be approved in advance of the staff member's departure from UEL's employment by a member of the Vice-Chancellor's Group.

2 Other than in the immediate six month period after leaving UEL, a former staff member may apply for any vacancies at UEL and will be treated in the same way as any other applicant. The procedure and policy set out in this scheme (including but not limited to the amount of any severance payment or the agreement to early retirement with a pension enhancement) is strictly non-contractual. UEL reserves the right, following consultation with our trade union representatives, to amend this scheme at any time or to discontinue it in its entirety. The following guidance is designed to explain the compensation benefits available under the University of East London's Voluntary Severance and Early Retirement Schemes. When will the Schemes start and finish? Staff may apply for early departure from 1 November Applications may continue to be submitted until such time as notice is given that the scheme will close or its terms are to be varied. Who decides whether a staff member's application is successful? Normally the panel would comprise a member of the Vice-Chancellor's Group, a Dean or Director and a third member of staff at UMT level, taking into account advice from the Director of HR Services (or nominee). They will act as a Panel and decide which applications are to be approved. No severance payment or early retirement arrangement may be agreed without the approval of the Panel. The Vice Chancellor will review, on a quarterly basis, the decisions made by the selection panel. What criteria will be used to determine if a staff member's application is successful or not? When deciding whether a severance payment or early retirement package will be offered to a staff member, the Panel will consider all the relevant facts, including the following criteria: a. the net saving which will be made - viewed in the context of the costs to be incurred and any re-organisational implications; and b. whether making that saving is in the best interests of UEL's academic

3 programmes; and c. whether it is in UEL's wider overall interests, including consideration of UEL's duties as a higher education institution. SECTION ONE: VOLUNTARY SEVERENCE Who can be offered voluntary severance? It is for individual members of staff to decide whether they wish to apply for voluntary severance. No member of staff should feel that they have to apply for voluntary severance. Where they do apply and that is approved by the Panel, they will not have to accept the offer until they have signed a formal offer letter sent by HR Services. Staff should be aware, however, that should their post subsequently be declared redundant by UEL, they could be made compulsorily redundant at some time in the future, in accordance with UEL's Managing Organisational Change and Redundancy Policy. Staff who apply for voluntary severance and are not selected for the scheme would not normally be made redundant under compulsory terms for a period of 12 months from the date of their unsuccessful application (for voluntary severance). What benefits would staff receive under the voluntary severance scheme? Staff who accept voluntary severance will receive a cash payment as compensation for giving up their job and leaving their employment at UEL. The University will normally pay staff one month's pay for every year of continuous service at UEL, up to a maximum of six months' pay. How will the severance payment be calculated for voluntary severance? A number of factors may be taken into account when determining the level of severance to be paid; these include: Full-time staff: This is calculated as the full-time rate of basic pay on the last day of service, including any pensionable allowances; Part-time staff: The rules governing severance payments to staff who work part-time are set out in the paragraph (see 'working part-time') below; and

4 Years of Service. Early severance will be based on the length of current service (up to the maximum described above) and decimal years and days will be used to work out the severance payment; for example, 5 years 200 days = 5 + (200/365) = years. Current service will not include any added years that staff may buy under their respective TPS, LGPS or other pension scheme or any pension benefits that staff may have transferred from a previous job. How will fixed-term staff be treated? Staff employed on fixed-term contracts of employment will not be treated less favourably than a permanent member of staff, unless that less favourable treatment is objectively justifiable. How will part-time staff be treated? The length of service for staff employed on a part-time basis will be based on the relationship of their hours to those worked by a full-time member of staff doing the same (or broadly similar) job. Can staff apply for voluntary severance following partial retirement? Yes, but for staff who have retired and are then re-employed by UEL, their severance calculation will include only the service from their date of latest re-employment. How does any voluntary severance payment affect an individual's tax position? Under current UK tax law, the first 30,000 of a voluntary severance payment is normally tax-free. Normal tax rules will apply to payments in excess of this. If staff have any further questions concerning their tax position, they are encouraged to contact their local tax office. Can staff take early retirement as well or instead of voluntary severance? A staff member may be eligible for both early retirement and voluntary severance payment, subject to the following: he or she is a member of the TPS or LGPS, and has at least two years' qualifying

5 service at UEL* ; and is over the minimum scheme pension age (currently 55 years of age for both LGPS and TPS); and their application for early retirement is approved by the Panel. UEL accepts that voluntary severance may be offered on the grounds of business efficiency and under such circumstances a member of the LGPS who is over 55 and whose application for early retirement is accepted by the Panel would be entitled to an immediate early retirement pension from the LGPS without any actuarial reduction for early payment. The position in relation to a TPS member is different in that there is no right to an unreduced early retirement pension, but the Panel may, nonetheless, permit such an application. The consequence of approving any early retirement application is that an early retirement funding charge would be payable by UEL to the pension scheme. Other than in exceptional circumstances and save for the first two months of the operation of the scheme (see the next paragraph), a voluntary severance payment will only be granted to LGPS or TPS members by the Panel if the early retirement funding charge would be equal to or less than the voluntary severance payment, and on the basis that the balance of the voluntary severance payment is deemed to be the excess, if any, over the early retirement funding charge (see example 4 below). * Current service will not include any added pension that staff may buy under their respective TPS or LGPS pension scheme. SECTION TWO: TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH STAFF LEAVING UNDER THE EARLY RETIREMENT OR VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE SCHEMES What notice will I be given? The last day of service for all staff leaving under voluntary departure terms will normally be 28 days after the date that they have been informed that their application has been accepted. In the case of academic staff they would normally leave at the end of the semester in which their application has been approved. Where it is mutually agreeable between the Dean/Director and member of staff, this final day of service may be brought forward or extended, provided that any such prior agreement has been sought and approved in writing by the Dean/Director concerned. No pay in lieu of notice will normally be

6 made for staff applying to leave under our voluntary severance/early retirement schemes. Re-employment Staff will not normally be re-employed by UEL (in any capacity whatsoever) within six months of leaving under its voluntary severance or early retirement schemes. Where, exceptionally, UEL re-employs the staff member (in another role) within six months, the staff member will be required to repay their severance payment to UEL on a pro-rata basis (normally one month to be repaid for each month or part of month less than the six months' period). Please note our Frequently Asked Questions information on the schemes, which is on HR Services' website The application form to apply for voluntary severance and early retirement; Voluntary Severance application form.doc Appendix A Examples of voluntary severance calculations Example 1 - Full-time worker Abdul works full-time. He earns 40,000pa and has 4 years' and 240 days' service at UEL. Abdul would receive a payment of 15,525 ( years service [4 + (240/365) x 40,000/12). Example 2 - Full-time worker (with maximum number of months' service applied) Betty works full-time. She earns 30,000pa and has 30 years' service at UEL. Even though Betty has 30 years' service, her severance payment is capped at 6 months' pay, so she'll receive 15,000. Example 3 - Part-time worker Jenny works part-time and earns 10,000pa for a 2.5-day week (0.5). Jenny's full-time equivalent rate of pay is therefore 20,000. Jenny has a total of 7

7 years' current service at UEL. Jenny's uncapped voluntary severance payment would therefore be: 20,000/2 x 7/12 = 5,833 p.a., but as voluntary severance is capped at 6 months' pay, Jenny will receive 5,000 voluntary severance. Example 4 - Worker over scheme pension age David is 61 and is a member of LGPS. David earns 24,000 a year and he has 8 years' service at UEL. He will receive a payment of 12,000 (8 x 24,000/12, but capped at six months' pay). If the cost of non-actuarial reduction is less than 12,000 he will receive a voluntary severance payment equal to the excess, but if the early retirement funding charge exceeds 12,000 it is unlikely that his application for voluntary severance would be accepted by the Panel and he would only receive non-actuarially reduced early retirement. His pension, if applicable, will start to be paid immediately after his last day of service. Example 5 - TPS member over age 55 Kirsty is aged 56 and is a member of TPS. As she is over 55 a non-actuarially-reduced pension may be awarded with the Panel's consent. The same wider considerations will apply as for David in Example 4. Example 6 - Re-employment Nick receives a voluntary severance payment of 15,000 which represents 6 months' pay. Four months later, Nick is re-employed by UEL in another role. Nick will be required to repay two months' voluntary severance to UEL: i.e