Procedure: Managing change

Purpose

To outline the University’s procedure for managing major workplace change in accordance with the Organisational Change and Consultation provisions within the ANU Enterprise Agreement.

Procedure

Managing change

1. The sound management of major workplace change involves timely consultation and involvement of the staff members who will be directly affected by the change, and where the staff members have chosen, their union or staff representative(s).
2. A staff member is considered to be directly affected where the introduction of major workplace change is likely to have a significant effect on the staff member’s work practices or working conditions. Specifically:

1. ceasing employment due to redundancy;
2. elimination or reduction of job opportunities (including changes to job responsibility levels);
3. restructuring of jobs;
4. the need to significantly retrain staff;
5. transfer of employment to another work location outside of the Australian Capital Territory;
6. major change to the composition, operation or size of the workforce or to the skills required by staff members; and/or
7. change to hours of operation.

3. Where the University proposes to make changes to a staff members’ regular roster or ordinary hours of work, subclauses 70.1 – 70.3 of the ANU Enterprise Agreement will apply.

Preliminary consideration of change

4. Informal discussions or the consideration of workplace change issues, which may or may not lead to the development of a specific change proposal, do not require a formal change proposal.
5. When informal discussions lead to the development of a formal change proposal, such discussion should involve all staff likely to be directly affected as soon as practicable.
6. The formal change process will not apply where all staff in a work area who are directly affected by a change proposal have been involved in consideration of the change and those staff members agree with the proposed change, or where there is no significant impacts on staff (such as a change in reporting arrangements). The University will notify the relevant union where significant change affects a work area.
7. If these affected staff members or their union or staff appointed representatives advise the University that they do not agree with the proposed change, then the formal change process will commence.

Formal change proposal

8. Where there is a specific change proposal, the University will issue a change proposal to directly affected staff members and the relevant union(s).
9. The change proposal will be issued to staff members and the relevant union(s) at or within five days of a meeting arranged for the purpose of consultation on the change proposal. There will be reasonable notice of the meeting for unions to arrange representation and adequate time for the directly affected staff member to organise their participation in this meeting.
10. The change proposal will include, where appropriate:

1. the extent and nature of the change proposed;
2. the rationale for the change, including financial information where relevant;
3. a description of proposed staffing changes including changes or redistribution of tasks in accordance with the workloads provision of the Enterprise Agreement;
4. impact on casualisation;
5. timeframe for the proposed change; and
6. relevant documents which have led to the change; and
7. wherever possible, a range of options for affected staff and the relevant union(s) to consider.

11. Directly affected staff and relevant union(s) will be provided with opportunity to be actively involved in the examination of the change proposal. This may include the opportunity for staff who are likely to be directly affected by the proposed change and the relevant union(s) to:

1. hold a meeting(s) of employees to discuss and examine the change proposal and develop responses;
2. upon request, have a meeting or meetings with the relevant delegate to discuss the change proposal; and
3. provide a response to the change proposal and any further recommendation papers prepared by the University.

Implementation paper

12. Following the consultation process defined in clauses 8 to 11 (above), the University will issue an implementation paper.
13. The implementation paper will include:

1. genuine consideration of matters raised about the major change by the affected staff and staff appointed or union representatives;
2. any changes recommended and the rationale for such changes, the timeframe for implementation;
3. the identification of surplus and/or new position(s), including a description of changes in functional activities; and
4. supporting documentation (such as position descriptions, business plans, and project plans), where relevant.

14. Directly affected staff members and the relevant union(s) will be issued with a copy of the implementation paper, be consulted over the implementation paper and will have an opportunity to comment on it.

Implementation of change

15. At the point of implementation of any recommendation included in the implementation paper and resulting in changes referred to clause 2 (above), any matter regarding the particular employment conditions of the directly affected staff member will be negotiated with that staff member. The staff member may request that relevant union(s) be a party to those negotiations.
16. Where the duties of a position are significantly changed, or there are new position(s) created, staff who previously held positions in the work area which are intended to be made surplus will be considered first for those positions.
17. Where duties of a position have not significantly changed, the incumbent will continue to hold the position.
18. Where it is confirmed that a position occupied by a staff member has been declared surplus, the staff member will be notified in writing and will be advised that they have a period of at least five working days to submit an expression of interest in any of the following measures:

1. permanent transfer;
2. redeployment;
3. voluntary conversion to part-time employment;
4. fixed term pre-retirement agreement; or
5. voluntary separation, including an early termination in accordance with the ANU Procedure: Redundancy and severance.

19. Following the five-day notice period, unless otherwise negotiated, the 12-week redeployment period will commence.
20. The Chief People Officer may consider applications to extend the period outlined in clause 18 (above) in exceptional circumstances and will not be unreasonably refused.
21. The process for redeployment and redundancy payments is provided in the ANU Procedure: Redeployment, and ANU Procedure: Redundancy and severance respectively.

Review

22. No later than twelve months after the implementation plan has been released, a review will be undertaken to evaluate:

1. if the original objectives of the change process have been met;
2. the effect onto staff member workloads;
3. the effect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment or diversity;
4. the impact on casualisation; and
5. if any improvements can be made to the process for the future.

23. The scope and scale of the review will depend upon the nature and scale of the change process.