Layoffs and Hours Reduction

PROPOSAL:

Background

In the event of a looming financial problem that would require a cut in staff costs, the HR committee would nominate an ad hoc Layoffs and Reduction Report Committee. Staff would discuss and approve the appointments of the individuals on the committee. The committee will then consider the issues involved and make a report to the staff collective suggesting a way to proceed.

Formation of the committee

The committee should only be formed after alternatives to staff cuts have been considered including various ways to increase revenue and reduce other costs.

There must be a target amount of savings that needs to be achieved. This must be provided by the staff to the committee.

In considering layoffs or hours reductions, the committee must keep in mind the the whole organization's needs in determining the recommended course of action. It should consider both the operational and financial impacts to the organization. The committee should also consider the possibility of shuffling people to other positions to minimize negative impact on Free Geek.

The report must consider the impact on Free Geek's mission.

Order of criteria

The ways to determine where to make the cuts should be considered in the following order. All options should be considered before a recomendation is made.

Consider alternatives first

• Explore fundraising and other non staff related costs before deciding to reduce hours or lay off staff members.

Consider a staffwide wage cut

• Can a staffwide wage cut solve the problem without causing unreasonable hardship for anyone?
• A staff-wide wage reduction should be evaluated and presented for consideration

Consider a voluntary hours cuts

• Are there volunteers willing to cut back?
• Staff members who voluntary wish to reduce their hours should be asked to come forward. Staff members offering that their hours be cut should actually plan to work less hours. (They should not volunteer to work "for free" since this can lead to an imbalance in staff expectations.)

Job performance based cuts

• Consider what would happen if the person left the collective?
• Consider data from existing staff reviews.
• Is someone performing so poorly that they should bear the brunt of the cut?

Program and job function based cuts

• Are there any overlapping job functionality that could be consolidated?
• Is there a program that can be cut back or eliminated?
• Consider what would happen if a program were cancelled or a job were eliminated?
• Consider whether a staff member's job or program is costing rather than raising money.

Seniority

• After the above criteria have been considered, seniority would be used as a tie-breaker if necessary.

Consideration when making a recomendation

• If implemented does this help solve the money problem more than it hurts the overall mission?
• In cases where we're cutting hours, how do we have to shift jobs around to cover for the hours cut?

Recommendations

The report should provide either recommendations or options for consideration to the full staff collective. These recommendations must be based on the above considerations.

Staff action on the report

The staff must then review the report and decide on a course of action.