Layoffs and Hours Reduction

PROPOSAL:

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

The organization is most important here.

The ways to determine where to make the cuts should be considered in the following order:

1. Wage reduction; Voluntary hours cut

• • A staff-wide wage redcution should be evaluated and presented for consideration
  • Staff members who voluntary wish to reduce their hours should be asked to come forward. Staff members offer that their hours be cut should actually work less hours, that is they should not volunteer to work "for free" since this can lead to an imbalance in staff expectations.

1. Merit-based.

• • By department and job function
    • What would happen if X program was cancelled tomorrow?
    • Is there some overlapping job functionality that could be eliminated?
    • Whether a staff member's program is costing rather than raising money should be taken into account in the report
  • By a person's performance
    • What would happen if X person didn't show up for work tomorrow?
    • Use data from existing reviews?

1. Seniority - after the other two methods above have been used. Possibly as tie-breaker.

In considering layoffs or hours reductions, the report should consider:

• Operational impact?
• Financial impact?

The report should also consider the possibility of shuffling people to other positions.