Layoffs and Hours Reduction

PROPOSAL:

Scope

This policy addresses looming financial problems that might require a cut in staff costs.

Layoffs and Reduction Report Committee

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.

The staff must provide to the committee a target amount of savings that needs to be achieved.

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

Considerations

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.

Review alternatives first

The committee must review what fundraising options and other cost cutting measures have been considered before recommending to reduce hours or lay off staff members.

Consider a staffwide wage cut

The committee must calculate how much of a staffwide wage reduction would be needed to meet the target amount. This should be a percentage reduction that applies equally to everybody. The committee should determine if this will solve the problem without causing unreasonable hardship for anyone.

Consider a voluntary hours cuts

The committee must consult with each staff member to determine if anyone is willing to voluntarily reduce the number of hours they work and if so, by how much.

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

The committee must consider data from existing staff reviews. For each staff member, the committee must consider the impact on the organization if that staff member were to leave the staff. This should be based on the staff member's overall job performance.

Program and job function based cuts

The committee must consider what jobs and programs could be eliminated or scaled back, and what effect that would likely have on the organization as a whole.

The committee should consider overlapping job functionality.

The committee should consider how each job and program addresses the mission of the organization and how much money it brings in and costs.

Seniority

After the above criteria have been considered, seniority may be considered as a method of determining hours cuts or layoffs.

Recommendations

The report should provide options for consideration to the full staff collective. Options that were discussed but rejected must also be reported on, along with the reason for rejection.

The committee may recommend options. These recommendations must be based on the considerations listed above.

For each option listed, the report must consider the impact on Free Geek's mission and the operational and financial impacts to the organization.

The report should also consider the possibility of shuffling people to other positions to minimize negative impact on Free Geek.

Staff action on the report

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