Restructuring Policy & Procedure - August 2026

10. Implementation – Filling New Posts in the New Structure

New Posts

Where there are new posts created within the new structure, and where it has been determined that there are no ‘Confirm in Post’ candidates from the group of employees within the service area being restructured, these positions will be advertised. Expressions of interest for these posts will initially be restricted to those employees in the service area being restructured (Appendix I). New posts will normally be released on a tier-by-tier basis. Selection will be in accordance with the Authority’s Recruitment Processes.

Confirm in Post

A) Confirm in Post is appropriate where it is assessed that there are comparable posts between the old and the new structures in terms of duties / accountabilities (defined as at least 70% of the post within the new structure) and pay grade (this will not normally be more than one grade higher or lower than that of an employee’s existing pay grade). The essential criteria in the job profile must also be fully met or can be with reasonable training and support. Any training /support required would normally be for a period not exceeding 12 weeks.

Where applicable staff will be notified by letter that they are required to complete an ‘Assessment of Compatibility’ pro-forma for their assessment. (Appendices C and D).

Confirm in Post can only be applied when the above conditions are met, and there are sufficient positions for qualifying candidates.

It is essential that these decisions are made objectively and in a consistent way. It should be confirmed at the outset the manager/s responsible for undertaking the Assessment of Compatibility process. Managers must ensure that their decisions are based purely on factual and objective reasoning which will need to be justified and evidenced. Before any outcomes can be confirmed the supporting HR Business Partner must have been notified of the decisions made and provided with all relevant documentation. Staff can then be advised whether or not they have been confirmed in post. (Appendix E or Appendix G).

B) There may be occasions where it is considered that there are comparable posts, and qualifying candidates (as detailed above), however, there are insufficient positions for the pool of staff. This needs to be considered at the planning stage.

In this situation, selection criteria must be operated to determine who is appointed into the jobs available. Selection could be via desktop assessment against an agreed matrix or a selection interview. Managers should seek advice from a HR Business Partner. Please refer to the Authority’s Redundancy Policy.

‘At Risk’

In situations where employees have not been confirmed in post and unsuccessful in obtaining any of the new posts that are available within the service area being restructured, it will usually be the case that they are declared ‘at risk’ of redundancy. At this point they will be placed onto the corporate Redeployment Register.

The timing of such a declaration is, however, important, and any variations will be discussed with the trade unions at the start of the consultation process.

The Authority will adopt a reasonable approach to reduce the ‘risk’ for employees. It is critical that these matters are discussed at the planning stage, and may include measures in respect of recruitment plans, temporary positions, and voluntary early retirement /redundancy exercises. Comment from the trade unions on such matters will always be invited.