It's Your Future: the MiP guide to consultations

 

It’s important to engage with all stages of the consultation and respond both collectively and individually. Even if it seems like a ‘done deal’, you will be better placed to challenge an unreasonable workload or a reduction in staff, for example, if you have raised the issue earlier in the process.

When do consultations happen? 

Formal consultations usually take place when your employer proposes organisational changes which could result in:

• changes to job roles
• changes to organisational structures
• changes to the status or pay band of staff
• redundancies
• a change of employer (under a TUPE or COSOP process)
• a change of location
• changes to working practices (e.g. introducing hybrid home/office working or changes to on-call rotas)
• changes to car park charges or other terms and conditions

Be prepared

Engaging with the consultation process will seem less daunting if you are properly prepared. To begin, make sure you have copies of:

• Your employer’s organisational change policy
• MiP’s guide to managing change
• A list of your employer’s key legal obligations (see Part 2 of this guide)
• Your up-to-date job description
• Your employment contract

Assessing the proposals

Consultations normally begin when the employer publishes their initial proposals. Trade union representatives may have been given the chance to comment before publication.

Read the consultation documents carefully and ask yourself:

• Do the proposals make sense?
• How do they affect me?
• What is my ideal outcome?
• What does it mean for my colleagues?
• What does it mean for the population we serve?
• Is there anything missing?

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