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Organisational change

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Organisational change is a fact of life in the NHS. MiP supports both individuals and groups of members whose jobs may be affected by things like mergers, integration, reorganisation or closure of local NHS services, privatisation or outsourcing, changes to internal management structures or transfers of functions between the NHS, local government and private and voluntary sectors.

Organisational change can affect your job in a number of ways, including:

  • Being transferred to another employer, inside or outside the NHS
  • Being made redundant, or identified as "at risk" of redundancy
  • Changes in your job description or grading
  • Relocation
  • Changes to pay and/or terms and conditions

If you have already been told that you are personally being made redundant, visit our redundancy pages for advice on what to do next.

If your organisation is planning changes which are likely to affect you or your colleagues, the first thing to do is to gather as much information as you can and contact the MiP national officer for your area. In some cases, your national officer may refer you to an MiP rep working for your organisation, who may already be dealing with the case.

If you don't have an active MiP rep in your organisation, it's a good idea to agree on one or two people to be the main point of contact between your national officer and the MiP members in your organisation affected by the change.

Your MiP national officer or rep will:

  • Discuss the issue with the trade unions in your organisation and identify members' concerns
  • Deal with any collective issues, such as terms for redundancy or transfer, through negotiations with your employer
  • Advise individual members about their contractual rights, redundancy terms, suitability of alternative jobs etc.
  • Raise issues at national or regional level, where necessary
  • Take legal advice if necessary
Throughout the process, you and your colleagues should:

  • Take advice from your national officer or MiP rep before replying to correspondence from your employer, including alternative job offers
  • Keep records of all written and verbal communication with your employer, including HR and/or your line manager
  • Make sure your national officer or MiP rep is kept fully informed about any new developments or concerns raised by members
  • Take union advice before talking to the press or otherwise going public about what's happening in your organisation
  • Stay calm – organisational change in the NHS can be worrying, but doesn't usually result in compulsory job losses

We will be publishing detailed advice on many aspects of organisational change on this website in the near future.

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Before you do anything else, read our advice pages.
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