management, when it is necessary. The decision to implement layoffs should be free
from all types of discrimination.
Some areas for consideration in the development and implementation of lay off pol-
icy include the requirement that all opportunities to avoid layoffs be taken. This in-
cludes work reorganisation, demotion in lieu of layoffs, shift work, part time, volunteers
for early retirement, and leave without pay. The following are some of the policy state-
ments:
‘Hourly positions involving the same duties in the organisational units and job classifications
shall be discontinued before any salaried employee is made redundant.’
‘Employees considered for lay off shall fill in a ‘redundancy notification form’ that will be
used by these employees to secure preferential treatment when they apply for a job in this
organisation and for which they have minimal qualification.’Consideration of employees identified for lay off to receive certain benefits such as,
preference for reemployment when future opportunities arise, retraining support so that
they can develop a self-employed career. A policy statement could state that:
‘Classified employees in positions considered for redundancy will be considered for place-
ment and lay off benefits according to the provision of this policy.’Procedure for layoffs. The policy will guide the procedures to be used in carrying out
redundancies. This will cover the review of the organisation and job positions to satisfy
the need for redundancies, identification and putting in place of all the benefits for the
affected employees, setting the modalities for informing the employees and implemen-
tation of the layoff process. One example of the policy statements is:
‘Before implementing a lay off decision, the organisation must:- Determine whether the entire organisation or certain designated work units are going
to be affected. - Designate business functions to be eliminated or reassigned.
- Review all vacant positions to identify valid vacancies for possible placement.
- There shall be no unfair treatment in layoffs.
- There shall be fair compensation.
Responsible organs for staff lay-off. It is important that the different organs’ roles in
laying off be clearly stated in order to avoid ambiguity and a tendency for avoiding re-
sponsibility. For example, a statement could say
The Directorate of Human Resources with the assistance from other directorates will;- Identify positions and duties to be eliminated using steps provided in this policy and;
- Inform the management of the situation so that further decisions may be made.
The scope of policy statements regarding lay off is unlimited in human resource man-
agement. Indeed, it must cover as many details of the issues affecting both the organisa-
tion and management as possible in order to avoid unnecessary disputes that could land
the organisation in a costly judicial process.
- Other areas for human resource policies
There are as many areas where human resource policies could be developed as there are
human resource functions. It is up to managers to decide which areas are critical and
requires policy directives, although in any case having policy is better than having none,
even in what might seem to be trivial issues in day-to-day human resource management.
This is because there may be cost implications if policy guidance is lacking. Some of