Significant Redundancies Announced at James Hutton Institute

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Management at the James Hutton Institute today announced that is to begin consultation on ‘’A revised operating model’’ that is expected to lead to a significant head count reduction across its Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh sites through a redundancy and restructure program.

Ian Perth of Prospect said

'' This will come as devastating news to scientists and support staff at the institution '' .  

 ‘’We are very disappointed that the funding arrangements for the Institute mean that the employer deems this necessary.’’

‘’Staff have, as recently as 2016, made a £1.7 million annual contribution to the organisation’s finances by agreeing to significant pension changes, and exiting the Civil Service defined benefit scheme. ‘’

‘’It is Prospect’s priority to seek to protect our members from compulsory redundancy and to ensure that all those who remain in the Institute will remain on a sustainable basis.‘’

‘’We have held initial discussions with the management team and have been offering robust feedback on their proposals so far. ‘’

‘’ From initial engagement, it is clear to us that the employer will make significant efforts to seek that any redundancies are voluntary.’’

‘’We welcome the employer’s decision to initially open a ‘voluntary register‘ and the decision to offer an ‘enhanced redundancy’ for those who are attracted by voluntary exit. ‘’

‘’Prospect will do everything possible to protect our members interests‘’ . 

 

The institution who are primarily funded by the Scottish Government to carry out research on their behalf have suffered significant budget cuts in recent years.