Redundancies following confirmed shortage of work
Seven employees have been made redundant at Halmstad University as a result of the restructuring process that has been underway since the winter. The background to the restructuring is the decreasing government funding for education and the requirement for the University to maintain a long-term stable economy.
“I regret that we are now having to part with valued and highly skilled colleagues, even though the number is lower than we initially feared. Given the high degree of specialisation among the University’s teachers and researchers, it is often difficult to identify suitable redeployment opportunities within the organisation.”
Marie Andersson, Head of Human Resources
Earlier in the spring, one employee was dismissed after declining an offer of redeployment. The remaining six employees who were identified as surplus staff in the various redundancy selection pools have not been able to be offered alternative employment and have now been given notice of termination following the conclusion of negotiations regarding redundancies. The surplus staffing was identified within the subject areas of informatics and digital service innovation at the School of Information Technology, and political science, digitalisation and social change, and teacher education at the School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Difficult to identify suitable redeployment opportunities
“I regret that we are now having to part with valued and highly skilled colleagues, even though the number is lower than we initially feared. Given the high degree of specialisation among the University’s teachers and researchers, it is often difficult to identify suitable redeployment opportunities within the organisation”, says Marie Andersson, Head of Human Resources (HR).
The delivery of the notices of termination means that the restructuring process has now been concluded after almost seven months. Trygghetsstiftelsen will be informed of the redundancies in order to provide support and career coaching for those affected. However, the employees concerned retain preferential rights to any future vacancies that may arise at Halmstad University, provided that they have the required qualifications.
“It is now important to show consideration both for those employees who have been made redundant and for their colleagues and teams. The notice period may be up to twelve months, and it is important to maintain as positive a working environment as possible for everyone affected during that time”, says Marie Andersson.
Text: Selma Sedelius
Photo: Anna-Frida Agardson
