The University of Canberra has offered staff cash to resign, telling employees applications for voluntary separations would be rejected "only in exceptional circumstances" but assuring those interested they could reapply for their own position if it was later readvertised.
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In a statement sent to staff, the university said the voluntary separation program would help ensure its long-term financial sustainability and align its workforce with Distinctive By Design, the institution's five-year strategic plan.
The program does not carry targets for financial savings or reductions in positions and staff have been assured there will be no redundancies. There is no cap on the number of voluntary separations that will be accepted.
A University of Canberra spokeswoman said: "With the federal government's recent changes to university funding as part of the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook 2017-18, the university needs to ensure its long-term financial sustainability and align the workforce with its strategic plan goals.
"This program will help the university reinvest in its workforce, with a particular focus on academic staff."
But National Tertiary Education Union ACT division secretary Rachael Bahl questioned the thought behind the program, including how paying staff to leave then potentially rehiring them could help save costs, and the impact on staff left behind.
"What we're really concerned about in this process is the lack of planning, the lack of forethought that seems to have gone into any assessment about what the workload should be and what the need is going forward," she said.
"The idea that someone can take a package today and be rehired tomorrow seems like a blatant abuse and misuse of public funds.
"I just don't understand what the university's trying to do here."
A question and answer sheet given to staff pre-empted fears about an increased workload on people who stayed.
"Immediate workload priorities will be completed, transitioned or prioritised differently during the notice period of employees who accept the VSP," it said.
"A comprehensive workforce plan [is] being developed that will identify future needs."
Professional, academic and senior management staff are invited to apply for a voluntary separation, excluding those on particular contracts.
Pay-outs will be based on length of service. The university has offered up to $500 compensation for employees who seek financial planning advice.
The head of the university's People and Diversity unit will work through applications with the relevant portfolio head, deans and directors.
Expressions of interest opened Monday and can be withdrawn until mid-March. The program will wrap up June 29.
