The public woes of MediaWorks continue with the resignation of their Chief People Officer, Paula Williams.
Her departure comes shortly after MediaWorks provided a high-profile case study on what not to do when making changes that affect your team. TodayFM was cancelled after only one year on the air, with employees given a few hours to appeal the decision. The process was described by affected staff as a “betrayal”.
Like many of my HR and ER colleagues, I watched the unfolding of the TodayFM radio station “restructure” with my jaw getting lower as the morning of the announcement went on.
Were the decision makers backtracking on repeated commitments they made to staff? Wait, it sounds like this is a decision being communicated, rather than a true-blue proposal. And, hold on, they were giving employees less than a single business day to respond to the proposal… while several affected by the proposal were on-air and broadcasting live to thousands of people? You couldn’t write a more (im)perfect case study.
It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good, so what lessons can the rest of us learn here?
Consultation must happen
Where a business or organisation is considering changes that might affect the terms and conditions of people's employment (including hours or pay) or where there might be redundancies, they have a black-and-white legal obligation to consult with the staff who may be impacted.
This means preparing (and sharing) a business case for the changes, which explains the problem (or opportunity) that the organisation is responding to, why their proposed changes are reasonable, and what the consequences will be.
It’s not enough to say, “We think selling pies and cakes is a bad idea. Coffee, pastries, and home-baked goods are the future!”. Whether the changes are in response to financial challenges, an exciting new strategic direction, or operational efficiencies that have been achieved by using robots and AI in the business, all of that information needs to be documented and shared with those affected.
Employees must have fair and reasonable time to respond
A critical consultation requirement is that the affected employees have “reasonable time” to review, understand, ask questions, and prepare a response (if they want) to the proposed changes.
That word “reasonable” will vary based on the circumstances but I can hardly imagine an employment law expert pulling a response together in less than a day, let alone a layperson who is reeling from the shock of hearing their job might be on the line.
Two to five working days may be sufficient for considering and providing feedback if the proposed change is relatively minor or affects only a small group of people. The larger and more complex the proposal or changes, the more time employers need to provide.
Consultation must be genuine
This seems obvious, but after giving their team the relevant info and time to prepare a response, the decision-makers need to consider what the employees have to say.
Sometimes, this will result in changes to the original proposal – and sometimes, it won’t. Still, either way, the organisation will need to explain why they have (or haven’t) taken on the suggestions and feedback provided to them.
Practically, this means that once employers have heard what their employees have to say about the proposal, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to confirm an outcome the morning after. Allow time to consider the feedback, including alternatives or challenges, before making a decision.
Redundancy is a last resort
If an organisation is disestablishing positions, they have a legal obligation to consider alternatives to redundancy, which could be a combination of reduced hours or pay, redeployment, training, extended notice periods, etc.
This means that, most of the time, employees affected by a restructure get first bite at any new or remaining positions. Going directly to market isn’t an option.
Allow enough time
As you can see, this process will take time and squishing it into one week, let alone a single day is likely to cause legal trouble for an employer who wants to move at pace, as they won’t have had enough time to meet all of their legal obligations.
In 2020, the average cost to an employer to lose a personal grievance claim at the Employment Relations Authority was around the $70k mark, so if all of the 40-ish employees affected by the MediaWorks changes were to bring a claim, there could be a $2.8mil legal bill heading their way.
