Update on austerity process

Dear colleagues,

The Executive would like to give you an update of the austerity process so far.

As you are probably aware, austerity plans for departments and faculties were submitted on 5 August 2016. The Executive met on 10 and 13 August to consider the savings proposals of all units. Where necessary, follow-up meetings were set up to address any outstanding queries or concerns. These meetings have now been concluded.

The recommendations arising from this process were subsequently tabled at a Council meeting on 20 August and at a meeting of the Senior Leadership Group (SLG) on 22 August. The SLG meeting also provided an opportunity for different units to present an overview of their austerity plans and to outline their proposals to deal with the second stage of the process.

The recommendations on Incentivised Early Retirement (IER) and Voluntary Separation Packages (VSP) were signed off by the Remuneration Committee at its meeting on 29 August 2016. Letters advising whether or not applications have been accepted have now been prepared and signed off by the Vice-Chancellor. Over the next three days these letters will be distributed by unit heads (Deans and Executive Directors, or Directors) to all staff who applied for packages. If accepted for VSP or IER, applicants will receive further communication from the university's Human Resources department regarding the formalities and timing of payment of packages.

Should you have any queries or concerns arising from the process thus far, please raise these directly with your Dean, Executive Director or Director.

Prof Sandra Klopper
Chair: Austerity Steering Committee