The British government has announced a new redundancy deal that will reduce payouts for compulsory redundancies. Payments will now be capped at one year of salary, and voluntary redundancies will be capped at 15 months of salary. The new deal will also amend a law that calls for union approval on redundancy changes. The Minister for the Cabinet Office said that he will not negotiate the compulsory redundancy changes, but said that he was open to negotiating the voluntary redundancy changes in an effort to stave off layoffs. Union officials say that the deal violates the previous law, and that they will fight it. The previous government proposed a similar plan, but with more lenient terms. Only one union opposed the plan, and took it to court, where it was thrown out under the law. The new plan is also raising fears about changes to redundancies for teachers, nurses and council workers.
See "Unions threaten strike action over civil service redundancy deal", Polly Curtis, Guardian Unlimited (UK), July 5, 2010