The NHS hospital trust that runs three hospitals in Brighton has invited staff to apply to leave their jobs.
In an email sent last month, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said that decisions would take into account “our ability to maintain safe patient care”.
The trust runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Sussex Eye Hospital, all in Brighton, as well as Southlands, in Shoreham, Worthing Hospital, St Richard’s, in Chichester, and the Princess Royal, in Haywards Heath.
Trust bosses are seeking “an efficiency requirement” – cuts or savings – of more than £128 million in the current financial year from a budget of about £1.7 billion.
The trust said in the email to staff: “We are today introducing a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS) as part of our efforts to build a sustainable organisation that provides excellent care for our patients, now and in the future.
“A MARS is a voluntary scheme that allows eligible employees to apply to leave the trust in return for a severance payment. It is not a redundancy programme, nor is it a first step towards one.
“At University Hospitals Sussex, managerial, administrative and clerical staff with at least 12 months’ continuous NHS service are eligible to apply but there is no obligation for anyone to do so.
“At the same time, not all applications will be approved. Each will be considered carefully on an individual basis, taking into account service needs and value for money.
“Our ability to maintain safe patient care will remain central to every decision we make.
“For NHS organisations, MARS can enable savings that help ease financial pressures and can create room for new roles in new structures such as our developing operating model.
“For NHS employees, they can provide valuable financial support that enables them to make a positive life or career choice.
“We recognise that announcing a MARS may prompt questions and, for some colleagues, feelings of uncertainty. So we want to assure you that we are committed to being open and transparent throughout the process.
“Managers will support colleagues in line with our ‘behavioural compass’, approaching conversations with kindness and care, providing clear and factual information and ensuring everyone is treated fairly and consistently.
“Whatever your circumstances, we want colleagues to feel supported to make the right decision for them.
“If you do consider applying, we would encourage you to take time to understand the full implications of leaving employment and to seek independent financial, pension, legal or trade union advice before making any decisions.
“We know that our hospitals’ strength comes from their people. Whether colleagues choose to remain with us or decide that this is the right time to pursue a different opportunity, we are grateful for every individual contribution to our organisation and our patients’ care.”
Since it is classed as voluntary resignation, that would have major implications with pensions. The pay out may also be subjected to tax. It also sacrifices legal protections. This is very much only beneficial to those who were planning to leave anyway.
And looking at previous examples, it ultimately didn’t help achieve what it was done for in the first place, instead just causing more pressure.