Court staff 'appalled' by move to slash spending; The current severance scheme is no longer suitable.

Byline: BEN SCHOFIELD

MERSEYSIDE'S court staff are "appalled" after receiving a plea to offer themselves up in a job cull in the same week as discussing plans to slash severance pay.

Unions fear the region will be hit hard as hundreds of jobs are lost in the courts this year and next nationwide.

But a dispute could also be brewing over plans to cut the amount of money offered to those made redundant.

Last week, emails were sent to all staff above junior management - which includes some clerks, administration team leaders and posts in enforcement - asking staff to volunteer to leave their post.

But, on Monday and Tuesday, the Public and Commercial Services Union held meetings in the city and in Cheshire to discuss savage cuts to severance pay.

Pete Middleman, a negotiations officer for Merseyside's PCSU, told LDP Legal the plans include slashing pay-offs from three years' salary to two years for some redundancy or early retirement packages.

He said: "It comes at a time when there's an auction between the main parties to see who can cut the most.

"Their problem is there's a little bit of an imperative to get volunteers out the door this year because they know the voluntary redundancy package won't be as favourable next year.

"Staff are appalled. They're very, very angry."

A show of hands during the union meetings last week indicated members were willing to strike over the severance pay proposals.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) said: "The Ministry of Justice is continually looking at ways to improve its services and get better value for money. It is right we do so, especially in the current economic circumstances.

"As a result of measures that have improved efficiency in the courts, HMCS is able to invite managers to voluntarily apply for early retirement or to leave HMCS to take-up other opportunities.

"We remain committed to prioritising frontline services and delivering the best possible service to victims, witnesses and the communities that we serve."

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman added: "The Government proposes fundamental reform of redundancy and severance arrangements for all Civil Servants. The current scheme dates back to 1987 and is no longer suitable as it is too inflexible and expensive.

"We put our proposals to the unions formally on July 31, in the document 'Fairness For All' and asked for the unions' formal response."