A leading university made major changes to the employment terms and conditions of its facilities staff. The university needed to adapt how its buildings were being used, partly due to changes in ways of working caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. This meant there was a growing need for teachers and students to use space more flexibly, including 24-hour access. This required thinking differently about how janitorial, cleaning, estates and security staff in its facilities function worked across a whole range of new areas, covering compliance, security, operations, technical services and frameworks and contracts. The university designed new ways of working to improve the customer service for anyone using the buildings and associated services. It also made changes to roles to create more fixed work patterns, aimed at enhancing teamwork, career development and improving work-life balance, while reducing working long hours and excessive overtime. All this required significant changes to the terms and conditions of 600 staff employed across the function and meant some traditional jobs were no longer needed. For example, janitorial roles evolved into a facilities services-type job, which was more multi-skilled and included providing enhanced AV support. About 75% of people in the function transitioned into their new positions without difficulty and the changes created more roles overall than previously existed. Nonetheless, between 150 and 170 jobs were effectively either made obsolete or resulted in new roles offering a reduced take-home pay.

I. The University unilaterally altered and changed the employment contract of all employees without the knowledge and consent of the employee or their Union representatives. 150 to 170 jobs were made obsolete. Discuss the process and procedure the University should have adopted using the ILAC ( ISSUE, LAW, ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION) method.