As one of the people leaving Surrey, I did not want the details of my personal case to be the subject of public debate, but since I have been quoted (anonymously) by Management, in an e-mail to Psychology staff, as one of the people who might feel different about the process to those who felt forced to leave, I feel obliged to join in.
When I first learned that my application for voluntary severance had been accepted, I did circulate a note within the department asking if people could refrain from using terms that might give the impression that I’d been sacked, since this implies I had personally been singled out for redundancy, and I did not want to damage my future job prospects. I did also say it was a positive decision on my part. However, this did not mean I was happy to be leaving – it simply meant I had decided to take control of what seemed to be an extremely uncertain situation rather than leave my future to the mercy of other people.
I am disappointed that this has been used to justify the process, and since the senior Management person suggests when referring to me and another person that: “neither you nor I are entitled to decide for them what they privately felt. We are, I think, obliged to respect what they say as being what they mean to be understood about their choice”, then perhaps I can clarify what I do actually feel.
As I have already explained at length to those involved in the process at Surrey, I am not happy to be leaving, and made the decision to apply because I was deeply concerned at the odds for a group of people at my level of seniority. Personally, I calculated there being a possible 5 – 7 people (all of whom I consider to be good academics) applying for the 2 jobs which I thought I could apply for given the nature of the job descriptions.
Perhaps my calculations were wrong, but they were all I had to work with. The huge risk was that if one didn’t apply for voluntary severance early (there was a cut-off date before the final job structure was announced), and then subsequently found oneself without a job, redundancy pay dropped to approximately £500 per year of service. In a recession, this seemed like a huge risk to take for me.
Others made their own calculations and have their own differing levels of tolerance to risk. It was indeed my choice, but it was based entirely on the calculations I made from the draft job structure, the current staffing numbers in various roles, and the rules of the application and severance schemes. Were it not for these, I would not be leaving. My case, and quotes from my email to the department, should therefore not be taken as endorsement for what has happened at Surrey.
Again, I did not want to engage in a public debate about my particular circumstances. However, given I have been quoted, I felt a need to clarify.
Anon2
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