NRC staff still face uncertainty on job restructure

NRC chairman Bill Shepherd and CEO Malcolm Nicolson

After months of threatened job restructuring and redundancy, several Northland Regional Council staff still do not know if their jobs are safe.

Chief executive Malcolm Nicolson announced to staff in March a restructuring that would eliminate 11 jobs and create 18 new ones, the process to be completed by June 22.

In that time, some senior staff have signed new contracts and had their job descriptions changed. At least two senior staff members have resigned.

But nearly two months after the deadline, several staff told during the review process that their jobs would be disestablished are still employed - and wondering if, and when, the axe will fall.

One told the Northern Advocate that staff whose jobs were to be affected have had no consultation with or response from Mr Nicolson for 15 weeks.

The man said the workplace environment was "in a total shambles", held together only by the goodwill of the staff.

The restructure and "cracks" it had exposed were "slowly destroying the integrity of the council", he said.

Staff were told in March they had until April 13 to put forward their own case and would learn their fate by May 4, after a review by Mr Nicolson and a team of consultants he hired.

Mr Nicolson has not replied to questions from the Advocate about the process, progress or costs. NRC chairman Bill Shepherd has also not replied to questions.

Early in May, Mr Nicolson defended his plans and processes after an employment law expert questioned the need for restructuring, rather than a "change management" approach.

At that stage, before redundancies, legal and other costs, the NRC had paid $47,652 to the consultants to manage the process.

The Auditor General's office also expressed interest in the restructuring as it's costs were not accounted for in the Long Term Plan.

Mr Nicolson said he had employed the consultants to manage the restructure because positions under scrutiny included human resources staff.

In a July staff newsletter obtained by the Advocate, Mr Nicolson said he had completed the review and would recruit four new positions: A health and safety specialist, strategy specialist, communications manager and customer relations manager. He would also advertise for parental leave cover for one staff member, although the description and title did not match the role.