Health NZ offers voluntary redundancy to some staff

In recent times there has been much conversation about Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora’s financial situation and our ability to sustainably deliver health services to New Zealanders, within our budgets.

“We need to move towards being a more efficient organisation and focus our resources on the delivery of frontline healthcare,” says Chief Executive Margie Apa.

“A number of initiatives are already in place to support this, but it is now clear that, by themselves, they will not resolve the financial issue or help ensure we have the right people in the right places,” says Ms Apa.

“As a majority of our expenditure is on people costs, Health NZ needs to review its size and structure. We are therefore providing the opportunity for eligible staff to consider voluntary redundancy ahead of likely formal change consultation processes over the coming months.

At this stage, the option of expressing interest in voluntary redundancy is available to employees who are:

• employed under Individual employment agreements which are not in coverage of collective employment agreements, or
• in a role within coverage of the new PSA Policy Advisory Knowledge and Specialist (PAKS) Workers collective agreement 21 December 2023-17 February 2025 (PSA PAKS CA), or
• in a role within coverage of the PSA National Health Administration Workers collective agreement 1 January 2023-31 December 2024 (PSA Admin CA) or,
• employed on individual employment agreements with terms and conditions derived from the PSA PAKS CA or PSA Admin CA.

“Inviting expressions of interest for voluntary redundancy is not a reflection on the individual’s performance.

We want impacted staff to be treated fairly and with respect, and other staff in their areas feel supported following any changes”.

Expressions of Interest in voluntary redundancy are open from Thursday 29 August until Friday 13 September. They will be assessed on a case by case basis and Health NZ will have sole discretion whether an EOI is accepted or not. We expect the outcome to be known to staff by mid-late September.

“These can be difficult times for staff, managers and others concerned. It is important we respect the privacy of and any decisions made by those involved. Accordingly, Health NZ will be making no further comment until the process is complete,” says Ms Apa.