Ministers have launched a voluntary exit payout scheme for Department for Education staff without the “skills the department needs for the future”, as it seeks to cut around 10 per cent of its workforce.
Staff were told about the “selective voluntary exit scheme” on Monday. In a message seen by Schools Week, the DfE said said it aimed to get staffing numbers “closer to” 2020 levels, when it employed around 7,000 people.
The department will offer eligible staff three weeks’ salary per year of service to leave next May. Managers will “robust and fairly” assess civil servants’ applications to the scheme.
A voluntary exit scheme is not the same as voluntary redundancies, and as such can offer different terms. The DfE told staff it has no plans to make redundancies, but has also ruled out simply not replacing those who leave through “natural attrition”.
