Termination of employment
Notice periods
The notice period given by either us or an employee to terminate employment is:
- grades 1 to 8 - not less than one calendar month
- grades 9 to 12 - not less than two calendar months
- grade 13 and above - not less than three calendar months
- during a probationary period - one month
There may be separate provisions in an employee’s terms and conditions document.
The minimum statutory provisions will always be applied.
Ill health
We will only terminate an employee’s contract on the grounds of incapability arising from ill health following:
- proper consideration of medical advice
- alternative employment options
- any reasonable adjustments which can be made
Termination of employment may occur before an employee has exhausted their occupational sick pay.
Retirement
We do not have a compulsory retirement age for our employees. For further information, see the retirement policy.
Separate arrangements apply for operational firefighters by local agreement.
Severance pay
We will make redundancy payments and any enhancement to pension provision in accordance with:
- the statutory provisions
- discretionary provisions we have adopted
Death in service
We will make an immediate payment of £200 to the surviving spouse, civil partner or partner of full-time and part-time employees, except for uniformed fire officers.
The deceased employee must have been:
- in the local government pension scheme, or the teachers’ pension scheme
- continuously employed by us since 1 April 1987 or have served with another local authority. If it is continuous, it will be considered when determining eligibility.
We will also consider a payment to any other dependent relative of a deceased employee. The amount will not exceed £200 and is paid where there is no spouse, civil partner or partner. Eligibility is subject to the same provisos.
A partner is defined as a person living with the employee for at least six months before the death.
The death gratuity is a taxable benefit.