My company are currently considering relocating a number of functions and have therefore put some staff on a 90 day consultancy status. I would like to make sure that the negative effects of this process are adequately assessed and addressed (if possible) and would be grateful if anyone could provide some advice about a suitable risk assessment process.

Smith, Also consider the need for training/refresher training etc safetyamateur has good points above.

Make sure you have vigilance and robust back-up of IT data. Amazing what can completely disappear in these difficult times.

I agree with safetyamateur - the management standards for stress give a good structure.

You may also want to consider the effect this will have on employees who are not part of the consultation process. They may also become stressed from not knowing how to act / react to someone on the list. Also they may genuinely have concerns about increased workload or pressure that may be put onto them following the redundancies. This may sound a little cold, but these are the people you will be working with afterwards, the ones who have to help pick up the pieces.

PT 14 A refreshing comment. I despair at reading some of the posts on here under the guise of H&S. It is little wonder the profession is under the cosh. In my discipline we have redundancies on every contract - next year we will see 700 -800 tradesmen go to new pastures without a whimper of stress, pilfering or sabotage. I guess the H&S professionals need to "get real" as the saying goes. Jon

Thanks for all of the advice. My concern is for those members of staff who have worked for the company for more than thirty five years and the stress the unexpected deceision may cause. just for the record, stress is a health and safety issue. Personally, if I have nothing positive to contribute I tend to resist the temptation to make any comment. perhasp some of the contributors should sollow suit!

Smith A thoughtful question merits an equally thoughful response.... In my experience, as a counsellor, coach and consultant about work-related stress for over 30 years, the most useful starting points are those which start with well-considered questions about (a) resilience of individuals and (b) resilience of the (your) organisation and groups of stakeholders which make it up. Unless you're responsible for only a handful, useful risk assessment and management in the situation of relocation and associated changes benefits from a scientifically-desisgned questionnaire. By administering it at intervals, you can gather data on how all involved report on the changes, stressful and otherwise (some find change very refreshing), which enables you to respond flexibly and as cost-effectively as possible. Reliable, valid survey data also enable management to make decisions about their responsibilities for stress, resilience and other health issues in the light of timely information; it may also reflect very construcitve aspects of organisational changes which may not be noticed, acknowledged and celebrated appropriately otherwise. The only caution is to design, administer and interpret the survey data well and to communicate it accurately.

Thanks for the comment Ron, although I am not sure where your remark regarding "flippant" comes from. I realise that IOSH is a broad church, which was my very reason for seeking advice from other members or their experiences of similar situations. All comments are appreciated.

Smith, you are right to consider this. I have experienced it a couple of times and you need as the H&S 'cement' of the organisation to be vigilant of processes and promised actions being lost in this period. Some of the people will have had parts to play in your systems which are unlikely to continue beyond the time that outcomes of the process are known. Know what you actually rely on for safety, rather than routine, and monitor those processes tightly. Recognise single points of failure and make sure those posts remain manned/assigned. Should you find a safety-critical process compromised, flag it early and often. See if it can be managed differently or pick it up yourself, forgoing the less important issues if necessary. Whilst the temptation to gather data will be high, consult your senior management and find out what they need to see and what they won't use at the moment - you may end up with gaps in your lovely sets of data for a while, but that's life. There may well be increased incident reporting as people's goodwill is replaced with resentment. Document all of these well as three years is a long time to remember detail. Stress is often lessened by information and control of destiny - make sure your management team realise that information is their ally, not their enemy.