Listen to this story Members can listen to an AI-generated audio version of this article. 1.0x Audio narration uses an AI-generated voice. 0:00 0:00 Become a member to listen to this article Subscribe A union is threatening awarding giant City & Guilds with “legal and industrial action” over its workforce redundancy plans. Unite the Union claimed City & Guilds, which is now owned by Greek awarding business PeopleCert, is “advertising for jobs” in Greece and the UK at the same time as running redundancy consultations. A union spokesperson claimed the company is “unlawfully withholding key information” during transfer consultations and advertising for new recruits when it is “legally required” to give its staff at risk of redundancy first refusal on available roles. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The way PeopleCert is treating these workers is absolutely disgraceful and will not be tolerated. “Unite will use everything in its power to defend the City & Guilds workforce.” FE Week understands about 75 roles are at risk, with the majority within the business’s central support functions. Referencing a presentation shared with investors last year, the union said it believes PeopleCert is ultimately planning to shed around a third of City & Guilds’ 1,300-strong UK workforce. The presentation suggested plans to relocate some staff roles to Greece, where personnel costs are “up to 50 per cent lower”, through “natural employee churn”. The legal and industrial threats are a public escalation of a growing dispute between the awarding business’ staff and their new executives. ‘Inadequate disclosure’ PeopleCert bought City & Guilds’ awarding and commercial business from the 148-year-old charity in October for about £166 million. The sale is the subject of a live Charity Commission inquiry, with the regulator examining “trustees’ decision making” and large bonuses paid to senior executives after the transaction. PeopleCert itself also launched its own probe into the “conduct” of top City & Guilds executives during the sale. Neither inquiry has reported yet. According to a leaked letter, seen by FE Week, Unite the Union regional officer Peter Storey accused the new owners of failing to involve staff at a formative stage of the redundancy process. He also alleged “inadequate disclosure” about why job losses are necessary and “insufficient transparency” around the methodology of choosing which roles should be cut. Storey said the union would no longer participate in the redundancy consultation. He added that an “absence of management ownership” has created huge levels of anger and a lack of trust. The union representative also called for “urgent” involvement of conciliation service ACAS and “direct engagement” from interim CEO Andy Moss. Storey said: “PeopleCert has been dishonest from the moment it took over City & Guilds. “Without significant movement from the company, this dispute will continue to escalate, including through potential legal and industrial action.” ‘Process remains ongoing’ A spokesperson for PeopleCert said: “We remain committed to conducting a meaningful collective consultation with colleagues and their representatives in good faith and in accordance with our legal obligations. “We have provided extensive information on the proposals, responded to requests for further detail, and continue to engage constructively with representatives and impacted colleagues whose contribution to date has been valuable. “No outcomes have been predetermined. The purpose of consultation is to seek feedback on the proposals, explore ways to avoid, reduce and mitigate proposed redundancies where possible, and consider alternative approaches. “That process remains ongoing. We have agreed additional time for collective consultation discussions and continue to meet regularly with Unite and colleague representatives. We recognise this will be a difficult and uncertain time for colleagues whose roles may be impacted and are committed to handling the process with care, fairness and respect.” The spokesperson added their current redundancy proposals follow a review of the business earlier this year and are “separate to previous discussions on the workforce”. The proposed changes are designed to “further strengthen and enhance” the reliability and quality of City & Guilds qualifications, they said.