The government has refused to guarantee there will be no compulsory redundancies following the creation of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The new department began work last week, taking on the responsibilities of the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA), as well as prisons, probation and sentencing from the Home Office.
Unions have expressed concern about job losses due to the inevitable duplication of roles. The MoJ will employ about 79,000 people.
A spokesman for the MoJ told Personnel Today: “All government departments are expected to deliver efficiencies and, as with any business change process, opportunities for achieving these goals with potential headcount savings may present themselves.
“Where this does arise, every effort will be made to avoid compulsory redundancies, although inevitably, there can be no absolute guarantee.”
