Bath law firm Mogers Drewett’s innovative approach to the employment aspects of the merger between City of Bath College and Norton Radstock College has been credited with helping avoid large-scale compulsory job losses.
The new Bath College is now fully operational following the merger earlier this month and now employs around 650 staff, making it one of the region’s largest further education providers.
Mogers Drewett was brought in to assist with staffing and HR in preference to a national law firm that had previously represented City of Bath College on employment projects. 
The ‘positive and constructive cooperation’ between the firm, the two colleges and their unions is seen as avoiding anticipated heavy compulsory redundancies.
Employment and HR experts from Mogers Drewett took advantage of recent reforms in employment law to carry out a significant amount of industrial relations related work ahead of the merger.
This innovative approach meant the college could maximise the positive effects of the merger and to minimise disruption to students and staff.
Bath College principal Matt Atkinson said: “We are delighted that the merger was handled so well, and with a great many jobs secured. Bath College is not only committed to delivering the highest levels of teaching and training for students, we also strive to support the local business community and work with local suppliers where we can.
“However, while Mogers Drewett is indeed a local firm on our doorstep, they also proved they could deliver the highest levels of service and value throughout the merger process.”
Mogers Drewett partner – employment & HR – Sean McDonough added: “This was a very significant project for us and we are proud of our involvement in such an important project for the region.
“We were delighted that Bath College wanted to utilise the changes in employment legislation to achieve the merger. The strategy adopted required a significant amount of work on behalf of the college’s senior management team and positive and constructive cooperation from the college’s trade union representatives and I am delighted to say that both were in abundance throughout the process.
“The outcome being that the newly formed college was very quickly able to provide a stable platform for its staff and students. The high number of compulsory redundancies that were being mooted in the press prior to the merger has been avoided and it was great for Mogers Drewett to be involved in such a positive outcome for the region.”
“We have worked with the college in recent years on property issues. But we were able to prove to the college that we could deliver much greater value and a far more responsive service for the merger, as well as bringing to bear our understanding and commitment to the local community. This meant we were focussed throughout on minimising any negative implications for local people.”
Bath College has a city centre campus in Avon Street, Bath, and the Somer Valley Campus in South Hill Park, Westfield. As well as employing around 730 staff, it provides vocational and educational training for more than 3,000 full-time students and around 10,000 part-time students across a broad range of subjects.
