HES launches voluntary exit scheme as part of longer-term workforce planning

The scheme will provide eligible colleagues who wish to leave HES with the opportunity to apply for voluntary exit, while helping the organisation rebalance its workforce and resources around its future priorities and service requirements.

The scheme forms part of HES's wider programme of organisational transformation, designed to ensure the organisation remains sustainable, adaptable and able to deliver its priorities effectively in the years ahead. It will help HES consider how its people and resources can be best aligned with future organisational and service requirements, supporting a considered rebalancing of resources towards its priorities.

Stephen Uphill, Interim Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland, said:

“Historic Environment Scotland has important responsibilities to deliver for Scotland, both now and over the long term. As we look to the future, we need to make sure our organisation has the right balance of people, skills and resources focused on the areas where they can have the greatest impact.

“The Voluntary Exit Scheme gives eligible colleagues an additional opportunity while helping us plan responsibly for the organisation we need for the future. It is entirely voluntary and there is no predetermined number of people we are seeking to leave. This is about taking a thoughtful, long-term approach to our workforce and resources so that HES remains resilient, sustainable and well placed to deliver its priorities and services into the future.”

Applications for the voluntary scheme will open on Monday 26 October 2026 and close at midday on Friday 20 November 2026. All applications will be considered against the published scheme criteria, affordability and organisational needs. Approval is not automatic and any voluntary exit must work for both the individual and HES.

The scheme will operate within the relevant Civil Service Compensation Scheme arrangements. HES has consulted with its Trade Union Alliance on its introduction.

We're the lead body for Scotland’s historic environment, a charity dedicated to the advancement of heritage, culture, education and environmental protection. We are at the forefront of researching and understanding the historic environment and addressing the impacts of climate change on its future. Across Scotland, we investigate and record architectural and archaeological sites and landscapes and care for more than 300 properties of national importance. HES is also working with sector partners to deliver Scotland's strategy for the historic environment, Our Past, Our Future.

Historic Scotland, trove.scot, The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP), The Engine Shed, Stirling Castle, and Edinburgh Castle are sub-brands of HES.

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Historic Environment Scotland Communications Office
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