Bumping

In the recruitment or human resources process, a practice known as bumping occurs where an employee who is losing their position or is being downgraded from another employee's position by virtue of his seniority or contractual rights. Bumping gives the displaced worker the right of "bumping" into a position that has been held by a less-senior employee as long as they qualify for that particular position. Quite often bumping is used to minimize the blow to long-tenured employees by giving them job alternatives inside the organization.

Example of Bumping:

Let's assume that a manufacturing company wants to improve the process and reduce the expenses by canceling the particular departments. The consequence of these actions is that several workers in the production division face the risk of losing their jobs. Nevertheless, due to collective bargain agreements or organizational policies, employees with seniority have the right to "bump" the less-senior employees from their present positions, as long as they are qualified to perform the duties of those positions. Here, the senior production worker can use their displacement rights and displace a junior production worker in their job. The junior worker may have a chance to bypass his position and take another one if there is such a job vacancy and he meets the requirements. Bumping can be used to protect the jobs of veteran employees while adjusting to workforce changes, and keeping the continuity of the organization.