Groups of public sector staff are leaving their organisations in health, social services and education, to set up not for profit companies to deliver services in innovative ways. The first wave of Pathfinder mutuals where staff take control of their services, has been announced by Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude.

Read more on ENTREPRENEURIAL PUBLIC SECTOR STAFF PILOT NEW STYLE OF SERVICE DELIVERY…

With numbers of public sector redundancies starting to emerge, such as Nottingham’s plan to lose 3000 staff, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has warned that employee engagement needs to be bolstered to avoid mass strikes.

Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYERS WARNED TO IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT WITH STAFF…

By Alison Weatherhead

The continuing pressure to cut costs in the public sector has led to many local authorities looking to squeeze the best possible value from their contractors by re-negotiating and re-packaging. This is creating uncertainty about employee rights. The author sets out a path to navigate this legal minefield.

To provide better service and a better deal financially, local authorities are currently restructuring many contracts – even long-standing arrangements. This usually means splitting services between multiple contractors or re-packaging contracts, leading to fewer providers.

This has a knock-on effect for employees and, invariably, the question as to whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are triggered rears its head.

There used to be a lot of uncertainty over whether TUPE came into play or not. New TUPE Regulations were introduced in April 2006 and were heralded as a new dawn, promising clarity and certainty. It is only now, with some cases reaching the courts, that the legal position is becoming clear.

But clarity raises many questions. What do these cases show us about determining whether individual employees are covered by TUPE transfer rules when a contract is being split or re-packaged?

What are the potential implications for both local authority procurement and those tendering for such contracts?

And how can public bodies structure their services so that the re-tender of services goes through without incurring unnecessary trouble and cost?

Read more on WHERE DO EMPLOYEES STAND WHEN CONTRACTS ARE RE-PACKAGED?…