PFI and PPP staff protection

A new Statement of Practice, put out for three months of public consultation by Public Service Minister Peter Kilfoyle, should ensure that staff transferring from Government departments and agencies to the private sector under PPP or PFI deals will have greater certainty that their jobs and terms and conditions will be protected.

Mr Kilfoyle said, "This Government is commited to ensuring that the public sector is a good employer and a model contractor and client. In the past staff have felt uncertain and confused about whether their terms and conditions would be secured under TUPE when they transfer to a new employer. This is not right or fair and the real loser is often the taxpayer if the quality of service deteriorates as a result. The publication of this Statement reaffirms our commitment…to support staff by presuming TUPE protections apply."

The Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector sets out the following principles:

• Contracting exercises with the private sector and voluntary organiations and transfers between different parts of the public sector will be conducted on the basis that staff will transfer and TUPE should apply, unless there are genuinely exceptional reasons
• This includes second and subsequent round contracts that result in a new contractor and where a function is brought back into a public sector organisation
• Where TUPE does not apply in strict legal terms to certain types of transfer within the public sector, the principles of TUPE should be followed
• There should be appropriate arrangements to protect occupational pensions, redundancy and severance terms of staff in all these types of transfer

Visit our Briefing Zone for more information on Corporate PFI.