Building & Property has signed a £200m, 7-year contract with Liverpool City Council to maintain and repair approximately 30,000 council homes in and around the city of Liverpool.

Clive Groom, Chief Executive of Building & Property Group: "We are delighted to start work on this challenging contract and are pleased to be able to apply our extensive experience in the field of TUPE transfers as we manage the effective integration of over 600 council staff into our organisation."

Aside from being a substantial contract, the deal is significant as it coincides with Building & Property becoming the first private enterprise to achieve ‘admitted body status’ following new regulations introduced at the beginning of the year. This makes the contract an excellent case study for private companies in negotiations with the public sector that are considering applying for Admitted Body Status.

Under Admitted Body Status, employees involved in a TUPE transfer will be automatically entitled to continue with their existing pension scheme thus removing the fear that their pension fund will be adversely affected. Since pension rights are not protected by TUPE legislation, this area has often been a particular source of concern to employees when contemplating a transfer from one company to another.

In the case of Liverpool City Council, Building & Property will be admitted to the Merseyside Pension Fund, which administers pensions for local government workers in Liverpool and surrounding areas.

Anna Lagerkvist