Working in partnership through the
Concordat Steering Group
Public Health
Local System HR and Workforce
Issues
Regional Event
Update briefing January 2013
Trade
Unions
In this briefing
Transfer Schemes
• Update on core clauses and
timetable - staffing lists and
additional clauses
Other transition issues
• Directors of Public Health
designate - progress and
process update
• Infection prevention & control
• Honorary contracts
• Clinical Excellence Awards
• Advertising of posts
Pensions post April 2013
Finance
Guidance and support
•
•
•
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Job Evaluation Guidance
Union recognition post April
Staff Commission
Guidance on transfer schemes
Guidance on data sharing
Guidance on transfer of claims and
liabilities and employment liabilities
• HR zone access
• Clinical negligence liability
• NHS Pay & Conditions workshop
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Transfer Schemes
Core clauses
•
The Department, employers and the trade unions have agreed nearly all the
terms of the Transfer Schemes. However, they have been unable to reach
agreement on precisely how the schemes will protect terms and conditions
after the transfer.
•
Further partnership meetings are planned including a joint resolution
process designed to reach conclusion in January.
•
As discussed at the regional events, LAs and PCTs nevertheless, still need
to make progress on the effective and safe transfer of functions and people
and undertaking all the necessary due diligence.
Other clauses
•
The deadline for LAs to advise the Department of a requirement for other
clauses has now lapsed. However some LAs have expressed concern as
they have not had the necessary contractual information from the PCTs in
order to make an informed decision. If your LA has not already notified DH
that it might need ‘other’ clauses, please email
localpublichealth@dh.gsi.gov.uk without delay.
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Transfer Schemes
Timetable
•The senders have now returned the first batch of transferring staff lists to the DH
People Transition Programme (PTP). 68 lists were received for transfers to LAs,
which cover 46% of LAs.
•An update of the lists were due to be received by 15 January. Now that allocations
have been announced, LAs need to ensure these have been/are agreed with the
PCTs.
•The final staff transfer lists are to be returned from PCTs by 15 February. After
this point any variations to the list will have to go through a strict control procedure.
No changes can be made after 12 March 2013.
•LAs are required to confirm formally, their acceptance of the transfer list by 29
March 2013.
•LAs and PCTs need to be agreeing now the process they each have to go
through to arrive at the formally agreed list by the due date.
•Remember:
– if staff are not on the list they are not covered by the transfer scheme.
– where staff transferring have already been agreed between the PCT and
LA, they need to be notified formally as soon as possible
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Other Transition Issues
Directors of Public Health designate
• A process has begun for LAs and the Secretary of State to confirm the
appointment of the new Directors of Public Health designate. It is being led by
the Regional PH Directors. This applies to those directors who are transferring
directly to the LA on an 1:1 basis. A number of posts have now been confirmed.
• Posts not confirmed by 31 March 2013 will have to go through the full joint
appointment process from 1 April 2013 even if the appointment is to a
transferred member of staff.
Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC)
• The factsheet ‘Health protection and local government’ produced in September
2012 outlines the responsibilities of local authorities for preventing, planning for
and responding to health protection incidents and outbreaks. The funding for
this function has now been included within the published LA allocations. LAs
and PCTs will need to consider the transfer of this function and which of the
current IPC staff should be on their transfer scheme list.
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Other Transition Issues
Advertising of Vacancies
•Interim arrangements to 15 March 2013
•To assist local authorities in preparing to fill vacancies within the transferring
functions, interim arrangement are in place
– Local authorities may be able to access NHS jobs through arrangements
with their local PCT
– Where local authorities are unable to access NHS Jobs, they can advertise
on the People Transition website
http://www.hrtransition.co.uk/organisations/local-authorities/
– To advertise a vacancy complete the imbedded spreadsheet and send it
through to andrew.holmes@dh.gsi.gov.uk, who will then
place the information on the website.
– LAs and PCTs are asked to work together to fill appropriate vacancies pretransfer to assist in reducing or avoiding any redundancies.
•Arrangements from 1 April 2013
– Work is in progress to try and provide LAs with direct access to NHS jobs
from 1 April. If it is possible to achieve this, further information will be
provided in March.
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. in Partnership with the Trade Unions through the Concordat Steering Group
Other Transition Issues
Honorary Contracts (HCs)
• PHE will have transferred to it some NHS honorary contract arrangements for
staff in PH, particularly PCT funded academics. However these NHS honorary
contract arrangements will need to be reviewed to ensure that appropriate new
contractual arrangements are put in place which reflect the operating model of
the new public health system. Some guidance for universities and LAs on ‘NHS
honorary contracts’ will be issued in February.
Clinical Excellence Awards
• Agreement has been reached for PHE to become an administering body for
Clinical Excellence Awards, subject to further discussions with ACCEA. This will
mean PHE will be able to administer employer based CEAs for themselves, LAs
and PH academia, negating the need to use honorary NHS contracts for this
purpose. Funding of employer based awards will continue as at present with the
exception of a transitional arrangement for LA employer based awards, agreed
after 1 April 2013, applying to the current CEA scheme, where central funding is
proposed.
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Pension post April
2013 (1)
• On 17 May 2012 the Department of Health and the Local Government
Association (LGA) were pleased to confirm that staff performing public health
functions who have access to the NHS Pension Scheme on 31 March 2013 will
retain this access, on transfer from PCTs to Las
Post April 2013 provision:
– All transferring staff will retain access to the NHS Pension Scheme
(NHSPS) if they are then compulsorily moved to another post within the
same local authority and remain in direct local authority employment;
– Transferring ‘public health professionals’ and staff in the 1995 section of
the Scheme within 10 years of their normal pension age of 55 or 60 as at
1 April 2012 and those covered by tapering protection will retain access
to the NHSPS if they make a voluntary move to another public health
post within the same local authority;
– All other transferring staff who do not fall within these groups, will join the
Local Government Pension Scheme if they move posts voluntarily after
transfer;
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Pension post April
2013 (2)
•'Local authorities, as employers, can decide whether to apply for a directions
order to allow continued access to the NHSPS for public health professionals
and staff nearing retirement where they recruit “new joiners” to public health
roles who already have access to the NHSPS. These staff could be recruited
from the NHS, another local authority or elsewhere;
–The above agreements are designed to focus on specific roles transferring to
local government which are likely to: require specific public health skills and
experience; be largely NHS facing; and be appropriate for staff whose careers
are likely to move around the public health system.
–A set of explanatory ‘frequently asked questions’ is being developed which
will include more detailed definitions. FAQs will be published during January
and February, beginning with a set for LAs about administration of the
NHSPS. The weblinks on the next slide are to this guidance and other useful
information:
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Pension post April
2013 (3)
'1). Frequently Asked Questions for local authorities on
administering the NHS Pension Scheme
2). NHS Pension Scheme (NHSPS) Employer’s Charter
(roles and responsibilities in locally administering the
NHSPS) http://www.nhsba.nhs.uk/3542.aspx
3) NHSPS Guide (general information about the
NHSPS)
http://www.nhsba.nhs.uk/Document/Pensions/SDGuid
e-online(V8)04.2012.pdf
4). NHSPS Tiered Contribution rates
http://www.nhsba.nhs.uk/Pensions/2520.aspx
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Finance
•
•
•
•
•
•
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A £5.45 billion two-year ring-fenced public health budget for local authorities was
announced on 10 January 2013.
From April 2013, public health budgets will be protected for the first time, with local
authorities taking the lead for improving the health of their local communities. This will
help drive local efforts to improve health and wellbeing by tackling the wider
determinants of poor health.
Building on advice from an independent expert group – the Advisory Committee on
Resource Allocation (ACRA) – funding is specifically targeted, for the first time, at
those areas with the worst health outcomes.
The funding allocations support the Government’s vision of helping people live longer,
healthier and more fulfilling lives and tackling inequalities in health.
In 2013/14 the total budget for local public health services will be just under £2.7
billion. In 2014/15 the budget will be just under £2.8 billion. Every local authority will
receive a real terms increase in funding.
See full details of public health allocations
Providing a two-year budget will also give local authorities a clearer longer-term
understanding of their future funding as they prepare to take on their new
responsibilities.
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Guidance and Support
Job Evaluation Guidance
• Working on behalf of the CSG, the Unions and the LGA are developing a
series of benchmark public health role profiles based on NHS job
documentation. These profiles include indicative job evaluation scores using
the National Joint Council (NJC), Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC)
and Hay schemes that are most common in local government.
•
The profiles will be made available on an advisory basis to help employers
assess how transferring jobs will fit into their local structures and to help
develop future jobs. The suite of profiles will include a guidance note on the
steps LAs should take in assessing jobs and options for future job
evaluation. The documents will be published early in the New Year
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Guidance and Support
Union representation
• It has been agreed that a sub-committee of the NJC will be established with
a remit to examine post-transfer public health workforce issues and provide
necessary advice to the NJC. The sub-committee will include
representatives of the RCN, the BMA and MIP though it will not involve
formal recognition for bargaining purposes. The exact terms of reference are
currently being developed.
Staff Commission
• It was agreed some while back by the NJC that a national appeals process
under the auspices of ACAS should be set up. This system, commonly
called a ‘staff commission’ will be designed to help mediate disputes about
post-transfer grievances if they cannot be settled locally. The system will be
voluntary. The exact terms of reference are currently being developed.
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Guidance and Support
Guidance on the transfer schemes, data sharing, employment liabilities
and a myriad of other useful information:
• Can be found on the HR zone http://www.hrtransition.co.uk/
access password hrz0ne (0 = zero)
Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts
• LAs have asked about the CNST and the requirement for
professional indemnity insurance for transferring medical staff. See
the NHSLA website for details of cover provided currently
http://www.nhsla.com/Pages/Home.aspx. Some authorities have
taken the view that all they require for the services transferring is their
normal professional indemnity insurance.
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Guidance and Support
CSG Workshop on NHS consultant and VSM contracts, AfC & other key
HR issues
• The date and venue have yet to be agreed but the plan is for the end
of February.
• This workshop is to support LAs with an understanding of the terms
and conditions of the staff who are transferring to them covering some
of the more tricky issues about pay progression, performance pay,
medical and professional revalidation, clinical excellence awards etc.
• There will be variety of key expert speakers including a forward look
at the profession relationship with PHE.
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