Transfer of employees from NHS Commissioning Board Authority to NHS Commissioning Board consultation summary
This is a summary of the consultation, which the Department of Health undertook between 30 April and 25 May 2012 on the abolition of the NHS…
This is a summary of the consultation, which the Department of Health undertook between 30 April and 25 May 2012 on the abolition of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the transfer of its staff to the NHS Commissioning Board.
As part of the process of abolishing the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the transfer of its staff to the NHS Commissioning Board, the Department was required, in accordance with section 28(7) of the NHS Act 2006, to consult representatives of those staff whose employment may be transferred, or who may be affected by such transfers.
The Department received one response to the consultation, from the Joint Chair of the HR Transition Partnership Forum.
Comments included a need for acknowledgement that this situation is governed by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, which the Department is happy to confirm.
There was also a suggestion that a list of names should be attached to the statutory instrument governing the transfer of staff. The Department was unable to take this suggestion on board because the draft order needs to be laid in June so that sufficient time is allowed for it to be scrutinised by both Houses of Parliament before it can come into force by 1 October. At the time the draft order is laid there will not be a definitive list of names of staff affected.
Finally, there was a request for a discussion at a meeting of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority’s informal consultative forum on the definition of ‘substantive employment’ with a view to ensuring that the right staff were in scope for transfer and that the impact on staff with fixed term or secondment contracts was appropriately assessed. The issue of how to define ‘substantive employment’ is a wider issue related to the whole transition process. Agreement has been reached nationally with the trade unions on the definition of ‘substantive’ and how this is applied throughout the transition process. This now forms one of the national transition HR policies. In any case, the draft order does not contain a definition of ‘substantive employment’.
Having considered the response, the Government has decided to proceed with the abolition of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the transfer of its staff to the NHS Commissioning Board.
See the Transfer of employees from NHS Commissioning Board Authority to NHS Commissioning Board consultation