Continuous service clarification

[alwaysthinkingofsleep]

I left employment 13 months ago solely to card for my children. At this point I had 14 years continuous service but believed I would lose this when I left.
I am returning to work imminently & have read in the Green Book that a break to care for children would not impact negatively upon continuous service & previous service would be taken into account.

Have I read this correctly? Does my continuous service still stand? Feels like a big win for me if so!!

[HedgieHog]

Continuous service for your old employer or for your cv?

[prh47bridge]

I presume that you are referring to the national agreement on pay and conditions for support staff at maintained schools and academies. This says that, in your situation, your service prior to leaving will be taken into account for the sickness and maternity schemes, and for calculation of your annual leave entitlement. As far as I can see the Green Book does not require your previous service to be taken into account for any other purpose.

[alwaysthinkingofsleep]

Referring to the national agreement for working in local government, not schools. It actually states "if you have returned to local government following a break for...reasons concerned with caring for children...you will be entitled to have previous service taken into account...in respect of [sickness & maternity pay]" etc

[alwaysthinkingofsleep]

@prh47bridge sorry I think we are actually talking about the same thing! It also refers to redundancy in the next paragraph.

They are the important aspects of continuous service for me so if I've read it correctly I have full annual leave entitlement, full sickness entitlement & better redundancy payment should this arise

[dontdisturbmenow]

Dirait stipulate what they mean by ' break'? Ie. Still remaining employed but with an agreed break for caring for a defined period and then returning to same employment or following resigning to the post and applying to a new role after X years ?

Which category do you fall under?

[alwaysthinkingofsleep]

There is absolutely no further information about what qualifies as a "break", only that it is time off to care for children or other dependents. It is not referring to an agreed period of time off with an employer. It does state there is a time limit of 8 years.

[prh47bridge]

Yes, the next paragraph refers to redundancy, but it is a completely separate provision. It covers what happens if you are TUPEd to an organisation not covered by the relevant order (your continuity of service is protected by TUPE) and also what happens if you then return to local government service. There is nothing in the Green Book that suggests your previous service counts for redundancy purposes. My reading of the relevant clauses is that your annual leave entitlement and sickness entitlement are based on your previous 14-years' service, but it is not taken into account for calculating redundancy pay.

@dontdisturbmenow - Essentially, the relevant provisions kick in if the OP leaves local government service to care for her family then returns to local government service within 8 years and without taking up another full-time job in the interim.

[alwaysthinkingofsleep]

@prh47bridge thanks, I did note that the redundancy bit was separate so I understand what you are saying.

I suppose I am just utterly flabbergasted that I (& everyone else I have spoken to connected to my employment) was unaware of this. When I decided to leave to care for my children, losing my CS was a factor & management warned me about this too. I do understand I am responsible for understanding my contract! I was clearly in a very different position when I began work 14 years ago & may leave etc wasn't on the horizon.

Thanks for your help, awaiting need from HR about this now.