Bit of background - I work in a team on the NHS. There are 8 of us in total; two staff members are on substantive contracts which they received prior to the rest of us being appointed, though their jobs are of equal pay and position within the team. The remaining 6 staff members are on fixed term contracts of two years duration due to expire in April.
Our length of NHS service and individual circumstances vary. Two staff members have come from substantive posts into fixed term contracts and both of these members of staff have 20 years+ continuous NHS service. I personally have 13 years but only 3.5 continuous unbroken.
The work we do is around mental health and we work in two residential units where patients are placed from anywhere in the country. We are employed by an NHS trust but the actual funding comes from the local PCT because the residential unit is on their 'patch' - they pay said NHS trust for our services (hope that makes sense).
The PCT who put up the funds for our service recoup their money by billing the local PCTs for each individual patient. SO for example if we have a patient from Sheffield then they send our bills to Sheffield PCT and Sheffield pay. This system works well and we actually make a small profit for the trust.
As our contract renewal dates got closer, we began asking questions about when new contracts would be agreed. We were told at the end of last year (as a staff group) that a decision had been made that our contracts would be renewed because our work is highly regarded, much needed and we are making a profit. This was a huge relief to everyone as you can imagine.
However, last week there were some developments. The government has finally provided a central pot of money to provide services such as ours, which means we no longer have to bill 'home' PCTs. You might think this positive, but the amount we will receive is only £85k and this will fund only two nurses and none of the more specialist clinical staff (such as myself). In addition, we were told that the PCTs being replaced by GP consortium means we can no longer bill PCTs that don't exist.
As a result, we were called together by a senior manager last week and told that all 8 jobs were being 'displaced' and that we would all go on the redeployment register. We were told we would each receive 'aspirational interviews' and be matched against trust vacancies even if we only filled 50% of the recruitment criteria. The trust has a 'no redundancy' policy. We were given copies of the trust's 'Organisational Change' policies by the senior manager which set out the measures they would take to redeploy us.
We were given times to meet for an interview nine days later but it took some time to clarify what the interview was and who would be in attendance. No answers were forthcoming so we came to assume these were the 'aspirational' interviews and we each received redeployment procedure documents in our trays giving an outline of what the interview would discuss. I attended for this interview on my day off work expecting to be told what measures would be taken to redeploy me within the trust.
The meetings ran late because the manager conducting them hadn't arrived. I was first to be seen so while I was waiting, I checked my e-mails to find a letter from our union rep telling us that the afternoon's interviews would only be 'aspirational' for those on substantive posts. It also mentioned that we might want to have our union rep present but by the time this information was received, it was obviously too late to act upon it. The meetings were not aspirational at all - with the exception of the two substantive posts, both of whom were given aspirational interviews and are being given alternative opportunities. Those of us on fixed term contracts are simply being finished up.
The two substantive posts are being treated differently from the rest of us.
I am aware that fixed term employees accrue rights and I assumed we had a right to redundancy pay if we cannot be redeployed, much the same as people on substantive posts. Our employers are instead saying that our contracts are ending due to them decommissioning the service (because funding will cease) rather than because our workload (or need for service) has diminished. On this technicality they are not displacing us, nor offering alternative employment and are not paying redundancy pay. The manager who came to interview us will try to help us find other opportunities in the trust but these are very limited and it is clear that our employers feel they have no responsibility towards those of us on fixed term contracts.
The issue affects me less because I have less continuous service than some of my colleagues but in their case, one full time worker stands to lose in excess of £80k by not receiving redundancy. They want to know where they stand and whether to pursue a case against the trust.
As an aside, it is my understanding that NHS trusts are supposed to consult widely prior to decommissioning services. This includes consulting with service users, which they do not seem intent on doing. Serice users and their carers are appalled that the service is being withdrawn - one of the residential units attracts business largely because its residents will have access to our services and obviously they are worried that this will affect their future. I feel concerned about my job obviously but also worried about the implications for our patients.
Sorry for long post but can anyone advise where my colleagues stand? Thanks.