Continual Chaos

Somewhat predictably the lead in to the final day of Probation under public ownership has been marred by further chaos and confusion. This time its not about the operational situation which sees little sign of getting better, but the thorny problem of continuity of employment for members seeking a transfer into the NPS from CRC's before they transfer into private ownership on 1st February.

All of you will be familiar with the regular denials by NOMS about our claims over the state of the service, but I am struggling to think of a logical explanation that even their spin doctors can offer to justify the shambolic situation that members have had to face over the last week or so.
 
The key issues being reported by members have been around receipt of offers for NPS posts that in some cases were unacceptable and others where members have already applied but not yet been made an offer prior to today. None of this bodes well for the future development of a professional and well rounded service and it seems that all the warnings we sounded have been ignored at a very senior level.
 
The communications to staff on this issue have been extremely poor and sometimes aggressive and also very hurried;  no doubt reflecting the chaos and panic on the ground.
 
Napo, via Mike McClelland and Dean Rogers have been working with Norma Beechey at NOMS   to get to the bottom of this, and have reached a definitive position this morning.
 
The position is detailed below in the statement that we have issued today
 
URGENT
 
FAO any member who has received a job offer from the NPS and needs to reply by end of 31st January
 
 Dear Colleagues,
 
Within the Staff Transfer Agreement, there are conditions that protect rights specifically linked to continuity of service. These include terms which have a service qualification, such as access to maternity provisions, rights to present a claim to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal, etc. Although not extensive they are important to many members and were an important gain for unions in the negotiations.
 
Unfortunately, legal provisions do not allow for continuity of service to be continued where someone is transferring from a private company into the public sector, and so from 1st February when formal ownership of the CRC’s transfer, any member of staff transferring from a CRC into the NPS would not be able to retain rights specifically accrued under continuity of service. Other parallel terms and conditions are unaffected.
 
Given that this has been understood for many months it is hugely unfortunate that in some areas the NPS have left people in an invidious position. Some Probation Officer members have applied for posts in the NPS and been offered something at the last minute. In numerous cases the location of the role wasn’t specified during the application process and people were recruited to a ‘pool’ so the posts are seemingly being offered with no opportunity for the member to have an input into where they will be ‘posted’. We understand that in several cases these enforced postings are unsuitable or at least very difficult.
 
After some intense discussions it has not been possible to persuade the NPS to vary the requirement to confirm acceptance of a post by 31st January to be included on the Staff Transfer list and retain the rights afforded by continuity of service. Therefore, if you do not respond confirming acceptance of the post by the end of  31st January these rights will not transfer with you. You would have the opportunity to raise the concerns after the transfer and seek to negotiate adjustment later (e.g. if the location presents caring difficulties then this can be raised through normal processes after you’ve started) but this will not be possible ahead of transferring into a post without conceding the accrued continuity of service rights.
 
Where someone has applied for a transfer into the NPS from a CRC but have not yet heard if they have been successful then any transfer after 31/1/15 will not include the rights afforded by continuity of service.
 
I hope this is clear even if it is disappointing. If you have any specific questions or concerns then please contact your local Napo representatives in the first instance.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Dean Rogers
Assistant General Secretary
 
 
Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 Here is the official view

My letter to Ursula Brennan on the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement has elicited this response from Michael Spurr.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE OFFENDER REHABILITATION ACT 2014

Thank you for your letter of 23 January to Ursula Brennan setting out your observations on the readiness of probation for the commencement of relevant parts of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 (ORA). Ursula has noted your observations and asked me to respond on her behalf.
In line with the Secretary of State’s decision to proceed with the award of the contracts for the running of the CRCs, the second Commencement Order covering remaining non- commenced sections of the ORA has now been made and will come into force on 1 February 2015. A copy of the Order can be obtained through the following link:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/40/pdfs/uksi_20150040_en.pdf

When deciding it was safe to proceed to contract award and signature in December, the Secretary of State’s consideration included the intention to commence the ORA and complete service transition on 1 February 2015. Since that date implementation arrangements and operational readiness have been carefully considered and monitored, including all of the issues you have raised. We are satisfied that there are no significant or unexpected issues that would cause us to change the decision made in December, and that it is safe to commence the ORA provisions on 01 February.

Following service transition and the commencement of the ORA we will continue to monitor delivery of the new services and appreciate that there will be implementation issues you will want to discuss with us as we move forward. We would be happy to discuss these with you through the Probation Consultative Forum, alternatively the offer to meet that I made in my letter of 12 January still stands.

Yours sincerely

MICHAEL SPURR

We are urgently seeking to take up the invitation to a meeting but please keep sending the reports in about what is actually happening (or not as the case may be).

Next week  - news on: CRC engagement ; new arrangements to support members in the NPS and CRC's; Justice Unions Parliamentary Group; Unison complete consultation on Pay.