A ballot for Napo CRC members
10th - 30th September 2020
Probation Reform -the story so far
Napo members have been at the forefront of their unions long running campaign to restore all Probation services to public ownership and control. The historic U-turn in Government policy announced by the Secretary of State for Justice on 11TH June followed the previous decision last year that 80% of probation work would transfer to the National Probation Service.
While the 2019 announcement of partial unification was welcomed at the time, Napo have maintained pressure in and outside of Parliament to press for the total reunification of Probation to bring certainty over the future of the service. Ministers have taken a courageous decision to fully reverse the disastrous Transforming Rehabilitation reforms that were implemented in 2014 and which we opposed from the start. These have also been widely and continuously criticised by politicians, the Justice Select Committee and HM Inspector of Probation. Reunification of the service also signals the early termination date for the existing Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts in June 2021. These contracts were expected to last for at least a decade and despite the best efforts of staff working within the system they have failed to deliver the promised service improvements and innovations.
This has been an immensely difficult time for all Probation staff, and especially those who have been working tirelessly against the odds to maintain services in the private sector. Our members have had to contend with unrealistic workloads, a fragmentation of services and, in some cases, seriously dangerous operational models which contributed to the demise of the former Working Links CRC in February 2019.
The new plans will see the National Probation Service take full responsibility for Sentence Management, Unpaid Work and Programme delivery with Dynamic Framework (DF) Providers being commissioned to offer additional support services. This is similar to the arrangements that existed under many of the former Probation Trusts prior to the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms.
Why this ballot is taking place - an overview of the Probation Reform negotiations
Napo negotiators were quick to move to the next stage in our campaign and engage with senior HMPPS and NPS leaders on the immediate challenges before us. These included the transfer of staff in June next year, the need to start to repair the massive damage suffered by the service and the need to achieve some short term stability. Just as important has been the re-opening of the debate about the long term future of probation where over the recent years we have mapped out our vision for the future of Probation:
- Fully unified service provision delivered within the public sector and never for profit
- Removal of Probation from the civil service and release from the prison dominated culture which means that Probation is the forgotten ‘P’ in HMPPS
- A service built on evidence based practice
- A service rooted in the local community and partnering with local specialist providers
Negotiations on the Probation Reform programme have actually been taking place for just over a year. The talks have covered the earlier decision to transfer Sentence Management work and staff from the Wales CRC to the NPS (which took place last December), the announcement in May 2019 that all Sentence Management would transfer to the NPS, and the subsequent decision in 2020 that Unpaid Work and Programmes would also be brought back into public control and ownership in June 2021.
Our most recent work has included finalising a new Staff Transfer and Protections Agreement to support the transition, a new Voluntary Redundancy /Voluntary Severance scheme, and the terms and conditions for staff transferring into the NPS. Napo’s ideal outcome would have been to see all directly employed CRC staff transferred into the NPS especially in light of the continuing staff shortages but this is not possible because in legal terms the principle is that the workers transfer with the work they do. We have been consulted on the assignment process that is being used to ensure this principle is adhered to.
Assignment
The CRCs have until the end of September to complete the assignment process which includes an appeal stage. All directly employed CRC staff will transfer to either NPS or a Dynamic Framework (DF) provider. They can object to the transfer but this will have the effect of ending their employment. Numbers are not yet certain but early estimates suggest that there are likely to be a very small number of staff transferring to DF providers. This will apply to those staff where their current role entails 50% or more of their time providing services such as Education, Training and Employment (ETE), accommodation and wellbeing support.
It is the role and not the person which is assigned, if a member of CRC staff moves to a new role before the date of transfer, that can change their assignment. For example, if they are currently in a role assigned to DF and they move to a role assigned to NPS they will transfer to NPS. Each CRC will (on HMPPS instruction) set a date after which no more recruitment (or level moves) is allowable. This is usually around 6 months prior to the transfer.
Napo Officials are encouraging CRC owners to do all that they can to enable their staff to move to their preferred future employer. This is especially important if their current CRC employer is successful in bidding for DF services and need staff who are sufficiently motivated to work for them. Napo are also maintaining pressure on CRC employers to ensure that their staff are paid the equivalent of existing NPS pay bands by the time of transfer to the NPS or DF provider.
The Framework for Transfer to the NPS or a DF provider
There is an important distinction between the transfer processes to the NPS or a DF provider. The CRC to NPS transfer is a Staff Transfer Scheme under COSOP (the code of practice governing transfers of staff into the public sector). The staff transfer scheme will include the Staff Transfer and Protections Agreement (STAP) and if CRC members agree to it then transferees to the NPS will be harmonised to new terms and conditions and the NPS pay scales that exist at date of their transfer. If the agreement is rejected, then staff transferring into the NPS (and those staff in NPS Wales who transferred prior to the end of the STAP negotiations) will do so with their existing CRC terms.
In the case of a CRC staff transfer to a DF provider, this will take place under the TUPE regulations because it is a transfer of a private sector employee to a third sector or private sector employer. There is case law to support this position. This means that those transferring to a DF provider will have their existing CRC terms and conditions protected.
Employment protections
Napo and our sister unions have secured a commitment from HMPPS to no compulsory redundancies for two years from the date of transfer and enhanced voluntary redundancy/severance terms if these should be necessary for the same period of time.