Message From Mactailgunner

The unions, the employers and the MoJ are meeting with ACAS today with a view to resolving the "failure to agree" over the draft National Agreement - aka The National Framework (as imposed). What is the point of this? Well probably not much in respect of the Assignment Process which is now rather much an unpleasant fact of life with which we have to deal. But if it is possible to convert the Framework into an Agreement, there are some significant advantages. The Framework/Agreement does contain some significant benefits for all existing staff going into an uncertain future, not least of which is a commitment to ongoing national collective bargaining. These benefits are best enshrined in an Agreement which, under the NNC would thus effectively become an adjunct to the National Terms & Conditions. Otherwise there is the danger that they will get lost down the line. Word is that they would be incorporated, as a letter of comfort from the Secretary of State, in the eventual Statutory Instrument making the Staff Transfer Scheme a matter of law. This is not the appropriate place for such things to be lodged. And who wants a letter of comfort from the Secretary of State - his letters to date have been less than comforting.

Additionally, if agreement can be reached, then a national enhanced voluntary redundancy scheme can be incorporated - it isn't there at the moment. This could be available to various grades of staff down the line in the event that voluntary redundancy was offered by either the NPS or CRCs - such as when offices are closed/re-located.

The unions are also still seeking continuity of service in perpetuity for all existing staff and this will be part of the negotiation. Without it there is a clear detriment suffered by Probation employees which contravenes the principles of COSOP (Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers)

Membership of the LGPS is supposedly guaranteed on transfer to either the NPS or CRC. It will be if the arrangements necessary are in place and without them any split seems very doubtful. What is in doubt is the portability of LGPS in the event that an employee subsequently seeks a move from one CRC to another of from the NPS to a CRC. The unions are seeking to ensure this protection although, since pensions are not negotiated through the NNC this may have to be a separate discussion and not one incorporated in any Agreement (as above).

Last week there was the second meeting between the unions and NOMS to discuss 'measures' - essentially things that need to be done both before and after April in the event of the split. These are already outlined in Appendix A of the Framework. The unions have been pressing for such a meeting for months. It becomes more and more apparent that there are many measures which do need to be addressed as a matter of urgency and time is rapidly running out. So what was originally going to be one meeting, then four meetings is now a scheduled meeting pretty much every week between now and April. These meetings will be for consultation purposes only. Some matters will require negotiation, but negotiation will have to be with a new, as yet unformed, set of employers .

It is rumoured that a revised MoJ Risk Register on the Programme shows significant ongoing high risk that Probation performance will dip as the chaos and uncertainty of the Programme bites deeper. Equally it would appear that deliverability of the Programme on time and in the planned format remains very doubtful. Whether or not the MoJ press ahead with the split in April will become clearer next month when the MoJ will need to serve notice on Trusts that their contracts for the supply of Probation services will be terminated on March 31st. Minimum notice period has been agreed at 10 weeks - so no later than 20th January.