Employment Issues

The RPA was launched by the Executive in June 2002.  It covers most of the public administration in Northern Ireland and you can find background and objectives of the review on the RPA website as well as a refined definition of the RPA affected group (PDF 36.4 KB).  The Executive may decide to further revisit this.

The Secretary of State’s decisions on the Review are given in the Written Ministerial Statement.(PDF 52 KB). There are separate, more detailed statements on Health (PDF 20 KB) and Education (PDF 88 KB).  A summary of all decisions (PDF 452 KB) was published in March 2006.

The Executive has decided to reconsider some of the decisions made under direct rule in respect of Local Government, Education, and Health.

1032 responses were received and they reveal that there was broad support for reform. An analysis of these is on the RPA website.

There are indicative timetables available for each sector, however, once again the Executive may wish to revisit this.

The first guiding principle from the Public Service Commission recommended the development and implementation of a communications strategy for the Review of Public Administration. As part of this strategy, on the RPA website you can find regular bulletins detailing the progress of RPA implementation, news releases relevant to its implementation as well as circulars from the RPA Central Unit.

For Departmental information please refer to the relevant departmental links on the RPA website.

From the outset the direct rule administration gave a commitment to protect staff interests.  The Executive has since re-affirmed this commitment.  In addition, employers have placed it as a high priority and are engaged with trade unions at a number of levels.  A Central Joint Forum (CJF), comprising representatives from Government and the NI Committee, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU), has been set up as a formal mechanism to address all relevant RPA implementation issues affecting the interests of employers.  In addition to the work of the CJF, consultation is taking place with other organisations represented on the relevant Staff Sides not affiliated to the NIC ICTU.

As part of this commitment, the Public Service Commission (PSC) was established on 8 March 2006.  The PSC seeks to make recommendations to the Executive on the guiding principles and steps necessary to safeguard the interests of staff and to ensure their smooth transfer to new organisations established as a consequence of Executive decisions on the review of public administration, taking into account statutory obligations, including those arising from section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Information on the Public Service Commission and their associated recommendations are available on their website.

In accordance with TUPE, staff will transfer with their work to the new employer along with their pay and terms and conditions.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 is the main piece of legislation governing the transfer of an undertaking, or part of one, to another. The regulations are designed to protect the rights of employees in a transfer situation enabling them to enjoy the same terms and conditions, with continuity of employment, as formerly. TUPE protection is not subject to any specific time limit. In addition, TUPE places significant constraints on the variation of these terms and conditions at a later stage.

The direct rule administration required that the necessary provisions would be incorporated into RPA implementation legislation the necessary provisions to ensure this applied to all staff transferring; the Executive has since reaffirmed this requirement.

The direct rule administration committed, and the Executive affirmed the commitment, to protect staff rights in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector and the guiding principles set out in the HMT guidance, A Fair Deal for Staff Pensions.  This is covered in the PSC’s 3^rd Guiding Principle, Staff Transfers, which the direct rule administration accepted and the Executive affirmed its commitment to its underpinning objectives.

In addition, the direct rule administration stipulated, and the Executive reaffirmed, that there will be legislative provisions which will require pensions to be protected so that the new organisations will provide benefits that are no less favourable, taken as a whole than those which applied before the transfer.

There are scheme developments, across all sectors, and we have already taken steps to ensure their impact will be incorporated into the work we are doing.  The commitment to provide pension schemes which provide pension benefits that are no less favourable taken as a whole will ensure that any change in retirement age will be adjusted for in full, but at this stage we cannot say exactly how that will operate.  Retirement age isn’t the only thing that is changing, for example, member contributions are also changing.  Broad comparability will encompass all of these aspects.

Options to be considered might include a dispensation to retain a retirement age of 60 for transferring staff or compensatory pay rises, therefore, we need to engage with the receiving schemes and agree what’s possible.  

Any changes to pension arrangements will of course be subject to consultation with TUS.

Your existing terms and conditions will carry forward to the new employer, following the principles of TUPE.

If an individual is protected by the Flexible Working Regulations then the fact that he/she applies for a change in hours/days under those Regulations means that he/she is protected from any detriment or dismissal on that ground.  If, however, the individual is not protected under those Regulations (ie because he/she has no children/caring responsibilities or the children are outside the relevant age band) then the request is a simple request to amend the contract and as part of the negotiating process the new employer could add new conditions to the amended contract.  However, this would be very much a matter for the new employer.

Annual leave allowance is part of the individual’s terms and conditions and therefore is protected under TUPE.  As a result they will take their current entitlement with them and, where appropriate, the entitlement to an increase after a set number of years remains.

The RPA will be implemented, by legislation, following the principles of TUPE, on the basis that transfers of functions will be conducted so that staff will transfer with their work, unless there are genuinely exceptional reasons for not doing so. On the date of transfer, the new organisation will be your legal employer. Under TUPE arrangements, your employer would be obliged to treat the refusal to transfer as a resignation.

A proposal for statutory provision for a dispute resolution process which would allow staff to seek redress in relation to disputes arising uniquely from the implementation of RPA is currently being developed and will be included in the Code of Practice on Staff Transfers (currently under development).

The Secretary of State gave the commitment in his statement of 22 November 2005 that every possible effort would be made to avoid redundancies.  The Executive has since reaffirmed this commitment.  In a bid to do so, and in response to the PSC's 2nd Guiding Principle 'Managing VacanciesEffectively', a Guidance Note issued outlining that employers will be required to implement vacancy management schemes, in consultation with appropriate trade unions.

The majority of vacancies in existing posts that will arise are likely to be as a result of natural wastage.  In most of these cases, particularly in front-line positions, it is expected that such vacancies will be filled as in the normal course of business.  No new posts in RPA affected areas should be created unless there is considered to be an inescapable requirement for the post.  In other cases, where it is considered that a vacancy must be filled, employers should initially consider internal sources.  Where it is considered that such vacancies must be filled through externally sourced resources, consideration should be given to employment on fixed term contracts, which would expire before the date of transfer, or through the use of secondments. This is likely to apply especially where a post is to disappear or be materially altered as a result of RPA changes.

In addition, where it is determined that there is a need to fill a new, or substantially new post in a new organisation through an external competition, applications should be sought, in the first instance, from staff at a clearly identified risk of compulsory redundancy employed in the RPA Affected Group.  However, there may be exceptional circumstances where this is not appropriate and a decision will be taken to fill a post through a fully open, external competitive process.

TUPE protection provides that an individual cannot be made redundant where the reason for the redundancy is the transfer itself or a reason connected with the transfer.  In law, redundancies would be permissible for a reason connected with the transfer, provided that reason is an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes to the workforce.  Individuals should note, however, that the Executive, and in effect RPA-affected employers, are committed to fulfilling the commitment to make every possible effort to avoid redundancies.

Each Department with responsibility for implementing the RPA decisions has a statutory obligation under Section 75 of the NI Act 1998 and, in line with their Equality Schemes, has to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations.  Each decision taken by Departments in relation to RPA implementation will be subject to screening and, where potential adverse impact is identified, full Equality Impact Assessments will be conducted.

It is fundamental to the overall implementation of the RPA decisions, particularly on employment and location issues, that EQIAs are conducted on an iterative basis, with each decision providing the equality context for future decisions.  OFMDFM Equality Directorate will work with, and provide strategic advice to, Departments on a coordinated approach to equality.  To help monitor the equality impacts, periodic statistical analysis of the changing composition of the workforces affected will be carried out by OFMDFM, using data specially compiled for the exercise.  This will also be made available to Departments and other public authorities for their own analysis.

A number of cross-departmental steering groups have been established to facilitate a coordinated approach across Departments involved in the implementation of key priority issues such as human resources/employment and the location of the public sector estate.  In addition, a cross-departmental Equality, Rights and Good Relations Forum, has been established to provide an arena for identifying effective approaches to integrated/co-ordinated implementation of the statutory duties and for the exchange of information and expertise about the mainstreaming of equality, good relations, social need and human rights issues in the process of implementation.  This includes external representatives from the Equality Commission, the NI Human Rights Commission, the Community Relations Council, the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People and NIC ICTU.

Arrangements are in place for engagement at Cross Sector, Sector and Employer Level; it is envisaged that these will continue.

If it is proposed to physically re-locate work, staff would move within their existing contractual mobility obligations.  As yet no decisions have been taken as to where the new organisations will be permanently located, however, all such proposals will be in accordance with the 7th Guiding Principle on Location as accepted by the Executive and will be subject to the normal consultation processes.

A Framework to Underpin Decisions on the Location of Public Sector Jobs Resulting from teh Review of Public Administration was published on 27 November 2007.  Further details are available on the RPA website estates page*.

*Please note that a review of policy on the location of public sector jobs in Northern Ireland is currently underway.  The framework will beconsideredas part of the policy review and therefore may change as a result of the final outcome. However, in the interim it should be applied to any decisions being made about the location of RPA-related bodies.

The policy is that staff will transfer should their respective functions transfer but there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard.  At this stage it is not possible to deal with specific queries, however, the PSC’s 3^rd Guiding Principle and addendum deal with Staff Transfers and a draft Code of Practice in this regard is being developed.

Where applicable, while on a career break you continue to be under contract with your employer during absence.  However, as with normal procedure, there is no guarantee that you would return to your previous post at the end of the career break.  Therefore if the function transfers out you might not necessarily be affected, there may however be exceptions to this rule.  Your right to return to the Department would be determined by business need in the normal way.

A distinction has to be drawn between people who are actually employed by an area of the public sector which is transferring under RPA and those who are employed elsewhere but are seconded to one of the affected areas.  In all cases treatment will be determined by the substantive contract.  Employees transfer under TUPE or under TUPE type provisions.  

Individuals who are seconded into an area which is affected by the RPA but whose substantive employer will not be changed by the RPA will simply return to that substantive employer in due course in accordance with the current secondment arrangements.  Individuals whose substantive employer will change as a result of the RPA will move to that new employer at the end of any secondment arrangement.  Posting at the end of secondment would be a matter to be dealt with in the normal way and would, of course, not necessarily be back to the parent department.

You continue to be under contract with your employer during your absence so, if your employment transfers, you will follow to the new employer.

All transfers will be treated in accordance with statutory provisions, Codes of Practice, Staff Transfer Schemes and other agreements and procedures applicable to the Review of Public Administration.

The final proposals for the Review of Public Administration in relation to local government were agreed by the NI Executive on 13 March 2008.  The Executive decided that the current configuration of 26 council areas will be rationalised to create 11 new council areas and made a number of decisions on the future shape of local government. The DOE Minister made a statement to the Assembly on the agreed proposals on 31 March 2008 and answered members’ questions.

Current expenditure on the functions that are set to transfer is £116 million, which will represent an increase of 25% in local government’s budget. In addition, approximately 1,070 associated staff are set to transfer to local government, which will mean an almost 12% increase in local government staffing levels.

The next step in the Review of Public Administration in relation to local government is to appoint a new Boundaries Commissioner. At a meeting on 3 April 2008 the Environment Committee agreed to allow accelerated passage for the Local Government (Boundaries) Bill, to allow for this appointment at the earliest opportunity.

In parallel with this procedure the Local Government Taskforce’s Strategic Leadership Board will establish the necessary implementation structures for the reform process.

To keep up to date with developments please visit the DOE (Local Government Policy Division) website.

To keep up to date with developments in relation to the Review of Public Administration in Education please visit the Department of Education website.

To keep up to date with developments in relation to the Review of Public Administration in Health please visit the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety website.

We cannot predict what the Executive might do, however, the Executive has affirmed its commitment to the objectives underpinning those Guiding Principles accepted under Direct Rule.

Last updated April 2008