The Social Partnership Forum has input into this material through having representatives on a HR Framework working group. This group has now become the HR Transition Partnership Forum.
HR Transition Framework
The Framework was published on 7 July 2011. It has been developed with Trade unions, NHS, DH, and ALB representatives on the HR Transition Partnership Forum. It outlines the principles that should be followed when staff are transferred between organisations as part of the proposed health and social care reforms. It aims to ensure that processes are transparent and staff are treated fairly and equally and are supported by effective and fair HR practice. It is part of ongoing national HR guidance, covering NHS, DH and ALB staff.
Frequently asked questions to accompany the Framework have been developed.
Further guidance on how the framework will be applied in receiver organisations (those organisations that will receive staff as a result of the health and social care reforms) will be produced in separate People Transition Policies. There will be People Transition Policies for each receiver organisation.
HR Transition Guidance and Toolkit
To support the people transition, HR transition guidance has been developed by a reference group of representative HR and operational managers from sender and receiver bodies along with union representatives from the HRTPF and SHA Clusters.
The guidance is in the form of a toolkit to be used by HR professionals in both receiver and sender organisations responsible for the transition of staff to the new bodies. It will also be a useful resource for trade union representatives. It provides practical advice and templates to implement the people transition process at local level and sets out the responsibilities of senders and receivers, including their equality assurance responsibilities.
A portal for all the guidance has been established; this will contain all the up to date guidance and any subsequent additions. You will need personal login details to access the portal, these can be obtained by sending an email to hrtransitionguidanceandtoolkit@dh.gsi.gov.uk
NHS Commissioning Board Authority
On 28 July 2011, the Department of Health published a People Transition Policy for the NHS Commissioning Board to guide the first round of appointments to the Board. The PTP has been developed in partnership with employers and trades unions’ representatives.
The Commissioning Board published a HR Guide for Clinical Commissioning Groups on 1 May 2012. The guide is designed to support CCGs as they move towards establishment and authorisation, whilst reflecting the high-level principles governing the changes affecting staff across the NHS. It provides practical advice about how CCGs can approach the main HR issues that they are likely to encounter as they become established, beginning with the senior appointments process, transfers of staff and remuneration. It has been developed with input from CCG leaders and in partnership with staff side.
Public Health
More details of the design of the new public health system, specifically the role and responsibilities of local government in public health, the operating model for the new executive agency Public Health England and an overview of how the whole system will work, were published on 20 December. Visit the Department of Health website for more information.
Public Health England
On 16 February 2012, the Department of Health published ‘Building a People Transition Policy for Public Health England’; this document sets out the proposed principles for the transfer and appointment of staff to Public Health England. The detailed HR policies and processes required to transfer, redeploy and appoint staff to posts in the new organisation will be set out in the People Transition Policy (PTP), which will be published later this year.
Building a People Transition Policy for Public Health England aims to keep staff as updated as possible and let them know about the timetable for developing the full PTP later in the year. It is based on the principles in the HR Transition Framework and the NHS Commissioning Board PTP, both of which have been agreed and developed in partnership with trade union colleagues.
Public Health Transition to Local Authority
Public Health Human Resources (HR) Concordat
On 17 November, the Department of Health published the Public Health HR Concordat which provides the principles and standards for managing the HR processes to support the transfer of PCT public health commissioning activity to Local authorities. It sets out the obligations of the NHS and local government employers and trade unions in managing the change.
The Concordat has been developed by the Department of Health with NHS Employers and the Local Government Association, and in partnership with NHS and local government trade unions. A set of Frequently Asked Questions to accompany the Concordat have been published via the DH and LGA websites.
Planning guide for public health transition published (13 Jan 2012)
To help the process of local decision-making around the public health transition, the Department and the Local Government Association have published a planning guide for local authorities and primary care trusts. The guide aims to support PCTs and LAs as they develop transition plans for the transformation of the local public health system, including how transfer of accountability from the NHS to local government will be enacted during the transition year.
Local government transition guidance on public health workforce issues (13 January 2012)
The Local Government Association has published transition guidance on public health workforce matters. The guidance builds on the earlier Public Health HR Concordat, which set out general principles for dealing with staffing issues. This Guidance is intended primarily for the use of HR specialists in councils who will be receiving staff. A copy has been sent directly to council leaders.
Further HR Transition guidance (2011)
Assignment for transition guidance
Guidance on assignment for the transition was published on 31 March 2011. It was developed in partnership with trade unions and employers and outlines the process of aligning primary care trust (PCT) employees during the transition to support the development of emerging GP consortia and associated commissioning support functions.
The guidance promotes fairness and transparency in the process and recommends that staff have an opportunity to shape the emerging commissioning system and structure. It also highlights the need for the process to be supported by strong partnership working between PCTs, Trade unions and emerging GP consortia.
Read the letter from Sir Neil McKay, the senior responsible officer for the HR transition that has been sent to chief executives with the guidance.
An equality impact assessment has also been produced.
Frequently asked questions have been developed to provide further clarity on the assignment guidance.
Retention and exit terms scheme
The Department of Health has published guidance on the retention and exit terms for business critical staff (RETS). This has been developed in partnership with NHS Employers and NHS Trade unions to help retain those staff fulfilling business critical roles to sustain business continuity in SHAs, PCTs, abolished ALBs and the Provider Development Authority during the transition.
Copies of the guidance can be found on the Department of Health website.
Frequently asked questions have been developed to provide further clarity on the RETs scheme.