The forum is a partnership of Department of Health, trade unions, employer and SHA representatives.
The group is co-chaired by Stephen Welfare, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for NHS Midlands and East, and Karen Didovich, Senior Employment Relations Advisor at the Royal College of Nursing.
It reports to the National Social Partnership Forum which is chaired by the Minister of State for Health. It works closely with the HR Strategy Group chaired by Sir Neil McKay to determine the detailed work programme and priorities.
Aims/Objectives
The group's aims are:
- to provide a single national forum for the discussion of and development of HR policies and supporting processes to support transition across the NHS, DH and ALBs. This will include developing such guidance as the People Transition Policies for new ALBs
- to develop and agree national level HR frameworks and other supporting guidance as agreed with the HR Strategy Group. The principles of the HR Transition Framework should be the basis of this work
- to provide oversight and assurance that due diligence and consultation are undertaken as required by current and new employers
- to monitor implementation and make recommendations where further guidance is needed across all areas (eg NHS, DH and ALB transition)
- to provide advice on HR policy implementation including the interpretation of policy and resolution of policy in partnership
- to support effective transition and ensure that HR policies are fair, clear and transparent
The group's objectives are:
- to achieve, in partnership, positive outcomes for NHS, ALB and DH staff which are supported by fair and effective HR policy during the transition phase of the NHS reforms
- to promote partnership working in all the work that the group undertakes
- to provide timely contributions and input to progress the group's workplan for the benefit of NHS, ALB and DH staff
- in order to progress work at meetings, members should have an agreed mandate to speak and reach agreement on behalf of their organisation.
The group's Terms of Reference can be downloaded here.
Work programme
The HRTPF has a significant programme of work and is engaged on workstreams across the HR Transition programme. A number of key HR policy documents including the HR Transition Framework and the NHS Commissioning Board People Transition Policy have already been developed with Trade unions, NHS, DH, and ALB representatives through the HR Transition Partnership Forum.
The group is currently engaged on a number of key areas to support staff during the transition including Public Health workstreams, People Transition Policies, and guidance for sender organisations to support the People Transition Policies.
Published documents and guidance can be accessed here.
National HR Transition partnership events
The HRTPF held a national partnership event on 5 December aimed at employer and staff-side representatives from across the DH, ALBs and the NHS. A summary of the event and copies of the presentations given to delegates are available here.
A second national HR transition partnership event is being held on 27 March. Following the feedback and suggestions that came out of the December event, the agenda for March will concentrate on the following:
- Public Heath transition to PHE and local authorities
- Clinical Commissioning Groups and Commissioning Support
- The National HR Transition Guidance.
The event will therefore be a further opportunity to:
- Receive an update on the overall transition timescale and milestones
- Discuss policy and strategy updates, and their implications, with policy leads from the new organisations
- Provide opportunities for delegates to consider these implications, influence the way that these are progressed, and share local practice
- Build our shared understanding of the impact on employer and staff-side workloads and the role of social partnership within transition and beyond.
The event will run from 10.30am to 3.00pm and will once again be chaired by Stephen Welfare and Karen Didovich, joint chairs of the HR Transition Partnership Forum. As well as input from other employer and staff-side leads, delegates will be able to debate issues, ask questions and jointly consider the implications of the transition, and how we can further support, inform and engage with staff, their representatives and employers.
Book your place at the event online via http://events.eoe.nhs.uk/2279
For more information about the HRTPF, please contact:
Karen Didovich, Staff Side Co-Chair, RCN - Karen.Didovich@rcn.org.uk
Gary Theobald, Head of HR, NHS East of England - Gary.Theobald@eoe.nhs.uk
Georgie Whitfield, SPF Project Manager - georgie.whitfield@nhs.employers.org