Hundreds of backroom staff at the Health and Safety Executive have chosen to quit their jobs rather than relocate to Liverpool, it has emerged.

The HSE announced the move in November 2007, as part of a plan to join its London head office with its counterpart in Bootle, Liverpool.

Building work on the new centre prevented an earlier relocation, but sources confirmed that sections of the London office could now be moved as early as the end of October.

Three hundred posts are expected to be affected, however a spokesperson for HSE confirmed that more than a hundred staff had chosen not to move. The spokesperson said that the construction division, which is staying in London, would not be directly affected.

A source close to the HSE said the move had been “more than a little contentious”.

Meanwhile, the HSE is still looking for a chief inspector of construction after Stephen Williams, the present post holder, announced he was taking up a role policing safety on the Olympics site.

Williams, who will become director of field operations for London, including the Olympics, at the organisation, is continuing in his post as head of construction until a replacement is found.

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