Staff who transfer from a housing association to a new company will get new employment rights when the Pensions Act comes into force next month.

The law will close a loophole in employment regulations. The 1981 Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations obliged new employers to give staff the same terms and conditions – but did not cover those affecting old age, invalidity or survivor benefits.

Housing associations missed out in 2000 when new rules – the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice – guaranteed employees of other public sector bodies the same, or broadly similar, pension schemes when they transferred to a new employer.

From April, new employers, including housing associations, will have to make “relevant contributions” to transferring employees. And regardless of the existing pension promise, they will have to match employees’ contributions up to 6% of their pensionable pay.

The money could go into a new scheme or the employers’ current scheme.

Although the deal is not as good as that on offer to people transferring to a new employer from a public sector employer – such as a council – it is an improvement in conditions for people transferring from housing associations.

Amanda Harvey of lawyer Devonshires said the closure of the loophole represented a partial victory for trade unions.

Source

Housing Today