It is hoped the move will end the practice where new staff recruited by stock transfer RSLs can be hired under worse conditions than existing staff who came over from a council.
Public sector union Unison described the research as a “defining moment” in transfer history. The union is steering the government-sponsored work, alongside the National Housing Federation and the Housing Corporation.
The aim is to use the results, which will be available in the summer, as the basis for guidance on next year’s transfers.
Organisations that did not comply would find it difficult to gain government consent or Housing Corporation registration, both of which are transfer prerequisites.
Unison is pressing for a blanket ban on the practice of offering new staff in transfer organisations different conditions from those transferring.
It also wants beefed-up rules on pension rights, and acknowledgement of employees’ council service when deciding redundancy and other terms.
But the issue is complicated by group structures, some of which involve direct labour organisations, and transfers to existing associations.
Different pay and conditions are a key part of transfers.
The research involves 12 case studies of transfers ranging from five years ago to the present. It will include a mix of partial and full transfers, and urban and rural areas.
Stakeholder interviews have already been conducted and a telephone survey of housing association and council managers will be held shortly. A staff survey will follow.
DTLR secretary Stephen Byers (pictured) has pledged to end the two-tier workforce, though a leaked cabinet paper last week suggested that flexibility for the new employers was of prime importance.
The DTLR moved swiftly to head off disputes over staff in arm’s-length management organisations, some of which start work next month, after Housing Today highlighted potential problems (14 February).
It has told councils setting up ALMOs they will only gain Byers’ consent for the move if there are no opportunities for a two-tier workforce, and that ministers will “look closely” at comparability of terms.
It also ensured pension rights were protected (Housing Today, 28 February). On transfers, the department insists no organisation would have gained consent unless it promised not to create a two-tier workforce – despite evidence that some do offer different conditions. It claimed the Housing Corporation would monitor compliance.
Source
Housing Today
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