Transfer association staff lose out on sick pay and annual leave but gain higher salaries, a groundbreaking study into voluntary transfers has found
The research, for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, is the first to track how staff fare after transfer.

It examined 12 partial and full transfers and questioned 700 staff. It found organisations begin to harmonise pay and conditions within two years of transfer. It also suggests a "two tier" workforce exists where new employees are recruited on different terms from those transferring.

Other findings included:

  • only half of staff are represented by their union after transfer
  • 83% understood the need for change but only a quarter thought it was well managed
  • some staff with protected terms are promoted into new jobs on association terms, while other posts are shifted to new terms through reorganisation. In some cases staff may trade protected conditions for more pay. The government has pledged to end this practice, although it is not necessarily unfavourable to new staff in housing organisations.

A steering group including the Housing Corporation, National Housing Federation and unions will see a draft report this month.

Source

Housing Today