Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will put in place (a) employment protections and (b) transition arrangements for long-serving NHS clinical staff being moved into civil service contracts as part of the NHS England restructure.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, or equivalent mechanisms such as the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice, are designed to safeguard employees’ rights during transfers between employers. Employment protections and transition arrangements for NHS England employees will be put in place based on these schemes.

The Department and NHS England are working closely together to identify differences in employment terms and conditions. Where changes are likely to affect staff transferring into the Department, these will be included in formal measures for consultation. This will be communicated once we are in a position to do so.