NHS staff passport launched

(04/11/09) The NHS Social Partnership Forum has launched a new “staff passport” for health workers facing transfer.

The forum brings unions, NHS Employers and the Department of Health together to discuss workforce issues in partnership.

Changes in the NHS mean that services, and the staff who provide them, can be transferred to new providers: either another NHS trust or third parties working under contract to the NHS and the staff passport aims to bring clarity and reassurance to the staff facing transfer.

The passport comes in the form of a toolkit which gives NHS staff facing transfer an easy-to-use, practical guide to the employment standards and rights they can expect when being transferred.

It also gives HR advisors, union reps and managers an online advice tool that they can use to advise staff facing a transfer on the employment standards that they can expect.

"The staff passport ensures that staff are aware of their rights on and following transfer," commented UNISON lead negotiator Mike Jackson.

"Knowledge is the key to ensuring those rights are embedded by commissioners and respected by future employers."

NHS Employers deputy director Gill Bellord added: "For the first time, comprehensive information on transfers is brought together in one place. We hope that the passport will be welcomed by NHS staff and their employers."

And health minister Ann Keen said: "NHS staff play an essential role not only in delivering quality services but in driving continual improvements in the NHS for patients and the public.

"Improvements will only be achieved with the commitment, dedication and professionalism of NHS staff which I have been proud to witness whilst working in the NHS, and now in my role as minister for health.

"It is therefore essential that we support staff through times of change to allow them to deliver real improvements for patients."

Find out more about the NHS staff passport

UNISON in healthcare

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