Civil service chief executive John Manzoni has described the government’s final offer to unions on revised redundancy terms as representing “a fairer deal for civil servants”.
The Cabinet Office on Monday confirmed its intention to impose cuts to all three forms of civil service exit payout, as well to the tariff used to calculate them, as part of a wide-ranging shake-up of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
The offer to civil service unions does row back from some of the proposals outlined in the original Cabinet Office consultation in February, however, and unions have so far given a mixed reaction to the offer. FDA and Prospect have hailed concessions, but the Public and Commercial Services Union — which refused to accept preconditions for entering talks — has dismissed the process as a “sham”.
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Manzoni has now confirmed that unions will have until the end of next month to respond to the offer, and used a message briefing staff on the redundancy pay shake-up to explain the rationale for the move.
“These changes will align the current scheme with compensation reforms across the public sector and will support employers in managing their workforce, simplify the exit process, while treating our employees respectfully and fairly,” the civil service chief executive said.
He added: “To provide the best services for the public and create ‘A Brilliant Civil Service', we need to be ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of our times. That means being able to recruit and retain the best people, but it also means ensuring that we have an effective, cost-efficient system to support civil servants when exits are needed.
"This is a good deal for civil servants, compares favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and allows us to shape the workforce of the future" - civil service CEO John Manzoni
“These reforms will do just that. This is a good deal for civil servants, compares favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and allows us to shape the workforce of the future.”
Manzoni said HR teams in the civil service would “soon” be talking to staff “in more detail about what the changes are and how they affect you”.
Should unions fail to accept the offer, ministers have said they will press ahead with implementing a version of the scheme which places a lower cap on both voluntary redundancy and voluntary exit payouts than the one included in the union offer.
Either way, the Cabinet Office intends to put its amended scheme before parliament in early November, with the new terms coming into effect shortly after that.
Unions have been particularly incensed by the government’s decision to look again at the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which was revised in 2010 after lengthy negotiations. At the time, the 2010 deal was described by then-Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude as “fair, affordable and sustainable”, a statement unions interpreted as meaning the matter was settled.
“This administration will not seek to deviate from this agreement" - proposed ministerial statement on the deal
In a bid to allay concerns that the Cabinet Office may again swoop and make further changes in spite of this year’s talks, unions have pushed for explicit reassurances from ministers that any new deal will be long-lasting.
While a long-term commitment is made more complicated by the fact that no parliament can bind its successors, the Cabinet Office has said it will lay a written ministerial statement before making clear that the current administration will not seek to revisit the deal.
The statement would say: "The government believes that this is a strong negotiated settlement reached with trade unions that have engaged constructively in discussions that means that this provides a firm foundation for the management of the civil service and its people for a generation.
“This administration will not seek to deviate from this agreement. With this reform concluded, I want to work with Trade Unions on the aspirations we both have to make the civil service an even better place to work."
PCS, however, has accused the Cabinet Office of giving only “mealy-mouthed assurances”.