Care Plus Group deny redundancy threat

CARE Plus Group chiefs have denied claims up to 708 staff could be facing redundancy after talks to agree new contracts failed.

Glenn Turp, the regional director for the Royal College of Nursing, said he had seen formal documents from the Care Plus Groups (CPG) giving advance notice of the plans.

However, Jane Miller, the group’s chief operating officer said “no redundancies are proposed”.

As reported, the CPG, which provides adult health and social care in North East Lincolnshire, has to save £900,000 in 2013-14 in addition to £1.5 million already saved last year.

A consultation period was launched in January to discuss the proposed changes to contracts – which unions claimed would affect overtime and unsocial hours payments, travel expenses, maternity leave and annual leave payments.

However, staff voted to reject the plans by almost two to one.

Mr Turp said: “They’re now resorting to ‘strong-arming’ staff into signing away the pay, terms and conditions they receive.”

But Mrs Miller said “doing nothing” was not an option.

She said: “Earlier in the year we conducted an extensive and thorough consultation with staff and made some amendments to the original proposal, but unfortunately a number of staff chose to reject the proposed changes. We have therefore reluctantly taken the formal step of starting a further 45-day period of consultation with a view to introducing the necessary changes. We’re hoping we’ll reach agreement.

“Dismissal and re-engagement would be an absolute last resort.”