Schedule 7 - CHAI and CSCI:
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
3:15 pm
Mr David Lammy (Parliamentary Secretary, Department of Health; Tottenham, Labour)
Although the intention behind amendments Nos. 466 to 468 is to protect those individuals who are transferring from other bodies to the new commission by ensuring that they are able to take redundancy where a significant change occurs to the detriment of their working conditions, I cannot agree that the amendments are actually necessary. For staff transferring from other bodies to CHAI and the new CSCI, the formal identity of their employer will have changed, but their employment rights and rights to redundancy will remain unchanged, which the Bill makes clear. That means that where individuals had a right to redundancy previously in certain circumstances, they will retain that right in their new job. I am not clear where the problem arises.
The amendments, particularly amendment No. 468, would have the effect that individuals would always have the right to employment in the case of significant change in their working conditions, but would not make it clear what the significant change was considered to be. The hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell gave an example concerning shift patterns. I suppose that it is reasonable to debate the significance of a change in shift patterns, but what comes to my mind when he talks about that is a factory setting, not the inspectorate that we are dealing with. I cannot see shift patterns having the weight that the hon. Gentleman seeks to give them.