Union leaders have branded Turning Point’s decision to fire and rehire 2,600 employees on changed terms as “perverse”, and criticised the charity for not making more concessions while consulting on the proposal.

Unite has lambasted the management at the charity, which works with people with complex needs to find employment, for going ahead with proposals to sack and rehire its staff on what it calls “shabby” terms.

Last November, Turning Point proposed the changes to employee conditions, began negotiations with Unite and blamed government funding cuts for its need to reduce costs. However, the charity had grown by 5 per cent over the last year on record and added a total of 182 staff to its rota. Following a three-month consultation period, the charity has issued a final offer, which the union says is essentially the same as that which they put forward last year. The charity will now push ahead with the plans, and is now formally in dispute with the union.  

The union said it is “ruling nothing out” in proceeding with the dispute, and is polling members as to what course of action to take. It is also lobbying MPs and Turning Point itself against the measures, before exhausting the internal dispute mechanism and potentially bringing the matter to the Industrial Relations Tribunal.

Jamie Major said that Turning Point’s staff changes are not necessary. “This is a perverse decision. A charity robbing its staff to prop up profits and boost expansion,” he said.

'Corporate renegade'

Major branded Turning Point a “corporate renegade right here in the charity sector”.

“We have offered to agree major concessions to cuts in overtime, ‘sleep ins’, ‘on call’, pay rises and the agenda for change pay increments but this was not enough,” said Major. “It seems corporate greed is not exclusive to bankers.”

Turning Point reiterated that its staff terms changes are the result of the difficult economic climate and are necessary in light of “significant cuts in our funding”.

“These proposals are not being made lightly, but are forced out of economic necessity. From the comments, suggestions and questions that we’ve already had from staff, we know they recognise the problems of delivering quality health and social care services in this economy. We are aware that these proposals would be personally difficult for some people and that is why we are constantly engaging with the people that work for us,” the charity said in a statement.

The organisation said that the changes to conditions, which will include cuts to all overtime pay and reduction in compensation for ‘unsociable hours’, were designed to stave off any job losses.

“We need to move towards a market rate for employees, one that protects their base pay,” said Turning Point. “Indeed, we are proposing to increase base pay for those who are the lowest paid.”

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