Trade union Unite is considering legal action as some staff recently transferred from the City & Guilds charity to a private company are now at risk of redundancy.
Most of the around 1,400 former employees of the City & Guilds charity were transferred to Greek firm PeopleCert in October as part of a deal valued at £166m.
When it was announced, the charity said no redundancies were expected as part of the transfer. Unite said PeopleCert had previously given assurances to the union that none were planned.
However, PeopleCert has now opened a formal consultation on organisational changes, which could affect 75 roles within the business.
Unite fears the changes could lead to even greater changes of around a third of roles recently transferred being put at risk, which PeopleCert denies.
In a statement this week, Unite accused PeopleCert of “dishonesty” as it advertises for jobs in Greece and the UK while being in the middle of redundancy consultations.
Unite said it is considering legal and industrial action against PeopleCert for “unlawfully withholding key information” during transfer consultations and advertising for new recruits.
The union has written to PeopleCert warning that it will enter into a formal dispute unless City & Guilds workers are given guarantees over jobs, consultations are extended and conducted in good faith and that a recruitment freeze is enacted.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The way PeopleCert is treating these workers is absolutely disgraceful and will not be tolerated. Unite will use everything in its power to defend the City & Guilds workforce.”
The union’s regional officer Peter Storey added: “PeopleCert has been dishonest from the moment it took over City & Guilds. Without significant movement from the company, this dispute will continue to escalate, including through potential legal and industrial action.”
A spokesperson for PeopleCert said no final decisions had been made and that its proposals were “focused primarily on enabling functions, where duplication and inefficiency have been identified”.
“Approximately 75 roles, out of around 1,400 within the business, are anticipated to be impacted by the proposals,” they said.
They said the company was keen to support job security in the UK and added: “It is worth noting that under its previous ownership, City & Guilds had been loss-making for the previous 10 consecutive years, was seeing revenues decline – including a collapse in international revenues from £22m to £7m.”
Ongoing inquiry
A statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission into concerns related to the sale and bonuses awarded to former City & Guilds executives is ongoing.
PeopleCert has run its own investigation and stood down Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail, who were chief executive and chief finance officer of the charity respectively before being transferred, as a result.
The charity now operates under the name City & Guilds Foundation and is in the process of forming its new strategy, post-sale, under new leadership.
Civil Society has contacted the City & Guilds charity for comment.
