Employement Law/confidentially/stopping You Applying For Other Jobs.....

[annie0000]

Bit of background info. Large company outsourced a lot of functions to a 3rd party outsource company and tupe-d over a lot of staff. The Client company and outsourcer still operate from the same location. Over the last few years, outsourcer salaries and T&Cs have deteriorated whilst those for the client company have improved. There are a lot of similar types of roles performed in both companies especially the more technical/specialist roles.

Recently there have been vacancies in the Client company and understandably staff in the outsource company have applied (about a £5k increase on a £25-£30k salary) and been successful as they are highly experienced and knowledgeable about the clients work. The office site is also fairly rural so it can be difficult to get staff willing to travel away from the bigger city locations.

As a result of these staff movements, Outsource company has then struggled to supply the service to the correct Service level to the Client and the Client has pulled them up on this to which the answer has been "well stop poaching our staff"

Staff in Outsource company got a verbal cascade yesterday basically saying that if they apply for a job with client and their current role is seen as critical then agreement has been made that Client will send back a letter saying this and that their application will not be proceeded with.

Can they do that? Aside from anything else, surely as staff have no obligation to tell their manager if they are applying elsewhere for a job, someone must be going behind their back and informing the Outsource company management in order to decide on whether the role the person is in would be seen as critical?

Whilst I do understand that the two companies are attempting to agree a solution that means that their respective businesses can function, it really smacks of treating people as a commodity to be bought and sold without free will.

Most of me thinks that it is down to the Outsource company to do something about Terms and Conditions and moral in general to stop staff being tempted to move if they are then finding it difficult to recruit new people.

Hope somebody has some idea of whether this can legally be done.

[boxtops]

I'm no expert, but I don't think they can do this. We've been in a similar position in the NHS in the recent past with new organisations being set up, and people migrating from the old set-up into the new. They couldn't be stopped from going. IMO you need to take advice from ACAS - they are impartial and expert, and give very good advice both on their website and on their helpline.

[annie0000]

Thanks boxtops - i'll do that. I've sent a message to the Union as well and am awaiting a response. Given that it was a verbal cascade, we are all relying on our memory as to the precise wording which was clearly the intention imo.

[pixie373]

If some of those staff have been allowed to move, it will be impossible to say that others can't.

[boxtops]

I was going to ask if you have a Union - they should have known about this in advance, matters like transfers and changes in T&C should always have been discussed with them first.

[annie0000]

pixie, yes the previous staff have been allowed to move and indeed why shouldn't they have been? I really don't see that it is any different to applying to an external company as although staff were tupe'd and therefore do retain some benefits, they now have an employment contract with the outsourcer. There was also no indication that it only applied to tupe'd staff on not to staff who had joined the outsourcer directly.

box, yes, I await the reply from the union with interest.