New exit payments impact public sector terms & conditions, says Charles Pigott
In 2014 the coalition government consulted on new requirements for higher paid workers to re-pay their termination payments on a sliding scale if they returned to the public sector in any capacity within a year. That led to the passing of ss 154 to 157 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.
Since the last election, the Conservative government has moved to impose an overall cap on the value of public sector exit payments, which would in some cases override contractual entitlements, as well as limiting ex-gratia payments. The necessary enabling legislation is contained in the Enterprise Bill 2015, currently going through Parliament.
Finally, the government launched a consultation in early February 2016 about changing the underlying terms and conditions regarding these payments, to make them less generous and more consistent across the whole public sector.
The new claw-back rules
Final draft regulations—which will become The Repayment of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2016—were published at the end of last year. They are expected to take effect at the beginning
