TUPE victory at Talacre sports centre

Camden UNISON achieves significant concessions for casual workers who were facing the sack with the privatisation of the Talacre sports centre.

As part of last year’s cuts the Council announced the privatisation of Talacre, the last sports centre still being managed inhouse.

Such privatisations involving the transfer of staff from one employer to another are covered by the ‘Transfer of undertakings (protection of employment)’ or TUPE regulations.

During the initial consultation about the TUPE transfer of staff from Camden to GLL (the company which runs the other Camden centres) it emerged that some 20 staff were not being offered such protection and would be likely to lose their jobs or at best have to work on worse terms and conditions.

 The reason for this was that Camden regarded these workers as ‘casuals’ with no contractual rights or obligations. After protracted negotiations (which have seen the transfer delayed by a year) 13 of the workers involved have finally been offered proper permanent contracts under which they will transfer with full TUPE protection. These were people who worked regular hours with a consistent pattern who should have been regarded as employees not casual workers.

 This victory could have implications for other workers in Camden who are currently being denied their proper contractual rights. If you are employed on a casual basis or know others who are, please contact your local steward for advice or email me at John.mann@camden.gov.uk