Continuous service in the public sector

Continuous service is the length of time you have worked for an employer without a break that the law recognises. Statutory rights such as redundancy pay and, until January 2027, unfair dismissal protection depend on it. Normally it resets when you change employer. The public sector is different in two ways: NHS and local government pay agreements count previous service with other employers in the same sector for things like sick pay and annual leave, and a special order lets many public bodies count each other’s service for statutory redundancy pay.

Continuous employment in law

The Employment Rights Act 1996 sets the rules for statutory rights. Your continuous employment starts on your first day with the employer and is counted in weeks. Some periods count even when no contract was in force, such as temporary cessation of work or absence by arrangement. Periods of strike action do not count, but they do not break continuity either.

When you move to a different employer, continuity is normally broken. There are exceptions, including:

• a TUPE transfer, where your job moves to a new employer (see TUPE)
• moving between associated employers, such as companies in the same group
• some changes in the employing body in the public sector made by statute

Rights that depend on it

Right	Service needed
Statutory redundancy pay	2 years
Ordinary unfair dismissal claim	2 years for dismissals before 1 January 2027; 6 months from 1 January 2027
Statutory Maternity Pay	26 weeks by the 15th week before the due week
Neonatal care pay	26 weeks
Day-one rights (written statement, flexible working requests, paternity leave, unpaid parental leave, carer’s leave)	None

Statutory redundancy pay counts up to 20 years’ service, with a weekly pay cap of £751 for redundancies on or after 6 April 2026, so the statutory maximum is £22,530. Our redundancy rights guide explains the calculation.

The local government Modification Order

The Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 lets employees of the bodies it lists count previous continuous service with other listed bodies when working out statutory redundancy pay. It covers local authorities and many related bodies, including some education and fire authorities, and the list has been updated over time.

In practice, this means someone moving from one council to another without a break can usually keep their service for redundancy pay. Whether a particular employer is covered, such as an academy trust, depends on the current version of the Order. Ask HR, and get any confirmation in writing.

The Order only affects statutory redundancy pay. It does not restore continuity for unfair dismissal.

NHS: reckonable service under Agenda for Change

The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook counts previous NHS service when working out certain entitlements, even if you have moved between trusts. This is often called reckonable service. It affects:

• Annual leave: full-time staff get 27 days on appointment, 29 days after five years and 33 days after ten years of NHS service, plus eight public holidays.
• Sick pay: from one month’s full pay and two months’ half pay in the first year, rising to six months’ full pay and six months’ half pay after five years.
• Redundancy pay under the NHS scheme, which has its own continuity rules.

The handbook has rules on breaks between NHS jobs and on which other employers’ service counts. Some employers also count relevant non-NHS service at their discretion. If you are moving between trusts, our guide to moving between NHS trusts covers what usually transfers.

Statutory rights are a different matter. A new trust is a different employer in law, so your statutory continuous employment for unfair dismissal starts again when you move, even though your Agenda for Change service carries over.

Local government and schools

The Green Book uses length of continuous local government service for annual leave and sick pay. The minimum is 23 days’ basic leave with under five years’ continuous service, rising to 26 days after five years, plus eight public holidays and two extra-statutory days. The sick pay scale is the same as the NHS one. Our council sick pay guide sets it out.

For teachers in maintained schools, the Burgundy Book sick pay scale, from 25 working days’ full pay in the first year to 100 days’ full pay from the fourth year, counts aggregate service as a teacher with local authorities and some other employers. Academies often follow it, but check your contract.

Protecting your service when you move

If you are moving jobs within the public sector, a few steps help:

1. Ask the new employer, before you accept, how it will treat your previous service for leave, sick pay and redundancy.
2. Avoid an unnecessary gap between jobs if you can, because breaks can affect whether service counts.
3. Keep payslips, P60s and contracts from previous public sector jobs as evidence.
4. Check your first payslip and leave record to see whether service has been applied.

Pension membership is separate from continuous service. Moving between NHS employers, or between councils in the LGPS, usually keeps you in the same scheme, but the rules on gaps and transfers differ. Our NHS sick pay guide shows how much the service-based scale can be worth.