Moving between the NHS and a council: does your service carry over?

Moving from an NHS trust to a council, or the other way, usually means your service stops counting automatically. The NHS handbook counts service with NHS employers, and the Green Book counts service with the public authorities covered by the 1999 Modification Order. Neither agreement says the other’s service must count. Each leaves the new employer free to recognise it, so ask before you accept an offer.

The NHS side

Paragraph 12.1 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook says continuous previous service with any NHS employer counts as reckonable service for NHS agreements on redundancy, maternity, sick pay and annual leave. Paragraph 12.2 then gives employers discretion to take into account periods of employment with employers outside the NHS, including service in or outside the UK, where these are judged to be relevant to NHS employment.

A council employee joining a trust therefore has no right to have their service counted, though the trust may count it. The handbook’s test is whether the earlier work is judged relevant to NHS employment, and the employer makes that judgement. Redundancy pay follows the same discretion in paragraph 16.5.

Staff who were transferred out of NHS employment to a non-NHS provider and later return are treated differently: paragraph 12.3 counts their continuous service with the new provider, if it provides NHS funded services, towards sick pay, annual leave and pay step progression. That is a separate route and does not cover a move to a council.

The council side

Paragraph 14.1 of Part 2 of the Green Book says continuous service for annual leave, sick pay and maternity pay includes continuous previous service with any public authority to which the 1999 Order applies. That Order has a long Schedule 1 list covering councils, fire and rescue authorities, school governing bodies and others. The Schedule names Care Trusts, which are a particular type of body formed under health and social care legislation. It does not name NHS trusts or foundation trusts. See which employers’ service counts.

An NHS trust employee joining a council is therefore outside the Green Book’s automatic wording. The council can recognise the NHS service as a local decision, but the national agreement does not require it. If the council agrees, make sure the date of recognised service is written into your offer or contract.

What the law adds

Section 218 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets the statutory rule. Continuity relates to the one employer, with listed exceptions. The exceptions include business transfers, associated employers and moves between a maintained school and its local authority. For the health service, section 218(8) and (9) keep continuity between health service employers only for specified professional training posts, so it does not cover a move from the NHS into a council.

For statutory rights such as redundancy pay, a move from an NHS trust to a council usually starts a new period of employment unless a transfer exception applies. If your job moves under TUPE, for example when an NHS service is brought into a council or the reverse, continuity is protected. See TUPE.

Two redundancy points

The NHS handbook’s redundancy section says you do not qualify for NHS redundancy pay if your employment is transferred to another public service employer who is not an NHS employer. If you are moving by transfer instead of resigning and re-applying, ask how redundancy would be treated afterwards.

Statutory redundancy pay needs two years’ service with the same employer. Someone who moves across and is made redundant in their first two years may have nothing to claim at the new employer unless the new employer has recognised the earlier service.

What to ask before you accept

1. Will you recognise my NHS or council service for annual leave, sick pay, maternity pay and redundancy pay? Ask separately for each.
2. If yes, what start date will appear on my contract?
3. If no, can the offer be adjusted, for example with extra leave or a higher starting salary? Our guide on negotiating a starting salary covers the approach.

Pension membership is dealt with separately in transferring a public sector pension.

If you are leaving the NHS for another sector more widely, leaving the NHS covers what ends and what stays.