Returning to a council job: how your earlier service is treated

The NJC Green Book protects earlier local government service in two situations. If you return after a break for maternity or caring reasons, earlier service counts for sick pay and maternity pay if the break was no more than eight years and you had no permanent full-time job in between. If your job was outsourced and you come back voluntarily, earlier service is recognised if you return without a gap and within five years of the transfer. Annual leave is covered in both cases, though the time limits differ.

Returning after a break for maternity or caring

Paragraph 14.2 of Part 2 of the Green Book covers anyone who returns to local government service after a break for maternity reasons, or for reasons concerned with caring for children or other dependants. They are entitled to have their previous service taken into account for the sickness and maternity schemes, provided that:

• the break does not exceed eight years
• no permanent paid full-time employment has intervened

For annual leave there is no eight-year limit, though the condition about permanent full-time employment still applies. Someone who left to look after a child, worked casually or part-time elsewhere, and returned eleven years later would still have the earlier service counted towards annual leave. It would not count towards sick or maternity pay, assuming no permanent full-time job came in between.

The paragraph is written around maternity and caring. A break for another reason, such as travelling, is not covered by this wording, so ask HR how your council treats it. Our guide to returning after a career break has the general picture.

Returning after outsourcing

Councils often transfer services to private firms, charities or arm’s-length companies that are not covered by the 1999 Modification Order. Paragraph 14.3 says that where the employee is transferred to such an organisation, continuity is protected under the TUPE Regulations if there is a TUPE transfer. TUPE explains what that means in general.

The next sentences deal with coming back. If the employee returns voluntarily to local government service, continuity is broken. But where they return without a break between employments, all previous continuous service is recognised for annual leave, occupational maternity leave and pay, and occupational sick pay, provided the return is within five years of the original transfer.

Three details matter:

• The rule needs no break between the two employments, so a gap of even a few weeks takes you outside the wording.
• The five years run from the original transfer date, not from when you left the new employer.
• The paragraph lists annual leave, maternity and sick pay. It does not mention redundancy pay.

The agreement says it applies to employees who have returned to local government service since 1 April 1997, although the resulting benefits, such as additional leave, take effect only from 1 April 2002.

Which public bodies count as “local government service”

Paragraph 14.1 says continuous service for annual leave, the Occupational Sickness Scheme and the Occupational Maternity Scheme includes continuous previous service with any public authority to which the 1999 Order applies. That list is much wider than councils. It covers fire and rescue authorities, many school governing bodies, National Park authorities and others. Which employers’ service counts goes through it.

What the service changes

Length of service decides the annual leave step. The Green Book gives 23 days’ basic leave from 1 April 2023, plus three more days after five years’ continuous service, on top of public holidays. The same agreement sets the sickness scheme, which also depends on length of service and is set out in sick pay for council staff. A returner whose earlier service is recognised can start with more leave and a longer sick pay entitlement than a new starter.

What to check

• Ask for your “continuous service date” for leave and sick pay in writing, and check it against your old contracts.
• If you came back from an outsourced job, find the date of the original transfer and count five years from it.
• Tell HR before your start date, so the leave and sick pay records are set up correctly on day one.
• Individual councils may offer more generous terms than the national minimum, and your contract and local policy have the final word.