What should employers be doing immediately?
If you have contracted out soft facilities management services you should indicate to the contractor providing the service whether you intend to adopt the provisions in the Joint statement. You may need to discuss with the private contractor on the potential cost implications before formally indicating that you intend to implement. NHS Employers, the Department of Health, the BSA and CBI and trade unions all believe this agreement does represent good employment practice and would recommend adoption of the joint statement. Local NHS organisations will want to make their own evaluations including a risk assessment of both adopting and not adopting the approach in the joint statement. Contractors and trade unions have indicated to us that they do not think there has been much progress in implementing these arrangements since October. The main contractors have assured us that they are holding the necessary funds to meet their obligations in 2005/06 and are keen to engage with employers on
