Double TUPE whammy at Wholesale & Ventures

Telecoms & Financial Services January 19 2018

Clarification is being urgently sought from BT Wholesale & Ventures following the announcement of two separate TUPE transfers that will affect an as yet unknown number of BT MSO and BT Fleet employees as a result of lost contracts in the respective divisions.

One TUPE has been triggered by KCOM’s move to in-source previously outsourced work on its Horizon contract – the other by a separate decision by G4S not to renew a three–year contract with BT Fleet for the maintenance of its Cash in Transit vehicles.

Amid members’ concerns, the CWU is working with the BT Management team to seek reassurances for staff with regards to not just the overall TUPE process but, most urgently, to secure clear information that will help allay members’ worries about being ‘in scope’.

The first TUPE to be announced is likely to involve between 130 and 150 individuals who spend the majority of their time conducting work on the KCOM (formerly Kingston Communications) contract. Many of the people likely to be affected have been subjected to successive TUPE transfers in recent years.

“While that means they will be well aware as to the process and the safeguards in place, this is clearly a deeply unsettling period for everyone,” said assistant secretary Brendan O’Brien.

“Management’s decision to report the situation to staff as early as possible meant the news was broken prior to Christmas by way of an ‘all hands’ conference call. We’re aware that members in scope have since been contacted and the union’s now awaiting formal contact from BT and KCOM.

“The CWU understands, however, that up to a third of BT MSO employees are in scope across the country. We will shortly meet with BT management to understand how the transfers will impact individuals in practice.”

Encouragingly, both BT and KCOM are stating they are ‘committed to ensuring the transfer of people, assets and systems supporting the managed service is undertaken as carefully as possible’, but the situation is complex, leading to understandable concerns that need to be allayed as soon as possible.

Brendan continues: “One positive is that, given we’re looking at a transfer involving at least 100 people, there’s scope for the establishment of a recognised bargaining unit at KCOM, and that is certainly something we will be seeking to pursue.

“At present, however, my message to anyone who may be impacted is that the CWU is already working hard with BT to protect employees interests – but if they are not in CWU membership, they should join the union without delay.”

KCOM’s decision to terminate its contract with BT MSO was as unexpected as it was sudden – because for some time it had been working with BT on a revised version of Horizon, looking at a range of pricing options. Ultimately, however, the company – which is best known for running Hull’s telephone network, but also provides communication and IT solutions to both consumer and business markets across the UK – decided to exercise a contract break clause to bring the work back in-house.

 

BT Fleet

Members have also raised concerns with regards to a separate TUPE announced by BT Fleet which stems from G4S’s decision to move its contract for the maintenance of Cash in Transit vehicles to another supplier, Contract Vehicles Limited (CVL), on April 1.

News of the impending TUPE was broken in special communication to all BT Fleet employees on January 9, in which the company indicated that it was ‘working with CVL to agree which roles will be in scope for transfer to them under TUPE’ and that anyone impacted would be informed ‘as the process progresses’.

Assistant secretary Brendan O’Brien said: “It’s early days and no further details have emerged, apart from the fact that TUPE will apply to ‘some roles where employees are wholly or mainly assigned to roles delivering the transferring service’.

“Given the scale of the G4S Cash in Transit vehicle contract, its loss will impact to some extent on every garage across the country, as well as the administration centre. We’re awaiting details as to who precisely is going to be affected but it is quite likely that the impact will be modest.”

Brendan concludes: “Undoubtedly a lot of members will concerned by what is happening, and my reassurance to them is that the CWU is working hard to secure clarity. When that has been established we will be resolute in ensuring TUPE protections are applied in full to anyone identified as being in scope for transfer to CVL.

“Once again, however, it’s important that any non-members who think they may be impacted join the CWU without delay.”