Category: contracting out

Care workers take Hampshire home employers to tribunal over pay and working hours – The Guardian

Posted August 18th, 2014 in care homes, care workers, contract of employment, contracting out, local government, minimum wage, news, remuneration, tribunals by tracey

‘Eleven female carers to the elderly are taking their employers to a tribunal claiming they were only paid by the minutes they spent with clients rather than their rostered working hours. The staff, who were on zero-hours contracts, allege that, due to the arrangements, they were paid less than the minimum wage of £6.31 an hour. It is understood that some of the employees at Apex Care in Romsey, Hampshire, where the firm was commissioned to provide the home care service by the council, believe their real hourly wage was close to £3.50.’

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The Guardian, 17th August 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd v Essex Services Group plc and others – WLR Daily

Posted July 15th, 2014 in appeals, construction industry, contracting out, contracts, indemnities, law reports, negligence by tracey

Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd v Essex Services Group plc and others: [2014] EWCA Civ 960; [2014] WLR (D) 309

‘A contractor (the respondent) to which building work had been subcontracted which it had in turn subcontracted to another contractor (the appellant) which undertook to indemnify the respondent against liability for the appellant’s negligence was not prevented by its own negligence from enforcing the indemnity clause.’

WLR Daily, 11th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Probation service in chaos as systems wipe offenders’ data – The Independent

Posted June 23rd, 2014 in community service, computer programs, contracting out, data protection, news, probation by sally

‘Britain’s probation service is in chaos after a series of crippling computer failures over the past three weeks, with thousands of offenders’ case files lost, frozen or wiped.’

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The Independent, 22nd June 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Watchdog attacks the government’s handling ‘fiasco’ of disability payouts – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2014 in benefits, budgets, contracting out, disabled persons, news by tracey

‘The government’s handling of personal independence payments (Pips) has been “nothing short of a fiasco” that has caused distress to thousands of sick and disabled people, parliament’s public spending watchdog has found.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Requirement to work in different location not pre-2014 TUPE “workforce” change, says EAT – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 21st, 2014 in appeals, contracting out, employment tribunals, interpretation, local government, news, parking, transfer of undertakings, unfair dismissal by tracey

‘Employees who were required to work in a different location after their work was outsourced were not exempted from legal protections aimed at such workers under pre-2014 rules, the UK’s employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st May 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Solicitors and probation workers to strike over plans – BBC News

Posted March 31st, 2014 in budgets, contracting out, delay, industrial action, legal aid, news, police, probation, rehabilitation, solicitors by sally

‘Solicitors and probation officers in England and Wales are staging joint action against changes introduced by the Ministry of Justice.’

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BBC News, 31st March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

G4S repays UK government £108.9m after tagging scandal – BBC News

Posted March 12th, 2014 in contracting out, electronic monitoring, fraud, Ministry of Justice, news, repayment by tracey

‘Troubled security firm G4S has agreed to repay £108.9m plus tax to the UK government after overcharging on contracts to tag offenders.’

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BBC News, 12th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Grayling rules out privatised courts – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 12th, 2014 in contracting out, costs, courts, fees, news, probation by tracey

‘Privatising the courts service is not on the government’s agenda, Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, told a free-market thinktank today.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th March 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

G4S may still face criminal proceedings over tagging scandal – justice secretary – The Guardian

Posted March 12th, 2014 in auditors, contracting out, electronic monitoring, fees, inquiries, news, probation, transfer of prisoners by tracey

‘G4S, the troubled giant private security company, still faces the possibility of criminal proceedings over its alleged overcharging of at least £24m on electronic tagging and prisoner escort contracts, the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has said. His reminder comes as G4S makes a concerted attempt to have the current ban on bidding for fresh government contracts lifted.’

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The Guardian, 11th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Watchdog seeks greater clarity over public sector suppliers’ FOI responsibilities – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 7th, 2014 in contracting out, contracts, freedom of information, news, public procurement by tracey

‘The contracts agreed between public sector bodies and their suppliers should be “more explicit” about which one of the organisations holds information for the purposes of compliance with freedom of information (FOI) rules, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Hundreds of probation officers appeal against new jobs – BBC News

Posted February 18th, 2014 in appeals, contracting out, news, probation, trade unions by sally

‘Hundreds of probation officers have appealed against the jobs assigned to them under a new system due to contract out most probation work from next year.’

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BBC News, 18th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Trade unions challenge coalition sell-off of Britain’s probation service – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2014 in contracting out, international law, news, probation, trade unions by tracey

‘Government plans to privatise the probation service amount to a breach of the international laws on forced labour, according to a union legal challenge that is being launched on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 10th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Justice secretary puts back probation service privatisation deadline – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2014 in contracting out, delay, news, probation by sally

‘The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has announced a two-month delay in the timetable for privatising 70% of the probation service after his most senior officials advised there would be public safety issues if he pressed full steam ahead.’

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The Guardian, 20th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supervision of high-risk criminals will not be handed to private sector – The Guardian

Posted January 14th, 2014 in contracting out, news, probation by tracey

‘The supervision of high-risk criminals who have committed notorious offences that have attracted significant and prolonged media attention will not be handed to the private sector when 70% of the probation service is outsourced this year.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New payment card data security standards finalised – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 11th, 2013 in codes of practice, consumer protection, contracting out, data protection, fines, news, standards by michael

“Retailers, banks and other companies involved in processing credit and debit card payments will be subject to a new set of data security requirements from January, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has announced.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th November 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Probation officers strike in protest at privatisation plans – The Guardian

Posted November 5th, 2013 in contracting out, industrial action, news, probation, Serious Fraud Office by sally

“Thousands of probation officers across England and Wales are due to stage a 24-hour strike from midday on Tuesday in protest at plans to privatise 70% of their work.”

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The Guardian, 5th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NCVO report attacks ‘crude’ implementation of payment by results contracts – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 31st, 2013 in charities, contracting out, contracts, news, public procurement, reports by michael

“There is general support among charities for ‘payment by results’ but its implementation has often been ‘crude’ and ‘seriously flawed’, a report for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations has argued.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th October 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Chris Grayling told to delay probation service privatisation or risk deaths – The Guardian

Posted October 29th, 2013 in contracting out, news, probation, rehabilitation by sally

“Three leading figures in the probation service have warned the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, he must delay his probation service privatisation plan for at least six months or face inevitable protection failures and risks to public safety, the Guardian has learned.”

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The Guardian, 28th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

School swimming lessons – Education Law Blog

Posted October 28th, 2013 in appeals, contracting out, duty of care, health & safety, local government, negligence, news, personal injuries, school children, Supreme Court by sally

“Earlier this week the Supreme Court gave judgment in Woodland v Essex County Council [2013] UKSC 66. The case is important because it extends the circumstances in which schools and local authorities will be liable for injuries to the children in their care that are caused by negligence.”

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Education Law Blog, 26th October 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Woodland (Appellant) v Essex County Council (Respondent) – Supreme Court

Posted October 25th, 2013 in appeals, contracting out, education, health & safety, law reports, local government, negligence, Supreme Court by sally

Woodland (Appellant) v Essex County Council (Respondent) [2013] UKSC 66 | UKSC 2012/0093 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt