What happens if the Trust proposes a service should relocate to a different site?

Where there is a permanent requirement to relocate the service, staff will be fully consulted in accordance with the transitional organisational and workforce change procedure.

Is financial support available to staff who incur additional travel costs as part of the relocation?

Staff will receive excess travel pay protection for a period of two years if their base location is changed on a permanent basis.

There is no protection for any other expenses in relation to the change of base (e.g. car parking or extra travel time). More detail can be found in the pay protection procedure.

What is the process when a speciality changes or merges?

If a speciality changes, a consultation will need to take place with the affected staff members.

If a service is merging but there is no fundamental change to roles or responsibilities and the site and the duties remain the same, there will be no consultation. It is important that members of staff affected by the merge are included in any communication and have the opportunity to ask questions.