Nurses win redundancy pay after hospital closure
Nursing staff who lost their jobs when England’s last learning disability specialist hospital was closed earlier this month have won a pay settlement, after weeks of uncertainty.
Public sector worker union GMB announced on Thursday (26 April) that Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust would guarantee redundancy pay after more than 100 workers lost their jobs from the closure of Calderstones Hospital earlier this month.
“Mersey Care’s insistence on average an 80-mile commute per shift was unreasonable”
GMB spokesperson
At the start of April, Mersey Care closed Calderstones Hospital in the village of Whalley, Lancashire and handed the site over to another trust.
This was part of a long-running NHS England plan to move learning disability care out of hospitals following the Winterbourne View scandal, which involved reports of widespread abuse and neglect of patients.
More than 100 NHS workers including registered nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants (HCAs) were informed at the end of 2023 that the long-awaited closure – which had been planned since before the pandemic – would finally come in 2024.
The staff were told that alternative jobs would be offered in nearby hospitals; however, many were given offers union GMB described as “unsuitable”, with some as far as 40 miles away at another Mersey Care site in Liverpool.
Workers were given the choice of extremely long commutes or losing their job, with the trust at first not guaranteeing redundancy pay should they turn down the alternative. Further, the trust allegedly delayed issuing P45 forms, which are needed to be correctly taxed at a new job or apply for benefits.
Zander Sumner, a former Calderstones Hospital HCA, described the situation at the time as “a complete and utter mess” and said he was offered a job which would have required a roughly three-hour daily commute – with colleagues who do not have a car facing even longer journeys.
Mr Sumner accused the trust of not properly reviewing workers’ individual circumstances, something the trust rejects.
However, on Thursday, GMB received a communication from Mersey Care which stated that all the workers it represented, and who had turned down the far-away jobs, would receive redundancy pay.
The union claimed the trust’s U-turn came after “GMB pressure”.
GMB regional organiser Michael Clark said: “Loyal workers with decades of service are now being treated with the dignity they deserve after years of service to Mersey Care and the NHS.
“Mersey Care’s insistence on average an 80-mile commute per shift was unreasonable.
“After continuing pressure from the GMB, the trust relented – a fantastic result for this union and its members.”
A Mersey Care spokesman said that each worker’s case was reviewed “individually” before alternative jobs were offered and that 118 members of staff were laid off.
“Following the conclusion of the consultation and adhering to NHS employment regulations, the trust has reviewed every case individually, and has considered all the new supporting information to exhaust every opportunity to retain employment,” the spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately, and despite best efforts to retain employment currently 118 members of staff, previously based at our former Whalley site, have now been contacted to confirm their redundancy payments.
“This follows the decision made by NHS England to transfer learning disability services from Whalley to their new home in Aspen Wood which is based at Maghull Health Park.
“Throughout this ongoing transition to Aspen Wood, Mersey Care has supported all staff to continue their careers in the NHS by offering opportunities within our trust and other local NHS organisations to protect their employment, to retain talent and minimise the loss of valuable skills and expertise from the NHS.”
