5.5 Secondment

• Outward Secondment
• Secondment and injury benefits
• Pensions choices
• Inward secondments

5.5.1 Staff that are seconded to an outside employer do not cease to be civil servants.

5.5.2 Before a member begins their secondment, their pension position in their absence must be decided. Subject to the rules on pay and employment, the secondment terms can be negotiated between the borrowing employer, the lending employer and the secondee. You must give the outward secondee a written statement stating the effect their secondment will have on their pension. You will need to base the statement on the terms you agreed with the borrowing employer for the secondment to go ahead.

5.5.3 The information given in Table 3 ‘Outward secondment arrangements for members’ of the CSP arrangements will help you decide these terms. If you wish to offer alternative pension arrangements for members on secondment to those set out in table 3, you must ask the Scheme Manager (Cabinet Office), for permission before the loan begins.

5.5.4 You must agree with the borrowing employer and the member if they are covered for injury benefits before the secondment begins. You must give the secondee a written statement explaining who is providing the injury benefit cover and what the cover is. To help the member to decide whether or not to take the secondment you may wish to give them a copy of the scheme booklet about injury benefits.

5.5.5 If the outward secondee does not remain an active member of the CSP arrangements, the borrowing employer (or the borrowing employer’s pension scheme) should provide injury benefit cover. Before the secondment begins, you need to find out if the borrowing employer will give the secondee injury benefit cover. You must tell the member if they are being given this cover. In cases where the borrowing employer does not have an injury benefit arrangement it is for the secondee to decide if they want to accept the secondment without injury cover. In these circumstances, the secondee may wish to take out private insurance.

There are four options when a secondment involves a member of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, summarised in Table 3:

Notes

A You should continue to make deductions for employee’s national insurance contributions, national savings, trade union subscriptions etc. from the member’s salary.

B Member contributions may include:

• widow’s or widower’s pension contributions;
• added years contributions;
• AVCs.

These contributions are based on assumed pay:

• the notional Civil Service salary for classic members; and
• the ‘assumed’ Civil Service salary for premium members.

C The individual can choose to either retain accrued pension benefits in the CSP arrangements (see D below) or transfer their benefits to the borrowing employer’s scheme. The Scheme Administrator can give you information about how a transfer is made.

D Accrued pension benefits are retained in the CSP arrangements. The period of secondment does not reckon towards CSP arrangement benefits. But a transfer value of the benefits the member accrued in the borrowing employer’s scheme can be made into the CSP arrangements. Those who are on unpaid (or paid) special leave are not covered by the Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme.

E You must send the ASLC paid by the borrowing employer and the employee’s pension contributions to the Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote. You must also send partnership and AVCs to the relevant pension provider. The Scheme Administrator will keep the secondee’s pension record. You must tell the Scheme Administrator that the member is a secondee.

F If the borrowing employer’s scheme is by-analogy to the CSP arrangements, the secondee may not be able to join the by-analogy scheme. This is because, like the CSP arrangements, by-analogy schemes may not allow inward secondees to join the scheme.

G The borrowing employer normally meets the ASLC cost. However, the secondee can pay the ASLC or they and the borrowing employer can meet the cost together. There may be occasions when you wish to provide the services for a member free or at a reduced charge. If you do this you must pay the full ASLC to the Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote. In exceptional circumstances the Scheme Manager (Cabinet Office), may agree before the secondment starts, to reduce or waive the ASLC.

H The borrowing employer’s scheme will pay a transfer value to the Civil Service Pension Scheme. The Scheme Administrator will use this to calculate the member’s service credit using their salary on their return.

J A secondee who does not remain a member during their secondment cannot continue to pay added years or added pension contributions during their secondment. They can resume paying added pension contributions when they return to the CSP arrangements. To make up the pension that they were unable to buy, the member could increase their contributions.