Date posted: 01/08/2008
Audience: This Notice will be of particular interest to:
- HR Managers and policy teams responsible for handling early departures
Action: If you have a member of staff who joined on or after 30 July 2007 and has at least one year’s service, who is due to leave on flexible or compulsory early departure terms before 31 October 2008, please contact the employer helpdesk with the information as requested in the guidance below.
Arrange with your APAC to export the member’s PenServer record to us.
Timing: As soon as you have a final leaving date which is on or before 31 October 2008.
- We are planning to amend the rules of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) in the autumn. This amendment will extend the current flexible early severance (FES) and compulsory early severance (CES) provisions to those who joined on or after 30 July 2007. Members will still need to have at least one year’s qualifying service to be eligible for FES and CES terms.
Until the amendment takes effect we will calculate compensation for you (and, if the departure is before the scheme amendments have been laid, also approve it for payment on an ex-gratia basis) but only for members whose last day of service is no later than 31 October 2008. Members requiring estimates for leaving dates after that date will be dealt with by your APAC in the normal way after the scheme has been amended. We do not expect many cases to be referred under these temporary arrangements.
- If you do have anyone who joined on or after 30 July 2007, has over one year’s service and is leaving on either FES or CES terms before 31 October 2008, please email the employer helpdesk giving the member’s name, date of birth, terms of leaving i.e. FES or CES and their last day of service. If it is a redundancy situation we will also need to know if compensation in lieu of notice applies. The employer helpdesk will acknowledge receipt of your enquiry and allocate a helpdesk number to you within two working days.
- Once you have the employer helpdesk number you should contact your APAC and ask them to export the member’s up-to-date PenServer record to us quoting the employer helpdesk number.
- We will tell you the amount of compensation due to your member via the employer helpdesk within 10 working days. As the lump sum compensation payment cannot be paid under the CSCS rules until the amendment takes effect you will need to pay it as a one-off ex-gratia payment. Normal tax on compensation payments will apply (the first £30,000 is tax free and the normal tax rules will apply to any amount over £30,000). The cost to you will be the same as if it had been paid under the CSCS.
- We are seeking Treasury approval that early severance compensation payments to those who joined on or after 30 July 2007 may be paid as ex-gratia payments until the CSCS has been amended. You will not need to approach Treasury direct.
- You must ensure you tell your APAC the member’s leaving date so that they can take the necessary normal scheme leaver action as we will only be calculating the compensation payment.
- We will notify you by an EPN when the CSCS has been amended.
Contacts
Enquiries about content, distribution or to receive in a different format
employerhelpdesk@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
01256 846414
Employer Helpdesk
Civil Service Pensions
Grosvenor House
Basing View
Basingstoke
RG21 4HG
