By Pamela McGowan Health reporter

Last updated at 12:53, Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Staff at north Cumbria’s hospitals are being consulted about what will happen to them when the trust is taken over later this year.

The debt-stricken North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, which runs the Carlisle and Whitehaven hospitals, is in the process of being taken over by Northumbria Healthcare due to long-running financial problems.

New bosses have now launched a consultation with unions regarding the transfer of staff at the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital to the new organisation and say they are following standard processes.

The plan will see existing staff transfer under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment), meaning their pay and conditions will be protected.

This is a required legal process for all organisations in these circumstances and must be completed by the date of acquisition, which is expected to be December this year.

Northumbrian bosses say that the TUPE process identifies any employment measures or actions that may need to be taken for an economic, technical or organisational reason as a consequence of merging the organisations. It will cover items such as staff pay dates, policies and procedures and corporate governance structures.

Ann Farrar, who will take over as interim chief executive in North Cumbria next month, said: “This is part of the standard legal process we need to go through in order for the two trusts to come together as one unified organisation from the date of acquisition. It will be conducted in full consultation with unions in North Cumbria and Northumberland and North Tyneside.”

First published at 11:28, Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk