The Westminster Government is proceeding with regulations to impose a cap of £95,000 on all exit payments in the public sector. The final vote in Parliament on the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020 is due shortly, probably on 30 September.

Based on informal advice from the Treasury, if these regulations are passed, there will be a window of just 21 days in which to complete redundancies. The cap would not apply if the last day of employment falls after the regulations are made but within the 21 days. There will be a waiver process for some situations.

MiP chief executive Jon Restell (pictured) said: “MiP opposes the cap. Reforms to redundancy terms in the NHS, where most of our members work, have already brought in a salary limit of £80,000 and removed employer top up payments on early retirement. This further attack is therefore deeply unfair to public servants, often with modest incomes and long service. The cap will make it much harder for employers to manage re-organisation.”

We encourage members to urge their MP to vote down the regulations.

If the regulations are passed, MiP calls on the Government to delay their implementation until 2021, because employers should not be distracted from the pandemic, nor staff penalised for staying on to help out.

Further information and guidance will be posted here on our website.