Catering and Facilities Management Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Joint Venture Partnership?
A Joint Venture Partnership is a business formed between two or more partner organisations. In this case, the County Council is looking to partner with an established provider to create a new company which would provide catering and facilities management services across Nottinghamshire going forward.
The day to day running and management activities of Catering and Facilities Management (including County Enterprise Foods) would rest with the Joint Venture Partnership. The Council will be involved and have influence over key areas, such as pricing, quality and significant staffing changes. This ongoing involvement would help to ensure that the proposed Joint Venture Partnership keeps our values and objectives, whilst maintaining the quality and integrity of our services.
Why is the council doing this?
The Catering and Facilities Management Service is currently being subsidised by more than £2.5 million in the current year. This is due to various factors such as increases in food and raw material costs, living wage and pay award increases and energy price rises. Because of the pressures faced by the service and the growing competition from private sector providers, we have been exploring alternative ways to deliver the service to give it a brighter, more cost-effective and sustainable future whilst continuing to deliver high quality meals and services.
How will the proposed Joint Venture affect my job, and should I be worried?
If the partnership is approved, your job would transfer to a new employer which would be the proposed Joint Venture Partnership.
This would be in accordance with ‘TUPE’ – the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations.
This means if Cabinet approves the decision on 6 February, and then the Council signs a contract, from 1 September 2025, your employment will transfer to the Joint Venture Partnership to do the same job that you do now.
What is TUPE?
TUPE is a set of regulations which protects the entitlement of employees to ensure that the same terms and conditions of employment apply going forward that the employees had before a transfer.
The process involves consulting with employees and Trade Unions, sharing information on proposed changes and engaging with the service affected by any proposal.
TUPE protects and transfers your:
- Pay and hours
- Employment terms and conditions (such as sick pay and holiday entitlement).
- Your continuous service.
It also means if we establish a Joint Venture Partnership that you will not need to sign a new contract or interview for your role when it is transferred.
Would there be any changes to my contract?
If the Joint Venture Partnership is established, there would be no change to your contract of employment at the point of transfer.
The new employer may advise during the consultation period of 'measures' they propose to make following the TUPE transfer. This means any change in working conditions or practices that an employer is looking to introduce after the transfer, that results from the transfer. Measures may include a change in reporting procedures, a change of pay date and so on.
Any such proposed changes would be clearly communicated to you in advance of any new partnership and the new employer would be required to consult with all staff, unions and the council in respect of any proposed changes.
Would there be any redundancies?
It is not currently envisaged that redundancies would be required for any staff prior to the commencement of a partnership.
As consultation begins with a potential new employer, they may wish to negotiate changes that would come into effect after the transfer.
Would my place of work change?
Your place of work would remain the same as it is now.
What about my manager? Would they stay the same?
It is anticipated that if approved all Catering and Facilities Management staff (including all managers) would transfer across to the proposed Joint Venture Partnership.
If I have any further queries or questions at this stage, who can I contact?
We understand that these potential changes which we feel will be positive for staff, customers and the County Council may leave you with some more questions. If you have any questions or concerns, you can speak to your account or line manager.
Should the Cabinet approve the creation of the new Joint Venture Partnership, we will be organising staff meetings across the county in the coming weeks and months which you can attend and ask any questions you may have.
Is my union aware of this or do I need to contact them? Would I still be part of my union?
Recognised Trade Union colleagues have been made aware of these changes, and we have actively engaged and worked with them in the process since spring 2024. Your union membership would continue as normal after the transfer.
Will my pay change?
Under TUPE transfer, your hours and pay that you currently receive would not change and would be transferred to your new employer, which in this case would be the new Joint Venture Partnership.
What about my pension?
Staff who are currently entitled to membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) would retain the right to be a member.
Ok, I know a bit more now about my pay and job so when would this transfer take place?
The decision on whether to a create a Joint Venture Partnership will be made by the County Council’s Cabinet on Thursday 6 February.
If Cabinet takes the decision to move forward with a Joint Venture Partnership, there will then be some more final discussions between the County Council and the preferred partner to finalise details and sign a contract. Once these are finished a formal agreement will be entered into. The partnership between the Council and preferred partner would then begin on 1 September 2025.
How will I be kept informed about all of this?
We hope that you find these editions of Frontline Focus useful and informative, and we will continue to provide updates on the process through these newsletters. Once the decision has been made and the agreement to establish the Joint Venture Partnership signed, we will then be organising some face-to-face drop-in sessions and webinars in the coming weeks and months where you can come along and ask any questions you may have.
I have a question, who can I speak to?
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please do speak to your account or line manager directly.