County Council settles out of court
In 2017 Somerset County Council transferred the Learning Disabilities Service to Discovery. SCC remain primarily responsible for the service, but the actual work was to be carried out by the charity. Inevitably many of the SCC staff had their contracts transferred to Discovery as part of the process.
In April 2017 the Union Unison brought an employment tribunal claim against Somerset County Council and Discovery. This alleged inadequate information had been provided to staff prior to the transfer.
That tribunal claim was due to be heard this week.
Today SCC announced they had reached an out of court settlement with Unison to a total value of £674,000.
In a statement SCC told us “Somerset County Council and Discovery believe they fulfilled their obligations in relation to the transfer. However, to avoid a protracted legal hearing with the potential for further action – as well as continued uncertainty for staff – Somerset County Council has reached a financial settlement with Unison (with a total value of £674,000) on behalf of its members and this has enabled the claim to be resolved in a way that is satisfactory for all parties. We are pleased that this matter has now reached a conclusion and that we can continue our work to transform learning disabilities services in Somerset.”