The Angus tenancy support officer (TSO) saga has flared again with staff claiming they will lose holidays and be paid less under potential changes.
At a meeting in February, Angus Council appeared to bow to pressure from sheltered housing residents fearful of losing the service, vowing to give existing TSOs the “best possible opportunity for continuity of employment”.
The local authority said a member officer group would examine whether this would be with Angus Council, a social enterprise or through an arm’s length trading organisation, before a final decision is made.
However, some staff are fearful that a decision on the future of the service has already been decided after meetings with social enterprise Voluntary Action Angus (VAA) were set up to discuss what their terms and conditions would be.
VAA has confirmed that it has conducted “very positive” meetings with TSOs and residents, though its chief executive officer Gary Malone said the decision by the council had still to be made.
Meanwhile, the TSOs have received letters from Angus Council giving them 12 weeks’ notice of the termination of their employment.
A tenancy support officer who contacted The Courier said that if the social enterprise was selected then it would leave a number out of jobs and out of pocket.
“We have had a meeting with Voluntary Action Angus and the discussion was around new contracts,” the council employee said.
“It has been suggested that wages will be around £8.70 an hour which for many will be around about a £1 an hour drop.
“Currently TSOs get 30 days holiday plus seven public holidays. The new deal is for 28 days total.”
Charity chief Mr Malone responded to the claims by stating: “We have a long way to go and have many more meetings planned.
“The decision has yet to be made and lies with the council, however VAA has an excellent track record of working with partners including Angus Council to improve services to people and local communities.
“It’s worth noting that some of our home helps already deliver services to residents in sheltered housing complexes.
“As a community-driven organisation we seek to build an ‘Angus that Actively Cares’ and that means that throughout this process we will involve staff and residents at every stage.
“We will continue to work in partnership with Angus Council, NHS Tayside and third sector organisations and improve community-based care whether the social enterprise approach is chosen or not.
“If we are approached to deliver this service it will be based on residents’ needs.
“It will also be more joined-up with local community and voluntary effort creating better opportunities and indeed an improved service,” he added.
There is also unhappiness around about the potential payoffs for long-serving TSO staff with suggestions that some staff members with as much as 25 years’ service could be looking at a figures well below £10,000.Redundancy letters given to the
TSOs state that although a final decision has not been taken, their role could be declared redundant.
The letter adds that during the notice period, which ends on June 30, the council will make efforts to find an alternative to redundancy including re-deployment to another job within the council.
It also offers TSOs the opportunity to apply for voluntary redundancy.