Support for winning and converting
We provide support and solutions for current, prospective and pending contracts and also facilitate winning and converting public sector contracts, especially in respect of all workforce implications, costing, including the identification of employment issues and supporting the contractual negotiations.
1 Overall areas for support and contribution
(1) The contractual relationship and how this will operate through the contract – including assistance with contractual documentation and statements of requirements.
(2) The business model to operate the contract business will necessarily involve the direct employment of the transferred people with conventional contracts of employment. This raises questions of how you may “manage the business” to take account of industrial relations, pensions and other relevant matters.
(3) Dealing with trades unions (where the public sector is still an organisation of powerful influence trades unions) and ensuring that communications, consultations, negotiations, etc., are properly executed in the right way at the right time to ensure a good favourable passage for the bid and securing the contract and for the lead-in period for contract start and beyond.
(4) Clarification of obligations and provisions on pensions – especially to avoid a variety of future circumstances cause problems to your pricing and cost parameters.
(5) Ensuring that the bid document contains full and appropriate statements made about current and future employment and industrial relations practices and avoiding future problems at critical stages in the progression to contract through to vesting day.
2 Specific inputs and deliverables
(1) Initial
- In the preparation of the bid document.
- Review the employment and TUPE information to be submitted.
- Provide advice and input on your business model for directly employed people.
(2) Progression of bid through to contract
- Assist with dealing with queries and clarifying issues that arise.
- Assistance with contractual documentation.
- Scrutiny of nominated people for TUPE transfer.
(3) Preferred bidder stage to vesting day and beyond
- Plan and manage all relevant matters to ensure that everything is in place on vesting day and beyond, including all employment obligations and trade union relations.
3 Record of achievement
(1) Worked successfully over many years with a number of businesses in providing support through the whole programme of activity ranging from the bid process through preferred bidder stage to vesting day and beyond. Provided a comprehensive service to a range of companies involved in public sector Public Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) contractorisation.
(2) Similar service provided to private sector companies to facilitate important requirements for successful mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations.
(3) Maintained “buoyancy” to a bid through the various stages to contract start is underpinned by experience in working with government departments, civil servants and trades unions together with special breadth and depth knowledge and experience in labour relations and in the implications and applications of regulations, including TUPE Regulations.
4 Service arrangements
The service arrangements would comprise a statement of requirement setting out the overall and specific objectives within an agreed several-point plan.
The actual organisational arrangements with a client have ranged from one-off contracts to more interdependent agreements and could be covered by or a combination of the following arrangements:
- Single agreement: Specific-term engagement to achieve the specific planned deliverables. Cost related to agreed fees for the assignment.
- Framework arrangement: Engagement to respond to volume related service as and when required or necessary. Fees on a per Diem basis.
- Renewable contract: Longer-term association to provide a consistent and reliable management service with a degree of management engagement. Fees negotiable.