Maximus CHDA update

Our work is connected by contract to the DWP to carry out functional assessments on people on benefits like ESA and Universal Credit

Over the course of the last twelve months the company has been relentlessly rolling out a new way of working which involves moving completely away from paper to digital and electronic. We are yet to see the impact, if any, on jobs.

This September the national contract with the DWP to carry out health assessments i.e., ESA UC or PIP, which has run for many years, will be split into five separate lots with five contract holders instead of one. Between now and the contract end we are at various stages of changing over to whichever company won the bid for that lot or region.

A busy time for all reps involved in any of these contracts

Maximus has retained the contract for Scotland and in the north, either as primary holder or as secondary support holder. The other lots are being taken over by new holders like SERCO and INGEUS who have recently decided to sub-contract some of their contracts to other companies like PFAS.

So, for example, we in London SE/SW are going from 100% of the business contract to 6-7% as London and the South have been sub-contracted. As things stand the future for PCS within this framework appears grim. We have struggled to recruit members and representatives for a long time and even the ones we have will of course now be fragmented still further with some areas/regions having no reps at all.

In my role as PCS rep and also my role as employee rep I am to be involved with others in helping all staff with transition including TUPE. So, a busy time for all reps involved in any of these contracts.