The government is to revoke the Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020, which imposed a £95,000 cap on all public sector exit payments. The decision, announced today, followed legal action by a number of the trade unions, including UNISON and the FDA.

Guidance issued by the government suggests that NHS staff whose exit payments, including redundancy pay, were affected by the cap since it came into force on 4 November 2020, will have their full entitlement restored. MiP will give further advice to members once the implications are clear, and any MiP member who believes they may be affected should contact their MiP national officer as soon as possible.  

Welcoming the government’s announcement, MiP chief executive Jon Restell said:

“This is a brilliant result for UNISON and the FDA, whose judicial reviews piled the pressure on government to think again. Yet again our parent unions deliver value for MiP members.

“This will be a relief to millions of public sector workers, especially those facing redundancy and who could have been impacted unfairly by this cap. The government should not waste any more time or money on this policy and say it is dropping the cap permanently.

“Instead the government should support public sector workers do their jobs for the public and make sure it avoids the redundancy of valuable staff happening in the first place.”