Outsourcing projects involve the transfer of employees who originated in the public sector to a new private sector employer. Getting a handle on the key pensions risks is often an important part of the overall deal.

This is where we can help, whether we are acting for the public authority that is outsourcing a function, or a new supplier bidding for the outsourced services.  We draft and negotiate the pensions provisions of the main commercial outsourcing contract, advise on “risk-sharing” and document the agreement reached, as well as advising on the pensions obligations of the new contractor or the awarding authority. This often includes advice on what the Fair Deal and Best Value Direction means in practice, drafting and negotiating admission agreements or changes to existing agreements and advising on TUPE transfers.

We also advise and negotiate guarantees or bonds in connection with the LGPS, advise on the legal requirements relating to bulk transfers, assist in resolving disputes where they have arisen in relation to previous outsourcings or admission agreements, and liaise with GAD or the relevant actuary on funding/pricing matters.

Recent experience

• Advising on pensions aspects of a large restructuring project relating to the Ministry of Justice’s information technology services which involved procuring separate contracts for different elements of IT services (including service integration, end-user computing, networks, hosting, and application maintenance and development)
• Advising the Environment Agency on a major outsourcing of its IT services and the pensions issues relating to its sub-fund in the LGPS
• Assisting numerous private contractors in relation to various bids for local authority contracts
• Resolving a number of pensions related disputes for a large NHS Trust
• Advising a large supplier in the construction industry on indemnity and risk mitigation relating to Beckmann.