Leaving office & employment

Redundancy payments, pay in-lieu-of-notice and pay for untaken leave when staff members leave employment must be funded from the staffing budget, except where these are the result of an MP leaving office.

IPSA may consider funding exceptional cases from the contingency budget. [7.5]

If you need HR advice on matters such as recruitment, redundancy, and employment law – contact the House of Commons HR Advice Service.

Winding-up payments and loss-of-office payments are treated as redundancy payments for tax purposes.

This means that if the combined amount paid to a former MP reaches the threshold set by HMRC, any amounts over the threshold will be subject to tax. [8.15]

Winding-up costs may be claimed by former MPs from the budgets outlined in the Scheme to support them in completing their outstanding parliamentary functions, including the costs of closing down constituency offices.

Winding-up costs may be claimed following a general election by former MPs who have not stood for re-election or have lost their seat at the election, as well as by those who cease to be MPs during a parliament. [8.1]

Download the Winding-up Declaration Form.

Former MPs may claim for winding-up costs incurred during a maximum of two months after they have left Parliament, referred to as the winding-up period.

For former MPs who either stand down or lose their seats at a general election, the winding-up period starts on the day after the election.

For those who cease to be MPs during a parliament, the winding-up period starts on the day after the seat is vacated. [8.2]

At and after a general election that occurs after 19 July 2023, the winding-up period will be four months.

For the avoidance of doubt, before this general election takes place, for MPs who cease to be an MP during a parliament, the winding-up period remains two months. [8.3]

IPSA may make provision to extend the winding-up period beyond two months in exceptional circumstances or in the event an MP has been recalled and is contesting a by-election to return to Parliament. [8.4]

Former MPs will be eligible to receive a winding-up payment if they leave Parliament at a general election, meaning they were an MP on the day before the dissolution of Parliament and either stand unsuccessfully or stand down at the election. [8.12]

A winding-up payment is of a value equivalent to four months’ salary after the deduction of tax and National Insurance.

It will be paid with the first payroll which takes place during the winding-up period. [8.13]

Winding-up costs may include:

• salary, National Insurance and employer pension contribution costs, and any overtime payments for staff who continue to work for the MP during the winding-up period

• accommodation rental payments and/or associated costs during the winding-up period

• any office and travel costs during the winding-up period which remain necessary for the completion of the MP’s parliamentary functions, including any contractual liabilities, such as office rent, utility bills and equipment rental payments

• the costs, including removals, of leaving any office or accommodation funded under the Scheme [8.5]

Disability or security assistance claims

MPs who received disability assistance prior to leaving Parliament may continue to claim on the same basis until the end of the winding-up period. [8.11]

IPSA will not pay claims for the purchase of new office equipment (including IT) or furniture during the winding-up period.

If former MPs have an exceptional need for new furniture or equipment during the winding-up period, they must apply for contingency funding. [8.7]

The costs of staff redundancy payments, payments for untaken leave and pay-in-lieu-of-notice as a result of winding-up will be met from the contingency budget. [8.8]

Former MPs are expected to give their staff notice of redundancy at a point which allows them to wind up their affairs effectively and minimises the cost of pay in-lieu-of-notice to the taxpayer.

Following a general election that occurs after 19 July 2023, IPSA will not fund costs relating to pay-in-lieu-of-notice for staff members where the notice period falls outside of the winding-up period.

This will apply to those MPs who leave office as a result of a general election as well as those who cease to be an MP during a parliament. [8.9]

Where staff members are made redundant (as a result of their employing MP leaving Parliament) while qualified for or in receipt of statutory pay entitlements for parental leave, former MPs may request that they receive the full amount of occupational pay they would have been entitled to, in relation to that period of parental leave, had their employment not ended. [8.10]

Former MPs will be eligible to receive a loss-of-office payment (LOOP) if they lose their seat at a general election, meaning that they were an MP on the day before the dissolution of Parliament and a candidate for re-election (for the same seat or a different seat), but not re-elected. [8.14]

The amount of the loss-of-office payment will be equal to double the prevailing statutory redundancy entitlement.

This means an MP will only be eligible for a loss-of-office payment if they have held office for a continuous period of at least two years at the point they lose their seat. [8.15]

IPSA will normally pay the loss-of-office payment at the end of the winding-up period, as defined in paragraph 8.3.

However, where it deems it necessary to manage significant financial risk, IPSA may delay payment until after former MPs have made certain arrangements to wind up their affairs, which may include::

• issuing redundancy notices to staff and sending instructions to IPSA

• repaying any outstanding debts to IPSA (such as repayment of deposit loans and overpayments) subject to [8.17]

• submitting all business costs claims for the period running up to the election (or point at which the seat was vacated)

• carrying out administrative tasks, such as cancellation of the IPSA payment card, and/or

• any other necessary tasks identified by IPSA [8.16]

Former MPs may have outstanding debts to IPSA deducted from their entitlement to a winding-up or loss-of-office payment.

In exceptional cases, IPSA may deduct outstanding debts before payment without seeking the former MP’s consent. [8.17]

Winding-up payments and loss-of-office payments will be treated in accordance with prevailing tax legislation and HMRC guidance. [8.18]

Former MPs must arrange for the disposal of their office equipment and furniture, which should be done safely and securely, in compliance with data protection legislation (among other things).

The costs relating to disposal of office equipment and furniture may be claimed from IPSA.

Former MPs may choose to transfer items to another MP or donate them to a charity of their choice.

If former MPs make any money from disposing of equipment, this must be refunded to IPSA. Where former MPs or staff members choose to retain items, they will be required to repay an amount equivalent to the depreciated value of the item to IPSA. [8.6]

Staff resignation

If a staff member wishes to stop working for an MP, he or she must provide a letter of resignation, giving the MP the number of weeks’ notice as stated in their contract.

For contracts from 10 April 2017, if the staff member is still within their probationary period and wishes to leave, they need only give one week’s notice to the MP. In all other cases, the staff member should provide their MP with the notice period that is within their contract of employment.

When this is done, the staff member should finalise their leaving date with the MP and discuss what will happen during the notice period. It may be practical for the staff member to take any accrued but untaken leave during this time, or any possible accrued time off in lieu.

Remember, leave is only accrued up to and including the last date of employment.

The staff member may ask to leave earlier than the end of their formal notice period and the MP may agree to this. If this happens it is a mutually agreed leave date and this date will be used for all calculations (for example, salary and annual leave). If this occurs, the staff member will NOT be paid for any remaining time in the notice period.

As soon as the last day of employment is agreed upon, the person leaving should complete their own online leaver forms.

Read more about Using the Staff Leaver Form in IPSA Online.

For more information about contractual notice periods, visit Finding your notice period.

Unused annual leave

Staff members should complete the annual leave section on the leaver form.

If the staff leaving has unused annual leave carried over from a previous calendar year, they should include the number in the form description field.

If the person leaving needs help to calculate their pro-rata leave entitlement for the amount of the year worked, they can visit Calculating and managing your annual leave entitlement.

In IPSA Online, the staff absence balance screen shows the total entitlement until the end of the calendar year for a permanent staff member, or until the end of a fixed-term contract for a temporary member of staff.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON)

It is usual for staff members to work throughout their notice period, but the MP can stop this requirement and pay the staff member for some or all of their notice period in lieu of working. This is discussed between the MP and the staff member and will be outlined on the leaver’s form clearly stating the number of days or weeks that should be paid in lieu.

Visit Calculating and managing your annual leave entitlement to help work out the costs of this.

PILON will come out of the MP’s general staffing budget, or from the Contingency budget if the MP is leaving office.

PILON is a non-pensionable payment. This means that neither the member of staff nor the MP, as the employer, make any pension contributions against this payment.

For more information about contractual notice periods, visit Finding your notice period.

The MP ending the contract of employment

It may be necessary for the MP to end a member of staff’s employment for a reason other than their resignation. Such a situation may include dismissal for conduct or capability reasons, or redundancy when the MP restructures their office and some job roles are no longer required. More usually it is because of a general election when the MP has decided not to stand for re-election or loses their seat.

In any of these circumstances, an MP is required formally to give their staff notice that their employment is ending for one of the above reasons or others. In each case, an appropriate process must have been followed before the notice was given. For redundancy, this must include consultation with the staff member(s).

Guidance for all circumstances will be given by Members’ HR, who can be reached on 020 7219 2080 or by email to: membershr@parliament.uk

Once the last day of employment has been agreed MPs or their office managers should complete a Leaver Form and attach a copy of the notice letter signed by both parties.

Read more about Using the Staff Leaver Form in IPSA Online.

Unused annual leave

The notice letter should refer to the amount of unused annual leave on the final day of employment. It should clearly outline any annual leave carried over from a previous calendar year, and the annual leave accrued during the current calendar year.

If the person leaving needs help to calculate their pro-rata leave entitlement for the amount of the year worked, they can visit Calculating and managing your annual leave entitlement.

In IPSA Online, the staff absence balance screen shows the total entitlement until the end of the calendar year for a permanent staff member, or until the end of a fixed-term contract for a temporary member of staff.

Transferring your accounts

If you are an MP's proxy and/or an office manager and you are leaving your role, please ensure you have transferred your responsibilities for utility and other bills to your replacement, including updating the email address held with your provider.

Ending a fixed-term contract

A fixed-term contract usually comes to an end on the last date of the contract, unless terminated earlier by the employer or staff member giving notice in line with their contract of employment.

If the MP does not wish to extend the contract, to remove any ambiguity, they should confirm with the staff member ahead of time that their contract will finish on the last date.

If the staff member on a fixed-term contract has to have their contract ended early because of redundancy after a general election, they must be treated in the same way as other staff members.

This will mean consulting with the employee and giving notice in line with their contract of employment.

If a staff member is not told that the contract is ending and they arrive for work the day after the contract end date and this is accepted by the MP the staff member will be considered to have ongoing employment and continuous service.

Please remember that if the staff member has more than two years’ continuous service at the end of the contract, or when their contract is terminated, they will qualify for a redundancy payment.

When the staff member is made aware their contract is ending on their contract's end date (or extended end date), the person leaving should complete their own online Leaver Form

Read more about Using the Staff Leaver Form in IPSA Online.

Unused annual leave

Staff members should complete the annual leave section on the leaver form.

If they have any unused annual leave that has been carried over from the previous calendar year, they should include the number of days in the form description field.

If the person leaving needs help to calculate their pro-rata leave entitlement for the amount of the year worked, they can visit Calculating and managing your annual leave entitlement.

In IPSA Online, the staff absence balance screen shows the total entitlement until the end of the calendar year for a permanent staff member, or until the end of a fixed-term contract for a temporary member of staff.

Apprentices

Apprentices have a specific contract of employment based on their activities. Apprentices are a specific type of fixed-term contract. Therefore if the contract needs to be ended before the natural end date, such as after the MP stands down or loses their seat at the General Election, they must be treated like all other staff on fixed-term contracts and made redundant following the appropriate process.

Contracts for apprentices vary in length depending on their programme and this may mean that the staff member may not have enough length of service to qualify for a redundancy payment.

In addition, the MP will have an agreement with a college to provide the education element of the apprenticeship. The MP should also raise this issue with the college so they are aware of the situation before making the staff member redundant.

Notice periods

In all cases, staff must be given the correct amount of notice. For new contracts from 10 April 2017, the notice period during the first six months probationary period is one week for either the MP or the staff member.

After the probationary period, or for other staff, the contractual notice period to end the contract given by either the MP or staff member is usually four or eight weeks, although some contracts may be different.

There can be a difference between contractual notice (the notice period in the contract) and statutory notice (the legal requirement to provide appropriate notice based on length of service – this increases by one week per year up to a maximum of 12 weeks for staff with more than four years’ service).

Staff must receive notice that is the longer period of the two.

Example:

1. If a staff member has four weeks' contractual notice but has worked for the MP for six years and three months at their point of leaving, they would be entitled to six weeks’ notice because of the statutory notice.

2. If a staff member has eight weeks’ contractual notice and has worked for the MP for six years and three months’ service, they would be entitled to eight weeks’ notice because of the contractual notice.

This rule applies regardless of the reason that notice is given to the staff member by the MP.

For information on what happens during a general election, visit MPs leaving Parliamentand Information for Staff.

Gardening leave

Gardening leave is not offered to staff at any time.

Notice period calculation

The notice period is whichever is higher between the contractual or statutory notice period (see Notice periods, above).

The MP, as the employer, provides the staff member with a dismissal notice letter which is signed by both. The date this letter is issued is used to determine that the staff member has been made aware on this date that notice has been served.

The first calendar day after this letter is dated is deemed to be the starting point for calculating the notice period.

The period up until the last working day of employment is then calculated based on the number of working days for the staff member.

It is strongly recommended that the MP provides as much notice as possible to allow the staff member to work their notice period and to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. It may not, however, always be possible and in some instances, PILON may need to be paid.

Example:

Dismissal notice letter dated 25 September 2018

Contractual notice period = eight weeks

Staff member’s last working day 31 October 2018 – (staff member is full time and works five working days per week).

Notice period begins 26 September 2018

Five weeks and one day worked from 26 September – 31 October 2018 = 5.20 weeks

8.0 weeks-notice due – 5.20 notice worked = 2.8 weeks’ PILON due to be paid

2.8 weeks count from 1 November 2018 – 27 November 2018

Monthly salary calculated based on working days for this period is then paid to the staff member in their final pay

Last day of employment

The end of a staff member's employment is the last day they worked.

If they cannot work their entire notice period, they will be paid PILON as outlined above.

The Bullying and Harassment of MPs’ Parliamentary Staff Independent Inquiry Report (the White report) recommended that every departing staff member should be asked to complete a leaver’s survey, followed by an interview where appropriate.

A template exit survey is available for MPs to use when staff leave their employment. Any information gathered will be for the MP, as an employer, to use. IPSA will not collect, store or process any information from the exit survey.

If you decide to ask a staff member to complete an exit survey, this should be done soon after they resign so they have time to complete the survey and so that you have the opportunity to discuss their answers.

Download the sample exit survey.

If former staff or MPs require an employment reference for future employment or for things such as mortgage applications, IPSA will provide these on request.

To request a reference, please email payroll@theipsa.org.uk. The request will be processed using a set format to ensure it complies with rules relating to references.

In the unfortunate event of the death of a Member, the House of Commons will provide support to their family and staff.

The House of Commons intranet includes guidance on support available to complete the deceased Member’s affairs.

Advice on IPSA-related issues can be found in the Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs.

The House of Commons guidance includes:

• contact with a deceased Member's family and staff

• pay and costs

• personal property of a deceased Member

• access to a Member's office and belongings

• what happens to a deceased Member's staff

• contracts of employment

• parliamentary network accounts

• IT equipment

• data protection

• pensions

• by-election

• Members' Staff & Death in Service Scheme

Visit the House of Commons intranet.

The House of Commons Members’ HR Service has published best practice guidance on restructuring your office.

The guide provides information for when MPs' are considering reorganising their staffing resources to respond to changing priorities and improve efficiency in their administration. This could, for example, involve changing employees’ roles and responsibilities and making the most of their skillset to ensure offices are resilient and working effectively.

It also covers MPs' responsibilities as employers and practical advice about how to manage the restructuring process effectively and fairly to ensure staff are properly consulted and supported.

The guide should be followed in conjunction with ACAS’s guidance and the IPSA standards and rules.

To read and download the guide, visit the MPs' best practice guide: Office restructure.

The Scheme does not cover reimbursement of cleaning costs at an MP's accommodation. However, IPSA will pay for professional cleaning costs incurred as a requirement of the lease, if these circumstances apply:

• the professional cleaning costs are incurred as a specific condition of the lease

• the cleaning costs are incurred due to the MP leaving the property and terminating the lease

• the MP incurred the cost on or after 1 April 2019

• there is a sufficient amount in an MP’s accommodation budget to cover the cost

Supporting evidence showing the condition in the lease and an invoice for the cleaning must be submitted with the claim.