Committee publication · Correspondence · 12 January 2026
Letter from the Chief Financial Officer at NHS England relating to the Committee’s evidence session into Costs of Clinical Negligence on 20 November 2025, 06 January 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: Costs of clinical negligence
Summary
Elizabeth O'Mahony, Chief Financial Officer at NHS England, corrects her testimony to the Public Accounts Committee from 20 November 2025 regarding redundancy clawback periods. She had stated a six-month clawback applied universally; in fact, Agenda for Change staff face a four-week window for suitable alternative employment offers, whilst Executive Senior Managers are bound by a 12-month clawback period.
Key findings
- CFO's original testimony incorrectly stated a six-month clawback period applied to compulsory redundancies across NHS England
- Agenda for Change staff: no redundancy payment if suitable alternative NHS employment offered within 4 weeks of termination; claims must be submitted within 6 months
- Executive Senior Managers: contractually bound by 12-month clawback period requiring repayment of redundancy if they accept employment within NHS, Government, or Arms' Length Bodies within 12 months
- The four-week Agenda for Change window applies only to suitable alternative health service employment offers, not to general re-employment
Tone
ProceduralTopics
public-financeemployment-lawnhs-management
Key actors
Elizabeth O'Mahony, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, NHS England, Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“This is incorrect. I have outlined below the position which applies to staff in NHS England who are made compulsorily redundant on Agenda for Change …”
Key Quotes
“I informed the PAC that there was a clawback period – this being a period of time during which redundancy money could be claimed back from an individual should they come back into another job.”
“If, before the date of termination, an employee is offered suitable alternative employment with their own employer or with another NHS employer and that employment starts within 4 weeks of the termination date, they will not be entitled to a redundancy payment.”
“Should you be made redundant by the Employer or any successor body, you will be contractually bound by a 12 month 'clawback' period .”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗