Scie chief set to quit

Scie’s chief executive Ray Jones is leaving the organisation
just seven months after joining the new body following a dispute
over his contract, writes Rachel
Downey.

Jones is returning to his post as head of adult and community
services at Wiltshire council because Scie cannot afford to
guarantee him an early retirement deal if his current four-year
contract is not renewed.

Jones told Community Care: “I feel sad that I’m in a position
where I was being left, and I could have been left with no income
or employment.”

He added that he had enjoyed his time at Scie. “It’s an
important organisation, I have enjoyed working with the people at
Scie, and it’s been an exciting job. The only reason I left was
that I had a contract which left me with no security at the end of
four years.”

Jones was looking for the same deal he had when working for
Wiltshire, whereby if his contract was not renewed and he was aged
57, the local authority would have added the years to his pension
so he could retire then.

But after taking legal and financial advice, the board of Scie
decided it could not afford the additional cost of guaranteeing to
make up Jones’s pension if his contract was not renewed. Scie
receives around £3 million a year from the department of
health, and a small sum from the Welsh Assembly.

Jones says he suggested the board extend his contract to six
years, which would have left him with just one year before he could
take his pension. This proposal was rejected as the job was
advertised as a four-year fixed term contract, rather than a
six-year one, and this could have deterred potential
applicants.

Since his departure from Wiltshire in November, the post of
director remained unfilled. It was re-advertised in March; Jones
applied and was appointed.

Scie chairperson Jane Campbell said: “We are sorry to lose Ray
Jones as chief executive. Using his extensive experience in the
management and delivery of social services, he has made a
tremendous contribution to the creation and early development of
Scie.”

Jones will leave the organisation at the end of August.