A social care chief has played down fears of charity jobs being lost because of a controversial shake-up of mental health services.
Mental Health Aberdeen previously warned 26 workers face the axe when it pulls out of its work with Aberdeenshire Council.
It predicts “untold damage” will be caused by the changes, which it says are motivated by cost-cutting rather than the best interests of patients.
But Adam Coldwells, chief officer of Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said he would be “surprised” if the affected MHA staff did not simply transfer to similar roles under the new provider.
He insisted the new set-up was “not radically different” and the authority would seek the same changes even if it did not need to slash spending.
Areas such as Fraserburgh which have “little service at all” will benefit from a more even spread of help, he added.
In September, councillors will choose which of five “excellent” bidders to run the service will get contracts – with the new regime due to be in place from January 1.
The budget is being cut by around 26% – with much of the saving meant to be found from closing permanent bases used by MHA in favour of siting help services in existing community facilities.
Mr Coldwells said TUPE regulations — which protect employees’ rights when a service transfers to a new employer – had been agreed between outgoing and incoming providers in other similar scenarios.
“We would be surprised if this does not happen in this case but this is negotiated between the outgoing and incoming providers,” he said.
“We value the partnership we have with Mental Health Aberdeen who have provided a great service for people in Aberdeenshire.
“Our priority now is to ensure there is a seamless transition for service users when the new provider is appointed in September.”
An MHA spokesman said it would be “delighted” if TUPE regulations were able to be applied.
“However this is not a guarantee at this stage,” he said.
“Having sought expert advice MHA is budgeting for redundancies.”
Councillor Anne Robertson, opposition social work spokeswoman, said budget cuts “must not mean a diluted service” and there should be “no surprises” for service users.
