Public sector nurses will be paid to quit and sign on with a private employer, reports say.

The West Australian Health Minister has told media outlets that healthcare workers can access offered a special package if they resign from the public sector and are employed by the private contractor running a new Perth hospital.

The ex-public staff would have to find work with Serco, the private operator contracted to provide non-clinical services at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Report say Serco is looking to recruit 240 new workers to meet the needs of their contract, and some may come from public hospitals.

WA Health Minister Kim Hames said the one-off transition payment to leave the public sector is an incentive.

“We have a budget that is for our staff, a total transition package, for the establishment of Fiona Stanley,” Dr Hames said on ABC radio.

“There was always going to be difficulties that arise and we have to have a budget that made sure we could transition comfortably across.

“So, it is fair and reasonable that we offer people these incentives to transfer across, and whatever entitlements they currently have with their current employment with us.”

Southern Metropolitan Health Service chief executive Frank Daly gave some more details.

“We're happy to make a one-off transition payment to those staff which will compensate them partly for the fact they're moving,” he said.

“That payment will be two weeks for each year of complete service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

“We'll also be paying out long service leave pro rata, and they can obviously cash out their other leave entitlements.

“I don't want to be too cynical about this either. It's very important that Serco's got the ability to recruit a workforce that is already experienced in this space.”

Cleaners, caterers and orderlies and other staff sometimes dubbed ‘non-essential’ went on strike last week over the lack of certainty in their employment.