Pay and Grading Review. Employee Handbook November 2013

Transcription

1 Pay and Grading Review Employee Handbook November 2013

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3 Contents Messages from: The Leader of the Council Page 4 The Chief Executive Page 4 UNISON and GMB Page INTRODUCTION Page DELIVERING EQUAL PAY Page THE JOB EVALUATION PROJECT Page NJC and Hay Page Project in the council Page Project in community and voluntary controlled schools Page BUILDING THE NEW PAY STRUCTURE Page Pay Modelling Page Assimilation Page Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) Page INCREMENTAL PROGRESSION Page TERMS AND CONDITIONS Page Enhancements to basic pay Page Other issues Page Leave provisions Page Other provisions Page THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Page Trade Union ballot Page Implementation Page THE APPEALS PROCESS Page FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Page CONTACTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION Back Cover 3

4 A message from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Andrew Geary In Milton Keynes we value our workforce and know that fair and equal pay is extremely important. The job evaluation and review of pay project has delivered an approach to pay and reward that is fair, robust and transparent. Unions have been fully involved in this process and I am delighted that we have been able to work together to offer a package that accurately reflects the work done by staff in like for like roles and enables the council to continue to provide the quality services that our communities expect. A message from David Hill, Chief Executive Through the job evaluation and pay project we have taken steps to ensure we can pay our workforce in a fair and consistent way, and that the pay and benefit package is brought up to date and fit for the future. It has been a complex process to get right. Thank you for your assistance as data was gathered and checked. This handbook aims to give you all the information you will need to understand what the new arrangements mean for you, as well as explaining the next steps. As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, your manager will be happy to discuss them with you. 4

5 A message from UNISON and GMB UNISON and GMB recommend this revised package of pay and benefits to our members. The unions support equal pay and these proposals are an important step to reducing inequality in pay between women and men. The unions have worked hard to keep the numbers of losers to a minimum and to preserve jobs and services. We will continue to work for our members in making sure that the new package is applied fairly and consistently. We will do all we can to support individual members as we know that they will be worried about the changes to their pay and benefits. 5

6 1.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPOSED CHANGES This booklet has been produced to guide employees through the implementation phase of the pay and grading project that will be delivered in early In it you will find the reasons the council undertook such a large project, a recap of the story so far, and a wealth of detail about the new arrangements and our plans for a successful conclusion to the project. Any change to pay and conditions can be a source of worry and concern for individuals. This project impacts on all employees covered by the current Single Status agreement and those who are subject to locally agreed terms and conditions of service. When post evaluations are confirmed and the proposed pay structure applied, most individuals will see their basic pay increase or stay the same but some will see their pay decrease. Every effort has been made to minimise the number of staff negatively affected and to mitigate as much as possible the effects on those that will see a decrease. The impact of a loss of income will undoubtedly cause difficulty for some individuals. The council is bound to pay its workforce in accordance with equal pay legislation, so this impact is regrettably unavoidable. Milton Keynes Council will make every reasonable effort to assist affected employees throughout this process. It should be noted that the council is putting forward these proposals during a period of unprecedented reductions in resources, arising from the government s cuts to public sector spending and the long term period of recession and slow economic recovery. The need to reduce costs as a result of government funding restrictions, with further cuts planned, has led the council to review the ways in which services are provided to our community and to reduce staffing levels across many service areas. In that context, savings have also been required from terms and conditions of service, to allow the council to operate within its reduced budget. Keeping employees informed about what is happening is a hugely important part of any change process. You may have attended staff briefings or visited the project intranet/internet pages but we hope you find this booklet a useful addition. If there is something we haven t covered here which you feel we should address, please let us know via or the helpline (details in Section 10). We will maintain a comprehensive FAQ page and will endeavour to keep this as up to date and relevant as we can. 6

7 2.0 DELIVERING EQUAL PAY Milton Keynes Council recognises its responsibility to ensure that all employees should receive equal pay for like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value, and in order to achieve this, has committed to maintain a pay system that is transparent, based on objective criteria and free from bias. A process known as job evaluation (JE) is the usual way of assessing the relative value of jobs to an organisation. Jobs are considered against objective criteria under various factor headings such as knowledge, analytical skills, physical demands and many others. The council implemented the original Single Status agreement in 1998 using such a factorbased job evaluation scheme that was developed in-house. This delivered a sensible structure that has worked well for several years. However, around the same time the National Joint Council (NJC) JE scheme was jointly developed by the national employers and unions and this became the most commonly used JE tool among the councils of England and Wales, as it proved to be robust, reliable and very importantly free of any inherent gender bias. The council therefore decided to employ this scheme for the current project and for future job evaluations. When testing the application of the NJC scheme within this council, difficulties were experienced in differentiating between higher graded roles, so the decision was taken in October 2009 to adopt an approach using two job evaluation schemes the Hay job evaluation scheme (which is already in use for roles at chief officer level and above) and the NJC job evaluation scheme. The programme of reevaluation using both schemes then began. It is important to remember that equal pay legislation is only concerned with demonstrable equality within an organisation. While it is, of course, important that the council strives to be an employer of choice and pays competitively in relation to the local market, this is not an issue that is considered as part of an equal pay review. If there is evidence that it is difficult for the council to keep specific posts filled, it may be appropriate to consider a market supplement. All market supplements are regularly reviewed in order to ensure they are fully and objectively justifiable. Full details can be found in the council s Market Supplement Policy. 7

8 3.0 THE JOB EVALUATION PROJECT 3.1 NJC and Hay Both of the job evaluation schemes used in the pay project are tried and tested in delivering equality-proofed outcomes and are widely used. The schemes themselves have been demonstrated to be free from bias, so as long as they are used properly there is no danger of inadvertently introducing any discriminatory elements that would favour men over women or vice versa. It is acknowledged that the NJC scheme is a little less able to discriminate between very high level roles than the Hay scheme so the latter was used to evaluate posts that scored more than 637 points with NJC. This particular cut off was selected following a rigorous analysis and recommendation by an external equal pay consultant to ensure that it caused no inadvertent disadvantage. 3.2 Project in the council Evaluation Following an initial benchmarking phase to establish what the council understood by the terms used in the NJC scheme (by setting initial conventions or rules), an extensive series of job evaluation interviews took place with job holders representing all distinct roles currently carried out by council employees. The interviews were conducted using JE software called Gauge and comprised a structured question and answer approach, where job holders and their manager could provide information to the job analyst, who would make an assessment as to the appropriate level of each factor. The end result was a score for each post ranging from around 220 to 820 points. Posts for which the score exceeded the cut-off of 637 points have also been evaluated using the Hay JE scheme. This was conducted using a trained Hay panel of management, HR and union representatives and was based upon analysis of role profiles, organisational charts and other documentary evidence Moderation With all posts evaluated by the analyst team, it was vital to ensure that the JE schemes were applied correctly, impartially and consistently. To check this, all outcomes were subjected to a process known as moderation, whereby posts overall scores and specific factor levels were compared across the council. For example, two employees with very similar budget monitoring or cash handling roles should be credited with the same factor level for 8

9 responsibility for financial resources whether they work in a primary school, housing or social work. A moderation panel of HR and union representatives sat regularly throughout the process to carry out these quality checks and were empowered to alter the factor levels attributed to any role where there was sufficient evidence to do so, to ensure that the factors within both schemes were applied consistently across all roles. 3.3 Project in community and voluntary controlled schools Pilot Scheme School support posts constitute approximately 55% of the council s single status workforce in terms of head count. However, there are many very highly populated roles in schools and there are, consequently, far fewer distinct roles to be evaluated. The various school support roles undertaken in Milton Keynes and their role profiles have been based upon a number of the generic profiles drawn up by the Schools Support Staff Negotiating Body (a national initiative to standardise school roles profiles, disbanded in 2010). The profiles for Milton Keynes community and voluntary controlled schools were standardised by means of a pilot scheme comprising nine primary and special school headteachers, supported by HR and a job analyst. The role profiles were refined in response to feedback from headteachers and job holders throughout 2012/13 and a working draft of the support role family was completed in July Matching Process Headteachers were requested to match all their support staff to one of the standard profiles if possible. If no best-fit match was available, a separate evaluation was conducted. Matches were kept under regular review as staffing changed and profiles were added or amended. Matches were made without taking account of any impact on personal salary levels to ensure fairness and consistency. 9

10 4.0 BUILDING THE NEW PAY STRUCTURE 4.1 Pay Modelling With the job evaluation project essentially complete (although ongoing restructuring still requires further evaluation work) the council was able to model a variety of options in order to construct a new pay structure. The old structure was no longer suitable for several reasons, the most important being the use of very wide grades, 12 out of 13 of which featured seven incremental points. A wide pay range for roles evaluated as equivalent could be seen as discriminatory on the grounds of age. Overlapping grades also led to some post holders in jobs with lower evaluation scores being paid more than some post holders in jobs with higher evaluation scores. After extensive discussions with the recognised trade unions, a new pay structure was devised as the basis of the council s proposals; 10

11 It can be clearly seen that all of the new bands labelled A to M to differentiate them from the existing structure feature no more than four incremental points. 4.2 Assimilation The determination of the salary of any post holder in the new structure depends upon two factors: the total JE points assessed for the role and the existing rate of pay of the post holder. The total JE points will determine in which proposed grade the post lies. For instance, a total score of 452 points on the NJC scheme will see the post in new grade F as this score sits between the bottom score of this grade, 423, and the top, 467. There are four incremental points in grade F and the post holder will be mapped over to the point in the new grade that is closest to their existing full time equivalent pay (unless that point would see them drop in salary, in which case the incremental point above will be used, if there is one available in that grade). Employees whose current basic annual salary (assessed at the full-time equivalent rate or FTE) is in excess of the highest point of the new band in which their role has been placed will transfer to the highest pay point in their new band. However, they will have current base pay protected for a limited time. This protection will be for a period of 6 months from the implementation date whilst employed in the same role. After this period, their pay will reduce to the highest point of their new grade. Where a salary is increased, no payment of back pay will be made. The non-overlapping nature of the pay structure ensures that an employee promoted or re-graded to a higher grade will receive an increase of one increment, in accordance with national provisions. Arrangements for recognising temporary additional duties and responsibilities where an employee is acting up in the absence of an employee on a higher graded post or where an employee is required to carry out specific extra duties for a defined period, will continue to be recognised according to separate acting-up and honorarium policies. As there is no functional relationship between the old job evaluation scheme and the new, it is only to be expected that the existing rank order of posts will change. 11

12 4.3 Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) With all outcomes checked for quality and consistency, the council commissioned an external EQIA to review the results. The headline findings are reproduced below; Analysis of current and proposed pay shows that, as should be expected in an exercise designed to comply with equal opportunities legislation, all the gender grade basic pay gaps narrow under the Milton Keynes Council grading and pay structure proposals for single status employees, and all to less than significant levels. The overall gender pay gap in relation to basic pay also narrows from 21.0% to 18.7%, marking a significant step towards equal pay among the employees covered by the grading and pay proposals. This validates the new structure, showing that it will be a significant step in delivering a marked reduction in the male/female pay gap. 12

13 5.0 INCREMENTAL PROGRESSION 5.1 The success of the council is closely linked with the performance of its staff and as such the council recognises the importance of acknowledging the positive performance of employees in terms of their development and contribution to the work of the council through incremental progression. The award of increments will be considered on an annual basis. Eligible employees will receive an increment where they meet the following criteria: (a) (b) (c) The performance appraisal for the preceding year has been completed with: key objectives met to an acceptable level (if these have not been met due to external or exceptional circumstances, further information will need to be provided for consideration). at least an expected behaviour level met within the Milton Keynes Council Competency Framework. Note: If a performance appraisal is not completed to time, the manager will need to inform their Assistant Director as to why this is so, undertake and evidence an alternative documented assessment, and inform HR as to whether or not the above criteria are met and whether an increment is due. There are no current performance issues being addressed through formal performance review meetings. Any issues raised by way of an informal performance review meeting held within the preceding six month period have been satisfactorily addressed. 5.2 Increments are to be awarded from 1 October each year. This will enable the annual performance appraisals to have been fully completed prior to consideration. The first increment will be payable on 1 October Where a new employee has joined the council, or when permanent internal promotion has taken place, no incremental progression will be awarded until an appraisal has been undertaken based upon a full-year s performance with at least one full year in post. 5.4 Where an employee transfers to another role on the same pay band, or redeployment has taken place to a lower pay band, incremental progression will be considered in line with paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2 above. 5.5 Employees on maternity or long term sickness leave who have worked part of the appraisal year will have their performance assessed based on the part of the year they were not on maternity or long term sickness leave. If this is less than three months, or if an employee has been absent for the whole appraisal year then this 13

14 consideration will be based on their performance in the three months leading up to the commencement of their absence. In cases of long term sickness this would apply in the first complete year of absence only, with no further incremental increase if absence is extended beyond the first year. However in cases of successive periods of maternity leave where the employee is absent for more that one year, the assessment applicable at the commencement of the original maternity leave will continue to apply during the subsequent period of absence. 5.6 The incremental progression arrangements will comply with the disability provisions contained within the Equality Act Consideration will therefore be given to appropriate reasonable adjustments, should an employee s performance be impacted by their disability. 5.7 The council will monitor and review the operation of the incremental progression arrangements on a periodic basis (usually annually) using data obtained from HR on those employees where progression has not been awarded. This is to ensure a fair and consistent approach is taken in all areas of the council, and action will be taken to address any areas of concern. High level data from this review will be shared with the trade unions. 14

15 6.0 TERMS AND CONDITIONS As part of the council s comprehensive pay review, all of the other pay elements paid over and above basic salary were considered. Some important changes have been incorporated in the proposals and these are laid out below; 6.1 Enhancements to Basic Pay Irregular hours, night duty, shift and weekend working payments Irregular hours, night duty, shift and enhanced weekend working payments will be removed and will be replaced by an Alternative Work Pattern (AWP) payment where appropriate. This will be simpler to understand, be easier to apply in practice and remove the potential for inappropriate payments to be made. Alternative Work Pattern (AWP) Payments An Alternative Work Pattern (AWP) payment may be assigned to basic pay for those posts which are deemed to have the most disruptive and non-standard working patterns. This will only apply within services which operate on a 24/7-365 day basis and that have a requirement to work on Christmas day, with post holders having a minimum contractual commitment to work a proportion of their time during unsocial hours. This must include a working pattern which requires the post holder to work on at least 2 bank holidays a year. The alternative work pattern payment will apply to standard contracted hours, and any additional hours worked undertaking the same duties will also have the AWP payment applied. If the post s contractual working pattern changes, either as a result of business requirements, organisational change or for reasons related to individual employee arrangements and no longer meets the criteria set out for AWP, then the AWP payment will cease from the effective date of that change. In addition, managers will be required to assess contractual working patterns of those in receipt of AWP payments and reassign levels based on work records and future plans in advance of each new financial year. Such changes will require authorisation by the Assistant Director. Only 1 level of AWP can be applied to each role. Level 0 AWP Payment : 0% on total basic pay Normal working hours are undertaken Monday - Sunday between 06:00 and 23:00. Splitshift patterns and occasional exceptions for emergencies involving weekend or night work will not attract additional enhancements. Level 1 AWP Payment : 5% on total basic pay Work is normally scheduled to take place between the hours of 06:00 and 23:00, but some work is regularly scheduled to take place outside of these hours 15

16 OR One shift in every five rostered for work is regularly scheduled to take place on Saturdays and Sundays and on Bank Holidays (at least two Bank Holidays per year) i.e. 365 day working pattern Level 2 AWP Payment : 10% on total basic pay Where both Level 1 conditions A & B apply, i.e. Work is normally scheduled to take place between the hours of 06:00 and 23:00 but some work is regularly scheduled to take place outside of these hours. PLUS One shift in every five rostered for work is regularly scheduled to take place on Saturdays and Sundays and on Bank Holidays (at least two Bank Holidays per year) i.e. 365 day working pattern For example: Work is regularly scheduled and carried out after 23:00 and before 6.00, and post holders work at least one shift in five on Saturday or Sunday plus a minimum of two Bank Holidays per year i.e. 365 day working pattern Level 3 AWP Payment : 35% on total basic pay Work is regularly scheduled and carried out after 23:00 and before 6.00 PLUS Post holders work at least one shift in five on Saturday or Sunday, plus a minimum of two Bank Holidays per year i.e. 365 day working pattern PLUS Where the work is subject to a rotating shift pattern, and shifts alternate from night to day, or day to night on consecutive days within a seven day period (eg Mon-Sun, or Sun-Sat etc) All three conditions must be met for posts to qualify for Level 3 AWP payment Level 4 AWP Payment : 35% on total basic pay Paid to night worker posts where: PLUS The normal working hours are scheduled throughout the night with shift patterns that require work through all hours between 23:00 and 6:00 The postholder works at least one shift in five on Saturday or Sunday plus a minimum of two Bank Holidays per year i.e. 365 day working pattern For example: permanent night worker posts where the working pattern requires seven hours night work between the hours of and hours on each occasion. 16

17 6.1.2 Sleeping-In Duty Employees required to sleep in on the premises will continue to receive an allowance at the rate agreed nationally. As at April 2013, this allowance is per night. The allowance covers the requirement to sleep in and up to 30 minutes call out per night, after which the overtime/additional hours provisions, as stated below, will apply. Payment will only be made in relation to duties that are undertaken, and not in respect of periods of sickness. Those in receipt of the sleeping in duty allowance will not be eligible for any standby payment Public Holiday Pay Employees required to work on a public holiday will be paid at plain time PLUS, if eligible, any AWP payment for the actual hours worked. In addition, the employee will be able to choose whether to receive either compensatory time off in lieu or a further payment at plain time, with, if eligible, any AWP payment, on an hour for hour basis (in total, therefore, double time). There is no grade restriction Free and Rest Day Working Employees required to work on a free or rest day will receive payment at plain time, with any AWP payment for the role applied, for the hours worked. Normal overtime rules to apply where the hours worked are in excess of contractual hours Overtime / Additional Hours Principles to apply: (a) Only to be paid in exceptional circumstances where the service requirement prevents flexible working from covering the requirement for overtime to be worked. Time off in lieu to be taken on an hour for hour basis. (b) For pay band G and above, time-off in lieu to be taken. (c) It must be agreed in advance by the manager as part of a planned programme of work. Where overtime payment is claimed, this will be paid at plain time, with any AWP payment for the role applied, provided the pay band is F or below. 17

18 6.1.6 Standby and On-call Payment Contractual The approach to all telephone elements of Standby arrangements to be modernised, with payments in respect of telephone rental and telephone calls to be removed and appropriate arrangements put in place. Where agreed additional expenditure on telecommunications equipment or service is necessarily incurred solely for work related purposes (ie it is in addition to normal household costs), this will be reimbursed provided it was authorised by the manager in advance. Call-out payments: revised overtime rates to apply. A full review of all standby arrangements will be undertaken by May 2014 to ensure an appropriate and consistent approach. This includes the arrangements for: Level 1 and Level 2 standby arrangements. Regulatory Services: standby to deal with complaints about noise and nuisance, environmental health and emergencies, licensing visits and taxi enforcement. The out of hours services provided by Children s Social Care Emergency Social Work Team and Mental Health Approved Mental Health Practitioner (AMHP) Allowance This allowance of 2,586 per annum is paid to employees who are warranted Approved Mental Health Professionals (previously Approved Social Workers), who have the authority to certify people and undertake these responsibilities either as part of their role or in conjunction with their other duties. They are employed by the council but may have a PCT or health background. Those receiving an additional two incremental points as an alternative to the allowance will no longer receive the two additional incremental points. They will be paid at the rate for the job, with the AMHP allowance payable where appropriate Christmas Day Working Pay for hours worked on Christmas day will be at basic pay for the day with any AWP payment for role applied, PLUS the employee will be able to choose whether to receive either compensatory time off in lieu or a further payment at plain time, with, if eligible, any AWP payment, on an hour for hour basis (in total, therefore, double time). There is no grade restriction. 18

19 6.2 Other Issues Temporary Responsibility/ Honoraria Staff acting-up will be paid at the higher grade, where an employee undertakes the full range of duties of the post and where the Assistant Director agrees this arrangement in advance. The acting-up salary will be paid during annual leave, but not sickness, and only if it has been paid for a period of four weeks or more prior to the absence. Where staff undertake additional duties which do not qualify for an acting-up allowance then an honorarium may be paid in exceptional circumstances Promotion Increases Salary on appointment to a promotional post will be at the bottom of the grade. There will be no exceptions Pay Protection When Redeployed (Restructure/Redundancy Avoidance) No change to overall level of protection given but remove taper in second year to simplify approach. This means that year one will be at 100%, year two will be at a flat rate of 50% of difference in pay for the year Multiple Roles / Split Contracts of Employment Where an employee is undertaking more than one role, a separate contract of employment will be issued for each role undertaken. Where the roles are similar (eg within schools there are a number of different Teaching Assistant roles, each with distinct levels of responsibility and associated pay), a record will be kept of the reason why the different levels of work are appropriate Car User Mileage Rate Essential Car User payments (lump sum and ECU mileage rate) will be replaced by HMRC mileage rates for mileage undertaken on council business. As at November 2013: 45p per mile for first 10k miles in one year, then 25p per mile. The following wording will be inserted into each contract of employment: An employee has a contractual obligation to fulfil his/her duties as described within the individual role profile and terms and conditions of employment. If the employee has to travel to fulfil these obligations then it is the employee s responsibility to ensure appropriate means of transport to do this. The council s obligation as an employer is to reimburse costs in line with council policy. 19

20 6.2.6 Motor Cycle and Moped Mileage Rate HMRC rate to apply (as at April 2013: 24p per mile) Cycle Mileage Rate HMRC rate to apply (as at April 2013: 20p per mile) Other Allowances: Housing, Food and Uniforms Housing allowance: where employees are required to live in particular accommodation in order to fulfil the duties of their post, a reduced rent will be payable and a service tenancy agreement drawn up. Food: where prepared meals are provided for the employee a charge will be made. This will be determined by the council and will be subject to variation as necessary. Meals will not be available for families or guests of employees. No charge will be made where employees are required to have meals with clients in the performance of their duties. Remission of charges for food and accommodation will only be payable where absences exceed seven days. Uniform: Where the council requires an employee to wear a uniform, this will be provided Laundry Allowance Will no longer be paid Professional Subscription Will no longer to be paid Pay Protection for Nursery Nurse/Learning Support Assistants on Bucks Pay This pay protection will cease immediately on implementation of the new pay structure. 20

21 6.3 Leave Provisions Annual leave 27 days up to five years service, 31 days over five years continuous service (including two extra statutory days) The introduction of buying/selling of leave will be explored with a decision by April If this is introduced, Christmas leave (an additional half day s leave granted to those staff normally required to work on the last weekday before Christmas Day) will be absorbed (ie a choice to buy). 6.4 Other Provisions Child Care Scheme Existing approach: The council pays a childcare subsidy to its employees who have children below the age of eight. The childcare subsidy is paid monthly either through Childcare Vouchers or a reduction in Milton Keynes council nursery fees to employees on pay grade F or below. The maximum amount any employee can receive is per week, per child. However, this amount may be reduced depending on their pay grade, the age of their child, and their working hours. Pay Grades A, B and C Pay Grades D, E and F Age 0-4 (up to 5th Birthday) (100%) Age 0-4 (up to 5th Birthday) 9.00 (60%) Age 5-7 (up to 8th Birthday) (75%) Age 5-7 (up to 8th Birthday) 6.00 (40%) Transfer of workplace Employees may be required to work in any location within the boundaries of Milton Keynes Council. If circumstances arise where an employee is required to move their base of work to outside the Milton Keynes Council area, consideration will be given as to whether a travel allowance is appropriate. 21

22 7.0 THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS 7.1 Trade Union ballot All of the proposals in this booklet have been discussed at length with UNISON and GMB, the two trade unions recognised by the council for the purposes of collective bargaining for staff on single status pay and terms and conditions of service. The two trade unions have considered the package of proposals at local, regional and national level and decided to recommend the package to their members. They will ballot those members, impacted by these proposals and employed by the council, on whether they wish to accept or reject the proposals. This ballot will take place during December, with the results due in January Each union will give their response to the proposed pay and remuneration package to the council once their ballot outcome is known. If one or both of these responses is negative the council will consider its options going forward. The commitment to equal pay is not simply a vague aspiration, however. There are legal obligations which must be met and it is vital that the council complies with the law and removes any risk of potentially costly liabilities. If the response from each union is positive, this will mean that the council will enter into a binding collective agreement with its union partners and the proposals will be implemented as a result of this collective bargaining process for all employees, regardless of union membership status. If you wish to consider what union membership entails and what it might mean for you in relation to these proposals, you will find contact information for UNISON and GMB in Section Implementation A positive response will mean that a collective agreement will be signed as soon as possible after the ballot results. This will mean, in turn, that the changes to individual contracts will take effect on 1 April 2014 (or as soon as possible after that date if there are any delays in the collective agreement or implementation process). While the implementation date will mark an important change to the council s contractual relationship with its employees, there will be no obvious alterations to working arrangements on that day. The first significant change will be seen on the first pay day following implementation when those whose pay is set to rise will see this reflected in their next payslip. Those whose pay is due to fall will see no change to their base pay level until the period of protection (currently proposed to be six months) has expired. 22

23 Allowances and other terms and conditions will be processed under the new arrangements from 1 April 2014 along with basic pay but there will be no protection period for those seeing a drop in allowance payments. Any increase or reduction will impact in the months following implementation. All employees covered by the changes will receive new contracts of employment within the statutory period. 23

24 8.0 THE APPEALS PROCESS Despite the rigour of the job evaluation and job matching processes, it is possible that some employees may feel that the outcome for their post is incorrect and they may wish to appeal. The type of appeal appropriate to an individual s situation will depend upon whether they are appealing against the decision to match them to a particular generic post a Matching Appeal or against the job evaluation score of the post a Job Evaluation Appeal. Although similar, the two appeal processes are different. The main points are as follows; Matching Appeals - To be used if you believe another generic/standard role profile is a better match for the job you do OR if no generic/standard role profile is a close enough match - First step an informal discussion with your headteacher or manager to review the matching decision. - If no agreement reached you may lodge a formal matching appeal request. This will require a written statement with comments from your headteacher / manager - The matching decision will be made by an impartial panel Job Evaluation Appeals - To be used if you agree you are in the correct post but that you believe the job evaluation outcome itself to be incorrect - If it is claimed this is due to your job having changed significantly since evaluation, it may be possible for your manager to request a re-evaluation of your role before embarking on a formal appeal. Old and new job role profiles must be presented and must clearly demonstrate the elevated areas of responsibility. If appropriate the job will be re-evaluated and the outcome reviewed by the same moderation panel that has moderated all council roles to date - If the appeal relates directly to the job evaluation outcome, it will be necessary to commence a formal appeal - The appeal will be admissible if more than 50% of people sharing the same job jointly submit the appeal - You will need to provide written evidence detailing which factor levels you believe are wrong and why - Additional factual input will be sought where necessary - The appeal will be considered by an impartial appeals panel and a decision delivered Note that while an appeal may be successful in increasing the job evaluation points outcome of the post, this may not be sufficient to raise the post into a higher grade and so there may be no resulting change to salary. Important note: the outcome could result in a reduction in the job evaluation points. 24

25 It is anticipated that the window for lodging appeals will be throughout January Late appeals may be permissible if the post has been subject to a re-evaluation review at an earlier stage. Only one type of appeal can be progressed in relation to one job at any one time. Details about the appeals processes, the constitution of the appeals panels, time limits, supporting forms and other information will be made available during December. You will find the Appeals Procedure document on the intranet but there are some important points to note: Job evaluation is about posts, not people. Your performance in your role is very important to you, your manager, your team and your customers but it plays no part in the job evaluation process. Whatever the grounds for bringing it, for a job evaluation appeal to be successful, the appellant must be able to demonstrate that one or more of the factor levels assessed against the post they occupy is incorrect. The appeals panels will have the power to change any factor level in the light of evidence presented to them this means that a job s overall score can actually go down in some circumstances. Potential appellants should consider this, particularly if their job s score sits low in the new pay band, as an appeal may result in a lower pay grade. There are strict time limits in relation to the various appeal processes. 25

26 9.0 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Full information regarding the proposed package and a comprehensive FAQ can be found on the council s intranet pages at staffintranet/hr-home/pay-review htm and on the council s website at Please look at these for the latest responses to queries and speak with your manager before contacting the helpline as it is very likely that you will find the answer to your query there. The following are a representative sample of some of the more common questions and answers I m not a member of a union so how can you change my contract without my agreement? Your existing contract makes reference to the collective bargaining agreements in place with the recognised trade unions UNISON and GMB. Agreements struck between these bodies and the council through the collective bargaining process are binding upon all employees, not just union members. I m at the top of my grade now but I ve been put on a new grade and I m at the bottom. Why? If you find yourself at the bottom of your new grade it is likely that your post is green circled. That means that your old salary was lower than the bottom point of your new grade and that your pay will increase to that point upon implementation. This is the recognised methodology for mapping post holders on to their new grade. You will enjoy further incremental rises (as long as the relevant conditions have been met) until reaching the top of your new grade. It s been over a year and a half since my evaluation interview and my job has changed since then? How do I know I m in the right grade? It is possible that some changes to duties and responsibilities have been implemented without a re-evaluation of the role. If you believe this to have occurred, you must first raise the matter with your line manager. If he or she agrees that there have been significant changes to the role in the intervening period, a review of the evaluation of the role may be requested. For this to proceed the appropriate form must be completed and signed by the manager and the appropriate Assistant Director AND the review application must be accompanied by before and after versions of the role profile which clearly show the differences. Full details of this review procedure may be found on the intranet or via your manager. 26

27 I work in a school and I ve been matched with a job that I don t think I do. How do I appeal about this? First of all, discuss this with your headteacher. He or she will explain the rationale for matching you to a particular role. Don t forget that while you may do some additional duties to those listed on the role profile, as long as these carry a similar level of responsibility to those listed, you will almost certainly be matched correctly. Also, volume of work is a management resource issue it is not a matter for job evaluation. If you remain convinced that you should not be matched to the standard profile in question you will have the right to appeal the match. Please consult the Appeals Procedure for full details. When I was TUPE d over from another organisation last year I was told I d be keeping my terms and conditions as they were. Why are you changing them now? Posts that have transferred from another organisation keep their terms and conditions under the current TUPE regulations for an undefined period. The council is committed to paying its employees in accordance with the spirit and the letter of equal pay law and, as such, it is bound to keep terms and conditions under review. Where a possibility of inequality occurs, this can expose the council to significant equal pay liabilities, so TUPE d posts must come under the umbrella of the overall scheme as soon as practically possible. If a TUPE-transferred employee voluntarily chooses to take up a different post in the council on a different rate of pay, or when a restructuring takes place, transferred employees will be moved to new posts on the appropriate council terms and conditions of service. If your transfer to Milton Keynes Council under TUPE occurred over 5 years ago then the new pay and terms and conditions will apply from the 1st April 2014 since to continue differential protected terms and conditions could lead to equal pay claims This has just been a glorified cost saving exercise, hasn t it? Many local authorities have had to take action to reduce their pay bill. Some have done this by imposing percentage pay cuts across their organisations, some have done this by freezing pay and not paying any incremental progression. Due to the need to introduce a different approach to job evaluation and a supporting pay structure, the opportunity was taken to review the approach taken to the remuneration package and put in place a revised approach that is affordable, simpler and fit for the future. Given the current economic situation, the only way the council could improve the package on offer would be through potential impact on services and service delivery together with any resultant workforce reductions. 27

28 10.0 CONTACTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION Full information regarding the proposed package and a comprehensive FAQ can be found on the council s intranet pages at staffintranet/hr-home/pay-review htm and on the council s website at Always discuss any queries or issues with your line manager in the first instance. Milton Keynes Council has an Employee Support Service in place which provides support with a wide range of personal issues, including health, financial and legal problems, any time of the day or night, 365 days of the year. This service is currently provided by Atos Healthcare and can be accessed by calling Alternatively you can access the website directly at: and using the following username and password: Username: mil2 Password: support Project helpline: Pay.Review@milton-keynes.gov.uk UNISON: GMB: Fran Bower, Senior Convenor Tel: UNISON@milton-keynes.gov.uk Jim Hiom, Senior Convenor Tel: GMB@milton-keynes.gov.uk Pay and Grading Review November 2013