JOB EVALUATION: PROPOSALS

On this page:

Download the Booklet containing the following:-

  • The proposed pay grades
  • The proposed Terms and Conditions
  • Back pay, pay protection, assimilation and advice CLICK HERE

The proposed new pay structure: the headlines

  • 3 out of 4 employees will see their pay rise, with the increase for the majority backdated to April 2002
  • A single new salary structure for all employees covered by job evaluation
  • No reduction in annual leave entitlements, with the opportunity for some staff to gain extra leave entitlement after 10 years’ service
  • All current bonus schemes to end
  • Essential car user status retained, but eligibility criteria to be tightened up
  • Highest mileage rates will no longer apply
  • Overtime beyond the normal 37 hour working week will be paid at:
    • Monday to Saturday – time and a half
    • Sunday and Bank Holidays – double time
  • Other payments for things like weekend or night working to be standardised across the Council
  • Improved flexitime scheme, with facility to work a 9-day fortnight and no ‘core time’, subject to meeting service needs
  • Pay protection for up to five years for employees whose pay is reduced

You can read more about these proposals and the other changes to pay and your terms and conditions on this website. Every change as been listed and explained to help you understand how it will affect you. A copy of the booklet that has been sent to home addresses can be downloaded by clicking here

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The proposed new pay structure: what happens next?

If you’re reading this web page, you might be wondering why the Council’s new pay structure keeps being referred to as the ‘proposed’ new pay structure.

This is because the pay structure has only been agreed by the County Council’s management and trade union representatives. At this stage the pay structure has not been accepted by trade union members. This is why it is still a proposal.

Members of UNISON, the GMB and the TGWU will be able to vote on the pay structure in a ballot during October and November. Trade unions will be encouraging all their members to vote yes to accept the proposals.

If you are a trade union member you will be able to attend one of the trade unions’ consultation meetings, where you can give your views and comments about the new pay structure. All trade union members will receive ballot papers for the proposed new pay structure from their trade union during October and November.

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School support staff

Support staff that are employed directly by schools, for example teaching assistants, midday supervisors and office staff, have not so far been part of the job evaluation process.

However, discussions will be taking place during the autumn on how you can be brought into the process. To allow you to participate in the consultation process, we have produced some sample job evaluation scores, based on the agreed job descriptions from 2002, so that you can see how your job might be affected by the proposed pay structure.

Copies of these evaluations can be downloaded from www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/bigissues/schools. Alternatively, please talk to your local trade union representative or contact the help-line on 0844 9808080.

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Why do we need a new pay structure?

Back in 1997 a key agreement was signed between trades unions and employers in local government at a national level. This Single Status Agreement committed both sides to working to bring together the former administrative, professional, technical and clerical (APT&C) and manual worker employee groups under a single set of terms and conditions – the Green Book.

The recognition that all councils needed to carry out pay and grading reviews has been around since that time and it became a firm commitment from the employers in the national pay award agreement in 2004. So every council in the country – including our neighbouring councils – is doing something similar under the terms of the agreement.

Our decision was also influenced by equal pay law. Equal pay law says that men and women who do the same job, or who do jobs that are of equal value, in the same organisation, should receive the same pay.

As well as wishing to work within the law, the County Council, as a good employer, would in any case want to make sure that no employee earned less than another simply because of their gender.

Another important reason for beginning this work was that, like other local authorities, the Council’s pay and reward arrangements had not been reviewed for many years and had become outdated, inconsistent and unnecessarily complicated. One aim of the pay strategy has therefore been to simplify some of these arrangements.

The proposals are designed to deliver a fair, open and transparent pay and reward structure that is:

  • Equal pay compliant
  • Single Status compliant
  • Trade union endorsed
  • Affordable

The proposed pay structure translates the National Job Evaluation (NJE) job scores that were published at the beginning of March into new pay grades. These proposals are presented for consultation as a total package on the basis that:

  1. the relevant trade unions present the package to their members with a positive recommendation for acceptance
  2. the Council will not outsource services as a result of this package.

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NJE BOOKLET

All the information on this webpage has been jointly agreed with NCC and is taken from the booklet that has been sent to home addresses. A copy of the booklet in pdf format (1.2MB) can be downloaded by clicking here

A message from the trade unions

The trade unions (UNISON, GMB and TGWU) have just concluded the hardest set of negotiations with the County Council on a set of proposals for a new pay and reward structure for all employees.

This joint work was concluded at the end of July 2007. As a result, a new set of pay scales and a single set of terms and conditions that will apply to all staff in the County Council have been created.

This work has had to take place as part of the Single Status agreement – the requirement to bring manual workers and administrative, professional, technical and clerical workers under one set of terms and conditions – and to bring about the end of the equal pay liability the Council has been facing. We believe we have negotiated a balanced package that will benefit the majority of employees and bring to an end the pay discrimination suffered by thousands of low-paid women workers.

However, it’s with great regret that we have to recognise that a significant minority of employees will lose out. All three trade unions are fully committed to working with the Council and our members to minimise the effect these proposals will have on them. Those facing a reduction in pay will be covered by the Council’s existing pay protection arrangements so that nobody suffers a sudden drop in pay.

As well as new pay scales there are a range of terms and conditions of service like annual leave, overtime rates, and car user allowances that have been the subject of complicated and challenging negotiations. But all three trade unions involved feel that this does represent a very balanced and fair deal to achieve the objective of fair pay.

This web page contains a full explanation of the proposals and what they mean for County Council employees. We will be providing more help and information at the job evaluation briefings, which will be held jointly with the County Council’s management. This pack includes more information about the briefings and how to book your place. Following each briefing session, trade union members will be invited to join a consultation meeting to give you the opportunity to talk to Branch Officers and convenors, to try and address any concerns you may have.

It’s really important you get to one of the briefing sessions and have your say. It’s your pay structure and it’s your future we’re talking about. Please remember only members of UNISON, GMB and TGWU will be able to vote on the proposed pay package in a ballot.

Your three trade unions believe the proposed pay and reward structure is balanced and fair, and will end the inequality of low paid women employees. We recommend that you vote to accept these proposals.