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Contact us on
SingleStatus@unison-angus.org.uk
Please Note:
Apart from the appeals process, the unions, including
UNISON, have not agreed to anything
Updates: Click on the date below for the
Item
The Branch has received the following
details regarding appeals and the proposed flexitime changes:
Appeals: 923 received, of
which 46 have been deemed invalid mainly due to being lodged on the wrong
grounds.
Flexitime: Proposed
changes have been put forward by the Council:
-
Band Width:
8am – 7pm
-
Core Time:
10am to 12 noon
and 2pm to 3.30p.m.
-
Debit Balance: 11 hours pro rata if working part time
-
Credit Balance: 11 hours pro rata if working part time.
-
Flexi Leave: Delete reference to Primary and Secondary
Accounting Periods. Move to a 4 week accounting period with up to a
maximum of 1.5 days in each 4 week period.
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Travelling Time: Travelling time to and from home. If
starting or finishing at a site other than normal base will be eligible for
credit subject to the following criteria – site must be out with burgh in
which based, Difference in time between home to other site and home to normal
base may be claimed up to a maximum of 11 hours ( this includes time at work )
credit per day subject to prior agreement with line manager.
Your views are requested on the
flexi changes, however you need to be quick as the Council are looking for an
answer in the first week of April. So email your view to us at
SingleStatus@unison-angus.org.uk
1. Send Us Your Appeal
Now that appeals have been lodged,
the Branch Secretary is asking all members who have put in an appeal to send a
copy of your appeal and a covering letter with your contact details to the
Branch Office for free at:
UNISON Angus Council Branch
FREEPOST SCO7380
FORFAR
DD8 1ZR
You can also
email your appeal and details to the office at
singlestatus@unison-angus.org.uk
We will then contact
members once we have received a timetable for the appeals, asking them if they
require UNISON representation at the appeal. This allows us to programme
availability of reps.
2. Probable
Timetable
We understand that
the following is a probable timetable for the appeals process -please note the
use of the word "probable" and "possible" as the Council currently are unsure of
the timetable.
Late April:
Training for appeals panel members
Mid May:
Appeals to begin
The Branch has
received details of the pay grades and the points levels for each.
It is important
to note that this will only help members who are not being
matched to a generic job profile.
Please check your
letter which you should now have received from Angus Council. If you still
need help then please contact the Branch
Office to arrange an appointment on 01307 468950 or
email.
The grades and
points are as follows:
| LG1 |
LG2 |
LG3 |
LG4 |
LG5 |
LG6 |
LG7 |
LG8 |
LG9 |
LG10 |
LG11 |
LG12 |
LG13 |
LG14 |
|
0 - 238 |
239 - 268 |
269 - 293 |
294 - 318 |
319 - 338 |
339 - 358 |
359 - 378 |
379 - 403 |
404 - 433 |
434 - 463 |
464 - 498 |
499 - 533 |
534 - 568 |
>=569 |
If member who have
not accepted the Council’s offer and have already sent Letter A receive a
further letter from the Employer they should respond as follows:-
“Whilst I do not consent to variation of my existing contract by mutual
consent prior to the end of the notice period I do accept the offer of re
engagement on a new contract with effect from 1st. April 2008.The acceptance of
the re engagement is without prejudice to my right to challenge Job Evaluation
outcomes or to challenge the fairness of the decision to dismiss.”
The Branch has set
up a small group to assist members who wish to lodge an Appeal in relation to
Job Evaluation.
The member should
contact the Branch
Office to arrange an appointment on 01307 468950 or
email. Those assisting are
-
Kate Leiper
-
Mavis Leask
-
Neil Christie
-
Andrew Knight
Time off has been
applied for those above and if any member has difficulty in being granted time
off they should inform the Branch Secretary on 01307 468950.
It is anticipated
that each appointment would last for half an hour and members should ensure they
bring all documents/letters with them.
If you haven't signed to accept the new
pay, terms and conditions then you should now have a nice letter from Angus
Council informing you that you will be out of a job on the 1 April. It
also says that they will send you a letter offering you your job back on the new
pay, terms & conditions.
Below are a couple of
sample letters to use:
Below is advice given by UNISON
Scotland’s Legal Officer regarding the recent letter you will have received from
your employer, Angus Council, asking you to sign accepting their revised pay and
conditions. This will be sent to all member's home addresses.
The main point, “Do I sign or not?” is
answered in the last paragraph of the advice, however please take your time to
read over the advice and make your own decision.
We intend to have a meeting in the
Reid Hall in Forfar on Friday 18 January, combining our AGM where our legal
officer will be in attendance, to answer any questions you may have. The
meeting commences at 6pm with doors opening at 5.15pm.
From Peter Hunter, Legal Officer
for UNISON Scotland
Q. What is the background to
the threat of dismissal?
The single status agreement is a
framework for local negotiations on the harmonisation of pay and conditions
for APT&C, manual and residential staff. The agreement and associated
protocols specify that this harmonisation should be achieved by local
agreement and the employer should not seek to impose its will on employees.
Although we are particular about the quality of agreements we will endorse,
particularly from an equality perspective, we are committed to achieving
single status by local agreement. Having stalled on equality for a number of
years employers across Scotland are now seeking to push through single status
with or without agreement.
Q. Is this not an extreme
response by the employer?
No. UNISON members have already
experienced this process in Falkirk, West Lothian and Perth and Kinross. We
would prefer change by collective agreement but, providing they do it
correctly, employers can change contract terms by dismissal and re-engagement.
Employers tend to seek to impose change by inviting employees to agree a
contract change on a personal basis. However this offer tends to be
accompanied by a warning that failure to agree a personal contract change will
result in dismissal.
Q. Does that mean I sign-up or
lose my job?
No. If an employer withdraws from
negotiations and imposes change by dismissal they must act within the band of
reasonable responses. If an employee is asked to take a pay cut or a reduction
in terms and conditions it is reasonable to refuse to make such a change on a
voluntary basis. If no agreement is possible, there may be circumstances in
which the employer can then impose the change by dismissal and re-engagement.
Delivering equal pay for women might be a valid reason for dismissal if the
new pay system was based on equality and was otherwise reasonable. However,
given that the dismissal is implemented to achieve change to terms of
employment and not to end the wider relationship, it would be unreasonable not
to permit the employee to resume work immediately after dismissal having been
re-engaged on the revised terms. Our advice is that it would be unlawful not
to renew your contract after dismissal.
Q. What happened elsewhere?
In every other council where
contracts were changed by dismissal the old contract stopped at midnight on
the last day of the notice period and the new contract started at 0.00 am on
the following day. In each case the council asked our members to give a
commitment to continue working at the start of the new contracts. Although we
advised members not to agree to vary their contract on a personal basis, once
the employer had issued notice of dismissal to change the contracts we advised
members to give the employer a written assurance that they would continue
working when re-engaged under the new contract. The dismissal changed the
contract but the letter from the employee gave the managers the reassurance
that essential council services would be maintained.
Q. Will this affect my
continuous service?
No. Continuous service is broken when
there is a gap between two contracts of one week or more. (special rules
preserve contracts where the gap is longer due to term time or seasonal
working).In this case there will be no gap, the single status contract will
supersede the old contract when the notice period expires.
Q. Does that mean I can delay
committing to the new contract until after the dismissal?
No. That does not mean you have the
right to delay your decision to stay with the council. Employers can dismiss
in order to give effect to contract change if they offer re-engagement and act
reasonably. However, they are also entitled to expect staff to indicate
whether they will resume work under the new contract and to ask for that
information in advance. Although we advise you not to vary your contract
through a personal agreement, once the notice of dismissal is received you
should immediately confirm that you will resume employment under the new
contract after dismissal.
Q. What if I am sick, on
holiday or on maternity leave?
The law does not require you to
actually attend work in the first week after dismissal. What must happen is
that your contract must be renewed in the first week regardless of whether you
actually attend work. If you have a valid reason for authorised absence then
you do not need to attend work providing that you have previously written to
the employer indicating your willingness to be re-engaged under a single
status contract.
Q. Why don’t I just agree to
vary the contract?
UNISON is unhappy with the proposals
put forward by the employer. As a union we believe it is important for people
to act collectively for the mutual benefit of their fellow members. We would
urge you to support those who do badly out of this proposal by refusing to
accept the individual contract change.
The advise doesn't cover everything and
if you have any further questions then please contact the branch office via
email at:
office@unison-angus.org.uk, or
on 01307 468950 and we will try to help the best we can.
All members should now have received a letter from the Chief Executive, David
Sawers, politely asking you complete the acceptance form and return it by 17
December if you wish to accept the changes to your pay and conditions. He
has failed to say in the letter what happens if you do not sign and return the
form, possibly due to the unpleasantness this would bring to his letter.
It is the Council's intention to send out a follow up letter to all who don't
sign telling them that they shall be dismissed on the 31 March 2008. In
easy to understand terms, that means you will be sacked for not accepting to
take a pay cut and/or a reduction in your terms and conditions.
Merry Christmas Mr Sawers....... and so much for the staff being the most
valuable asset the council has.
UNISON asks that you do not sign
to accept changes to your terms and conditions until we have obtained legal
advice, which we hope to have by the end of the week. We intend to send
this out to members’ home addresses. Please ensure that we, UNISON Angus Council
Branch, have your correct home address.
To ensure that we have your correct home address, please send
your details to us at the office
via this link.
Thursday 29 November: UNISON response to latest meeting with Angus Council and
their email to staff
After meeting yesterday with Angus Council and in response to their email sent
out to employees with desktop intranet and email facilities, UNISON Angus
Council Branch has put together a response which has been released to the press:
Single Status Meeting with Angus Council
Yesterday, UNISON met with
Angus Council in order to come to an agreement over the Council’s proposed
changes to pay and conditions due to their implementation of Single Status.
There was very little
movement from Angus Council, who then outlined their proposals for
corresponding with their employees. This included the threat of being sacked
if the employee didn’t accept the proposed pay and conditions, originally by
the 4 January 2008 but the Council now want it signed by the 17 December 2007.
“UNISON is awaiting legal
advice on a number of issues including the implications of not signing the
acceptance of the offer by the Council’s specified date” said Local UNISON
Branch
Secretary, Kate Leiper,
adding “As soon as this information becomes available all members will receive
a letter from UNISON with further details, hopefully by mid December. A
further meeting for UNISON members will be arranged in January as the Employer
intends to send reminder letters in mid February to all employees who have not
signed/accepted the offer.”
“At the meeting yesterday
UNISON were informed verbally that those who had received enhanced payments
for Saturday/Sunday working were being protected but after further
investigation a random check highlighted a number of these posts who are still
affected, and in fact worse off. UNISON intends to bring these to a further
meeting with Angus Council on Friday 14 December.” Kate Leiper said “It
is terrible that the large majority of employees that are losing out are the
lower paid and female, and this has been forcibly pointed out to Angus Council
at the meetings by all of the unions.”
Continuing, Kate Leiper
said “UNISON’s position is that the Council requires to issue a 90 day
notice of redundancy but due to the fact that they have made an offer of
employment which when rejected means there will be no redundancy payment as
the employee will have deemed to refuse an offer of employment. This is no
way for an employer who values its staff to act”
Although this position
between Angus Council and its employees almost always seemed to be inevitable
their timing is impeccable for breaking the news, just before the festive
season. It is especially galling when the only recent publicly notable items
of news from the council have been the exorbitant costs of raising more flags
and the purchase of a statue of a lighthouse. All at a time when their
employees are being threatened with the sack for not accepting to take a pay
cut and reduction in their conditions. They appear to forget that these
employees are also Council Tax payers and electors.
A meeting between the unions and Angus Council took place today. There was
very little movement by the Council, and UNISON have not agreed to anything.
Below is an email sent by Angus Council to all staff with email facilities:
From: CHIEFEXEC
Sent: 28 November 2007 15:07
To: CouncilStaff
Subject: Message to Staff from
the Chief Executive
SINGLE
STATUS UPDATE
As outlined
in the Single Status update of 16 November 2007, some changes were made to the
proposed terms and conditions package, in response to feedback from staff and
trade unions.
The council
is committed to implementing this single status package on 1 April 2008.
The
council’s preference has always been to do this by means of a collective
agreement with the trade unions but the clear indication from the unions is
that agreement will not be possible.
The purpose
of this update is therefore to advise you of the process the council must now
follow to achieve the April implementation deadline.
On Monday,
3 December, a letter will be sent to you confirming the new grade for your
job, the new salary scale for that grade and your salary placing on that
scale, as of 1 April 2008. A booklet detailing the conditions of service the
council will adopt on 1 April 2008 will accompany the letter.
The purpose
of the letter is to seek your formal acceptance of the new terms and
conditions by asking you to complete and return the acceptance form enclosed
with it.
Please note
that:
-
acceptance of the new terms and conditions will not affect your right to
appeal against your grade
-
should
the council subsequently reach a collective agreement with the trade unions,
which improves the terms and conditions offered to you, these would
automatically apply
Any
employee who chooses not to accept the new terms and conditions will, in the
absence of a collective agreement, be issued with a letter on 4 January 2008
giving formal notice of dismissal from employment with the council as at 31
March 2008. The employees will be given a formal offer of re-engagement from 1
April on the new terms and conditions but if that offer is not accepted then
they would no longer be employed by the council after 31 March.
I would
stress that the council has no wish to issue letters of dismissal. I hope that
given the overall package, and the changes made to it in response to your
concerns, you will choose to accept the new terms and conditions.
David
Sawers
Chief
Executive
Currently UNISON are considering the outcome of the meeting, and are putting
together a response to the intended letter from the Council on the 3 December.
It is our intention to send this to all member's home addresses shortly after
the 3 December. If you have moved address and not told UNISON then
please send your details changes to us at the office
via this link.
With regards to signing the letter or not, UNISON urge all members, and
non-members, not to sign the letter unless you are completely sure what
you are signing for.
Further details of the meeting will be available on this website shortly.
After a meeting today with the unions, Angus Council has revised their proposed
changes to the terms and conditions. The following is a quick outline of
them, however UNISON Angus Council Branch reiterate the fact that we have not
agreed to anything. Changes to
Appeal Timescale
The timescale for
starting the grading appeal process has been brought forward from April to
January, 2008.
You will now be
informed in January of how your job has been assessed and how you can appeal.
The appeals process
still has to be agreed with Angus Council and all of the unions.
Changes to Conditions of Service Package
Working Arrangement Allowances
Unsocial hours
Angus Council proposed to only pay this allowance for contracted hours
worked between 10pm and 7am
Angus Council has now agreed that this will be extended to
8pm for those whose working hours extend beyond midnight, ie if your
contracted hours extend beyond midnight the unsocial hours allowance of £2.80
per hour for each hour worked will be paid for each hour worked from 8pm
Overtime
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Angus Council
proposed that overtime would be calculated in blocks of 30 minutes per day
with time of less than 30 minutes in any day not ranking as overtime
Angus Council has now agreed that overtime will be calculated in 15 minute
blocks
-
Angus Council proposed that overtime worked by those on
grade 10 and above would be paid at plain time rate on Saturday and Sundays
Angus Council has now agreed that this be paid at time and a half
Standby/callout
Angus Council proposed that if you were called out and paid on grade 10 and
above the overtime rate would be based on the level of duties and
responsibilities carried out.
Angus Council has now agreed that the overtime rate will be
based on the hourly rate of the employee
Other Allowances
Essential Users
Angus Council proposed to remove this allowance
Angus Council has now agreed that the allowance will be
removed but those currently receiving the allowance will get a one-off lump
sum of £1644 (equivalent to two years allowance)
Excess Travel
-
Angus Council
proposed to pay this allowance for one year
Angus Council has now agreed that this allowance will be paid for two
years
-
Angus Council
proposed that the allowance would only be paid if the claim was in excess of
£6 per week
Angus Council has now agreed that the allowance will be paid for claims
in excess of £5 per week
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Angus Council proposed that the new arrangements would
apply from 1 April 2008
Angus Council has now agreed that those currently receiving excess
travel allowance will continue to receive that allowance on a personal basis
until their due finish date
Acting up payment
Angus Council
proposed that grades 1 and 2 would receive acting up payment after one day,
grades 3 and 4 after two weeks, and grade 5 and above, after four weeks and
that the payment would not paid if covering for holidays or self certified
absence
Angus Council has now agreed that if, to avoid an operational
failure, an employee is required to undertake the full range of duties of a
higher graded post on an acting up basis the allowance will apply after one
day irrespective of grade and the reason for acting up
Leave
Angus Council proposed that long service days be
discontinued
Angus Council has now agreed that those employees who
currently receive additional leave days for long service will continue to
receive them unless they are appointed to a promoted post which they have
applied for.
It is intended for the unions to meet with Angus Council again
on the 28 November for further discussions.
Well over 320 members turned out for the meeting. Kate Leiper, Branch
Secretary, outlined the story so far with meetings between the unions and Angus
Council. She also informed the meeting about possible changes to the
proposed pay and conditions put forward by Angus Council, however they require
to be agreed by a group called the "Sounding Board" before the details can be
released. The "Sounding Board is an Angus Council Group consisting of 2
councillors (Cllr Bob Myles and Cllr Rob Murray) and a representative from Human
Resources. There are no representatives from any union on this group.
Cllr Myles had asked to join the meeting, which we were happy to agree to.
This would have allowed him to see the amount of anger that members currently
have for their employer. Unfortunately, Cllr Myles called the Branch
Secretary around lunchtime on the day of the meeting, informing her that, after
taking advice from the Chief Executive, he would not be coming to the meeting
after all. The reason given was that there was a possible conflict with
him coming to the meeting and his position on the "Sounding Board", which the
Branch understands. The unions are due
to meet with Angus Council again on Friday 16 November, where it is hoped that
the changes can be confirmed. The website will be updated over the
weekend, informing you of what the unions have managed to get Angus Council to
agree to. Therefore, check back here
later in the weekend for further possible news. If you are not a
UNISON member then you can join us by completing the form on our website and
sending it to our FREEPOST address.
What can you do now?
You should contact your UNISON Rep and
inform them that you are losing in pay and advise them of the details you were
given in your letter. You can do the same if you feel that there are
specific changes to the conditions that you are not happy with. If you do
not have a rep then please contact the Branch Office by
email or
phone (01307 468950). We understand Angus Council are unlikely to not
accept the splitting of the pay and conditions and they come as a package which
must be jointly agreed. We have actively tried to get this but to no
avail.
If you have any questions about the
proposed pay and conditions we advise you to email your line manager and copy it
to Angus Council's dedicated email address,
singlestatus@angus.gov.uk, to the
UNISON Office at
office@unison-angus.org.uk and your local rep, if applicable.
If you don't have a UNISON Rep then why
not become one. It is much easier to understand the multitude of
disciplines which are carried out in Angus Council when we have someone on-board
who knows all about the job. So contact
email or
phone (01307 468950) the Branch Office.
It is also never too late to join
UNISON, so if you have a colleague who is losing also then pass on a
UNISON application form
to them.
What is the timescale
for this?
It is no surprise to us that Angus
Council have put all this information out at this time. They have stated
in their letters that they want a collective agreement i.e. the unions and the
Council to come to an agreement on pay and conditions. They want this to
happen by Christmas. If an agreement isn't arranged they have stated that
they will get individual agreement. This means that they will ask every
member of staff to accept their proposals. This would divide the staff, as
there will be people who are happy with it, but this leaves their colleagues,
who are losing, out in the cold. It is envisaged that you would have until
the end of March 2008 to accept the deal, and if you don't then your contract
could be terminated. This threat has been made by other local
authorities.
Obviously we would not wish to be in
that situation however it is a route which Angus Council may possibly decide to
venture down.
I'm losing wages!
I'm going to stop being so helpful and carry out the work I normally do.
We would advise that, if you are losing
wages, it is better to carry on as before. If you refuse to carry out a
task which you had previously been doing then this possibly gives the Council
ammunition for disciplinary action against you. It is better to show that
you carry out more skilled, responsible and/or self-initiating tasks than job
evaluation identified. It is also an idea to note the rough percentage of
your time you do these tasks. All of this will help in an appeal.
What about appeals?
As mentioned above, there will be an
appeals process. We are slightly confused by the Council's letter which
stated that these will take place in April 2008, however they want a collective
agreement by Christmas, or an individual agreement as soon after the new year.
We cannot understand how you can agree to the scheme then appeal after?
This is something that will be brought up at meeting in the near future between
the unions and Angus Council.
Further information will be added when
available.
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