Agenda item

This report sets out details of the proposal to freeze increments and the consultation process with the trade unions and staff.  

Discussion:

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, submitted a report which set out the details of the proposal to freeze increments and the consultation process with the Trade Unions and staff. Cabinet had agreed to commence consultation on this proposal on 28 September 2010 and this was followed by a report to this Committee on 2 November 2010 which set out details of the proposal together with the consultation process/timetable which ended on 13 January 2011.

The report set out the details of the consultation responses. In summary, 114 individual comments were received together with five group responses.  The report included the consultation responses grouped into a number of common themes.

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, informed the Committee that the Council was negotiating with the Trade Unions on the issue of protection for lower paid staff and that the current proposal was to offer £250 as a one-off payment to those staff earning less than £16,000 per annum. The Assistant Director proposed that the consultation period to negotiate this proposal be set at 21 days subject to agreement with the Trade Unions.

It was noted that a Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) screening exercise was completed in October 2010 which had indicated that a full DIA was required. This was set out in appendix 2 to the report. The Assistant Director, Organisational Services noted that the proposals would potentially have a greater impact on Black and Minority Ethnic staff and younger staff (between the ages 16-24). However, the DIA stated that none of these were significant enough to warrant any remedial action.

Members discussed a number of issues including whether senior staff salaries and members’ allowances should be included in the proposals, whether those staff on the top of their payscales should lose an increment, the proposed collective agreement with staff regarding lower paid staff, the number of responses to the consultation, schools’ position on freezing increments, those staff nearing retirement whose increments would be frozen under these proposals, and staff whose incremental progression was linked to competency levels/qualifications as set out in paragraph 8.5 of the report.

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, responded that a review of senior staff salaries would not necessarily yield much in the way of savings, that the suggestion that those staff on top of their payscales should lose an increment was not considered an acceptable proposal by the Trade Unions, that it was up to Schools to make local decisions on these proposals, and that those staff nearing retirement age could not be treated differently to other staff.

Decision:

The Committee recommended to Council that:

(a)   Increments are frozen for 2011/12 with a review of the pay and grading structure being developed and consulted upon during 2011/12.

(b)   The Assistant Director, Organisational Services is given delegated authority to continue negotiations with the Trade Unions with a view to reaching a collective agreement on this proposal, which achieves, within the present financial constraints, some protection for lower paid staff.

(c)   If this collective agreement is not reached, that individual employees are asked whether they will agree to a variation of their contacts of employment for a freeze of their increment for one year.

(d)   For individuals who do not agree to this variation, that notice be given that their present contracts of employment are terminated and new contracts are offered stating their increment for 2011 will be frozen.

(e)   Incremental progression linked to competency levels/qualifications achieved should be retained including the following:

·         Social Workers covered by the Children’s Care Career Grade Scheme,

·         The progression from B1 grade to B2 grade for Care Managers in Adult Social Care who achieve the Post Qualifying 1 award and

·          Soulbury staff eligible for SPA increments (Structured Professional Assessment).