Agenda item

This report updates the Committee on the progress in relation to the discussions with the trade unions on coming out of the national agreement, outlines the consultations responses and recommends the way forward.

Discussion:

This report provided details of progress in relation to the discussions with the trade unions and the consultation responses to the Council’s proposal to come out of the national agreement for pay, terms and conditions. The Committee had received a number of reports on the issue and had agreed on 30 October 2012 to commence formal consultations to come out of the national agreement and dismiss and re-engage employees should an agreement not be reached.

The trade union ballots were completed on 23 November, where no collective agreement was reached on the proposals and on 3 December 2012 formal consultation commenced with individual employees.  The trade unions were given a 90 day consultation period. The statutory requirement was to ensure that any consultation was meaningful. Employees were therefore given until 31 January 2013 to comment on the proposals, and the trade unions were given until 19 February 2013. The offer to individual employees was that if they agreed to come out of the national agreement so that any pay award would be subject to local negotiation, the Council would agree to continue to mirror all other national terms and conditions for a period of three years.

During this period negotiations had continued with the trade unions and in addition to maintaining the level of terms and conditions for 3 years from 1 April 2013 the Council had also offered a one-off £50 payment to all employees on or below £21,519.

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, stated that with regards to schools based (non-teaching) staff, that following consultation, it was recommended to no longer include these staff in the proposal. She stated that this may lead to a risk of an equal pay claim, but this risk was deemed to be manageable as any national award agreement would be relatively small. A schools Diversity Impact Assessment was attached at Appendix 4 to the report which showed that there would be a disproportionate impact on the grounds of gender should this proposal go ahead.

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, updated the Committee in respect of discussions with the Trade Unions and that a collective agreement had been reached with the trade unions. She stated that, in addition to schools based (non-teaching) staff no longer being included in the proposals, Soulbury staff would also not be included in the proposals. This group of staff (approximately 25 education psychologists) were subject to a separate national agreement and it was considered that, following consultation, this group of staff would be difficult to recruit to should they be included in the proposals.

Members discussed a number of issues including:

• Whether the legal advice on schools based (non teaching) staff had changed in terms of the recommendation that they now not be included in the proposals
• Whether the list of terms and conditions set out in the collective agreement was exhaustive
• Whether the collective agreement was renegotiable at the expiry of the three year period
• Whether the Diversity Impact Assessment had been reviewed in light of the recommendation to not include schools based (non teaching) staff and Soulbury staff.

The Assistant Director, Organisational Services, confirmed that the legal advice on including schools based (non teaching) staff had not changed, however, the outcome of the consultation responses and the schools Diversity Impact Assessment had resulted in officers no longer recommending their inclusion in the proposals. The list of terms and conditions in the collective agreement were drawn from the “Green book” and that it could be possible to renegotiate the collective agreement at the expiry of the three year period. She stated that an overall Diversity Impact Assessment had been included in the report to Committee on 30 October 2012 and that a schools Diversity Impact Assessment had been included with this report. There were approximately 25 Soulbury staff and there had been no specific work undertaken on the basis that this was a very small group of staff.

An addendum report was tabled at the meeting which included the minutes of the Joint Consultative Committee held on 11 February 2013, some final consultation responses received following the despatch of the main Committee agenda and details of the collective agreement reached with the trade unions.

Decision:

(a)   The Committee noted the discussions so far and the consultations responses.

(b)   The Committee recommended to Full Council to agree to the collective agreement attached at revisedAppendix 8, on the basis that agreement has been reached with the majority of trade unions to come out of the national agreement for all non school staff apart from Soulbury staff.

(c)   The Committee noted that variations to employment contracts would now be issued to those staff affected setting out the new terms, with the new terms taking effect from 31 March 2013, subject to Full Council agreeing the collective agreement.

(d)   The Committee noted the proposals on local pay bargaining and agreed to delegate authority to the Assistant Director, Organisational Services to continue discussions and agree this, in consultation with the trade unions.