Meeting documents

SBDC Joint Staffing Committee
Monday, 26th March, 2018 6.00 pm

  • Meeting of Joint Staffing Committee, Monday, 26th March, 2018 6.00 pm (Item 38.)

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report to approve the final pay award for staff on harmonised contracts and also to agree the pay award offer to be made to Heads of Service whose pay is determined locally to be effective from 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2019.

 

Staff on the Harmonised Contract

At the last meeting the Committee agreed to make an offer of an increase of 2% in pay in April 2018 and 2% in April 2019.  Members also agreed some proposed changes to the pay spine to ensure staff at the lower ends were paid in accordance with the national living wage.

 

Officers took that offer to UNISON and have since undergone a series of negotiations with them.  UNISON initially put in a counter offer for 3% pay award in 2018 and 3% in 2019.  They also wanted some guarantees that this Council would at least track the national agreement and strongly disagreed with the Council’s position that had previously been agreed to move to local pay arrangements.

 

As a result of a series of discussions a position of common ground has been found which has been put in recommendation 1 of the report.

 

Heads of Services

Members were asked to make a pay award offer to the Heads of Services which equates to that made to staff.  Heads of Services are on locally agreed pay but the Council needs to be mindful of what is happening nationally.  Nationally the Joint Negotiating Committee agreement is still subject to negotiation but it is likely it will match this proposal.  The GMB Pay Claim asks for parity across all local government bargaining groups.

 

A Member asked why pre-determined conditions should be accepted with a local pay mechanism. The HR Manager reported that as good practice the Council would always track the national pay award and seek to match it if they were able to afford it and if not they would have to go back to the negotiating table.

 

Members agreed that it was helpful to link local pay with the national situation as far as possible and that this would help attract good staff to the Council and help retention but re-iterated the position that local pay was now in place.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.                  That the final pay award for staff be approved on harmonised contracts for 2018/19 and 2019/20 with the following terms:-

1.      A 2 year pay award of 2% with effect from 1st April 2018 and 2% from 1st April 2019;

2.      Removal of 1A and 1B from the Harmonised Pay Spine (staff paid below that to move to 1C);

3.      A commitment to go back to the negotiating table, within 3 months, if the NJC Agreement is higher in 2018 and/or 2019;

4.      The Councils reserve the right to determine pay locally.  The local pay mechanism is  to come in to effect immediately;

5.      The Councils’ make the commitment to seek to pay the minimum of the NJC offer when determining future pay awards and would expect to at least match the NJC award in all likely and foreseeable circumstances.  If there were exceptional circumstances at play and the pay award offer could not match the NJC award the Councils would commit to resolve this in discussion and negotiation with UNISON locally.  If this could not be resolved locally a resolution would be sought through arbitration.

6.      Future pay rises will be determined taking in to account inflation, local market conditions and the prevailing financial context.

 

2      That a pay award offer be made to Heads of Services of a 2% pay uplift with effect from 1st April 2018 and a 2% pay uplift with effect from 1st April 2019.

 

3   That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the two Chairmen of the Committee, to agree the final terms of the pay award for staff on harmonised contracts and the final terms of the agreement for Heads of Services.

 

4      That it be noted that the draft Council budgets for 2018/19 have been amended to reflect the 2% pay uplift for staff on harmonised contracts and Heads of Services.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: