Sheffield City Council pay and grading review

[Runloose]

Just to balance the thread, I am aware thatlooking at one of the posters at work today the GMB are holding an all-day briefing session to allow their members to ask their reps any questions that are important to them - at Farm Road sports and social club between 11am and 8pm.

 

Any non-members (according to the material produced) can also attend the sessions so long as they join up at the door

[snippysnoo]

Hi yes the GMB are at Farm Rd tomorrow but only till 7pm

[Scoobs72]

Maybe you should all be thankful you still have a job eh?

 

People having their salaries cut as part of a "grading" exercise has nothing to do with people losing their jobs due to the recession, so don't try to pull the two subjects together. You might have well have said "Maybe you should all be thankful you still have all your limbs".

[cazzyjar]

Hi yes the GMB are at Farm Rd tomorrow but only till 7pm

 

 

 

 

I suggest anyone needing to put in a appeal needs to be in a Union as you will need help.

Unison meeting next Wednesday 4th February, 5pm, at the City Hall. If you're not a member, you can join at the door.

[cazzyjar]

I don't get this process. The proposals are not set in stone and can change. Yet during this consultation process no-one wants to hear anyone's thoughts and wont budge on their decisions. They say it's unlikely appeals will be heard before implementation. So they will implement it and then hear appeals. Meanwhile the workforce are distressed and Managers are supervising people on higher grades than them. How can that ever be corrected if not dealt with now, before implementation?

 

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM ACAS WEBSITE AND EXPLAINS WHAT IS CONSULTATION this is what the letters are, if employees arent in agreement then the council needs to be challenged.

 

Acas

 

Consultation

 

Timing and content

Consultation involves taking account of as well as listening to the views of employees and must therefore take place before decisions are made. Making pretence of consulting on issues that have already been decided is unproductive and engenders suspicion and mistrust about the process amongst staff. It will be helpful to decide upon the degree of consultation first and to inform people what the decision making process will be.

Consultation does not mean that employees' views always have to be acted on since there may be good practical or financial reasons for not doing so. However, whenever employees' views are rejected the reasons for doing so should be carefully explained. Equally, where the views and ideas of employees help to improve a decision due credit and recognition should be given.

Consultation requires a free exchange of ideas and views affecting the interests of employees and the organisation. As such, almost any subject is appropriate for discussion. However, both management and unions may wish to place some limits on the range of subjects open to consultation, for example: because of trade confidences or because they are considered more appropriate for a negotiating forum. To avoid misunderstandings and the possibility of industrial relations difficulties it is advisable for management and recognised unions to agree on the issues that will be the subject of consultation.

A comprehensive list of subjects appropriate for consultation is impossible to give as this will depend on the circumstances of each organisation and how these circumstances change over time. However, whatever subjects are chosen, they need to be relevant, clearly defined and geared to the needs of the organisation and its employees.

Whatever issues are agreed upon as being appropriate for discussion it is important that they are relevant to the group of employees that will be discussing them. For instance in a larger organisation it may be inappropriate for a local, section level, consultative committee to discuss purchasing policies or marketing plans as the managers involved may not have the authority to make unilateral changes to organisational procedures.

If consultation is to be effective it is essential to avoid discussing trivialities. This is not to say that minor issues should be ignored; indeed what is minor to one person may be a major problem for another. Nevertheless, minor issues and pet grievances should not be allowed to dominate the consultation agenda.

The legal aspects of consultation

European Union Directive for informing and consulting employees

The European Union Directive for informing and consulting employees gives employees the right to be:

• informed about the business's economic situation

• informed and consulted about employment prospects, and

• informed and consulted about decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations, including redundancies and transfers.

Employers and employees can agree procedures which are different from those set out in the directive, and may meet their obligations by means of existing agreements on information and consultation.

Implementation is in stages - businesses with 150 or more employees (March 2005), businesses with 100 or more employees (2007) and businesses with 50 or more employees (2008). The Directive does not apply to those businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

[dunney]

Just read on our staff briefing that our letters (cypd) are due to be posted out on 10th Feb.

[jumpinjack]

:)lets hope so

[jumpinjack]

we only ask for a fair wage for the job we do unlike the bankers we work for our money!!!

[jellybellybean]

Just read on our staff briefing that our letters (cypd) are due to be posted out on 10th Feb.

 

Our head passed this info onto us today also. Lets hope they're not delayed, I really don't want to receive the letter while it's half term and cannot have the support of my head and fellow colleagues!

[Buble Fan]

So, how many of you out there are union members? I am.

 

 

The way they have gone about this is totally unacceptable, especially in terms of the lack of information on the approach, lack of consultation and lack of information on appeals and protection.

I would like to think that most people who work for local authorities are decent hard working people who work in this type of work for a reason - to make a difference and do something that benefits everyone, not just shareholders! Based on this assumption, most people are behind the reasons for carrying out pay and grading, it is about delivering equality, which most of us would not argue against. But the approach to this has been rubbish and through the lack of transparency and openess they are denying people the opportunity to take in all the information and come to their own conclusions about the outcomes, and if indeed the less well paid members of the workforce have benefitted. No one likes loosing money, but if they could tell me who the winners and losers are in a more open way then maybe I would be more accepting of it all.....

 

I could go on......

 

The appeals procedure and the protection is still being negotiated with the Trade Unions -so cannot be published yet. Surely that much is obvious!

 

Where is the lack of openness and transparency? The job families and job profiles have been published on the Council's intranet. What on earth is wrong with you people? For God's sake use the resources at your disposal and look at the information that HAS been shared. If you don't have access to the Intranet, - ask someone who has. Surely the Trade Unions have downloaded and printed this information by now - it was after all published last Monday.

 

Judging by some of the grammar and spelling in this thread I am surprised some of the contributors have a job at all!