8 August 2014
Job evaluation members' briefings Edinburgh
College
Members' briefings on job evaluation will be held
in Edinburgh College fromMonday 11 August 2014 (see
in college for details).
UNISON has produced a briefing (see below and pdf
on right) which is going out today 8 August.
Job evaluation: Members’ briefing
Following the College merger in October 2012 among
the many issues discussed with College management
was the intention, and indeed legal requirement,
to carry out a College wide evaluation exercise.
Immediately following the merger the first priority
was to discuss and agree a Recognition Agreement
(RPA) to cover the new merged employer which would
define and shape all ongoing consultations and negotiations.
Once this was completed (in March 2013) the discussions
on Harmonisation of Terms and Conditions, Policies
and Procedural Documents and generic College contract
of employment commenced properly.
The initiation of the Job Evaluation scheme for
the College was brought to our attention in early
July 2013.
At that point the indicative timescale and project
completion date of August 1st 2014 was responded
to as being "giddily optimistic" by UNISON.
Why is job evaluation needed?
At this point a brief history of the purpose and
rationale for your employer to carry out an evaluation
exercise may be helpful.
To eradicate gender inequalities in pay and grading
structures and meet the legislative obligations
captured in the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Sex
Discrimination Act of 1975 employers are required
to carry out an evaluation exercise that removes
and actively prevents gender inequalities.
The process was partially completed across the
individual colleges previously and the merger provided
an ideal opportunity to both complete that exercise
and revisit previous evaluations.
UNISON is required by dint of the Recognition Agreement
to engage in that process.
Our primary consideration is to ensure that no
existing inequalities are perpetuated and no new
inequalities are created.
Additionally we strove to ensure that the outcomes
were accurate and palatable and that the pay and
grading structure is equally weighted from top to
bottom and does not unduly favour higher graded
roles.
Appeals
To back this up a robust and transparent appeals
process is an absolute requirement. There have been
concerns about the evaluation reports that have
been made available to post-holders but following
recent discussions the full evaluation report for
each post and a copy of the scoring matrix will
be provided.
The ongoing issue we have in respect of the appeals
process is the 'deadline' indicated, 29th August
2014. We consider this to be indicative and have
sought and received assurance that no appeal will
be declined beyond that date.
Deadline extended
Following recent discussion the deadline has now
been extended for another two weeks to the 12th
of September. Again, we underline that is nominal
and should there be a valid reason for a late submission
it is unlikely to be refused.
Consequently we urge you all to consider whether
or not you wish to lodge an appeal and be assured
that we will assist you in constructing that appeal
- no matter how long it takes!
Equalities assessment
The external consultants contracted to advise the
college: Northgate, were involved in the previous
evaluation exercise and have a long standing, well
respected reputation in this field, especially in
the public sector and Further Education.
Regardless of that UNISON will ensure that a full
Equalities/Equal Value assessment is conducted on
the colleges evaluation exercise and indeed that
the College meets its Public Sector Equality Duty
obligations.
These assessments are done on outcomes. Consequently
the system has to be applied and the outcomes of
any appeal process have to be factored in.
So, yes, we require any of our members who feel
their post has been inaccurately evaluated, for
a range of reasons, to submit an appeal.
Should you want to submit an appeal but are unsure
contact any of your College based reps or the Branch
Office for advice and support
branchoffice@unison-edinburgh.org.uk or 0131 558
7488
There are ongoing discussions with your management
on this issue and these will continue until we are
satisfied with the outcome.
However the responsibility is also each member's
to engage with the process and your representatives
to ensure that all views are captured in discussions.
You do not abdicate that responsibility when electing
a representative.
Please help us to help you by making this a collective
and united consideration.
