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Welcome to the Lancashire Branch of Unison

Your Questions

1. Why are UNISON involved in consultations before the results of Job Evaluation are known ?

Firstly, it is vitally important that members understand that UNISON has not "agreed" to enter into negotiations with the Council on terms and conditions before the payline is known, nor is information being withheld from members for no apparent reason and - most important of all - members can be categorically assured that UNISON WILL NOT BE SIGNING UP TO ANY AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNCIL THAT HAS NOT BEEN AGREED BY OUR MEMBERS THROUGH A FULL BALLOT AUTHORISED BY THE REGIONAL OFFICE AND HEAD OFFICE.

The process we are currently engaged in (the 90 day consultation) is as a direct result of the County Council serving notice on the trade unions pursuant to Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act. Without being too technical, s188 is - in the normal scheme of things - the right of recognised trade unions to be consulted by an employer where there is the possibility of a number of employees being made redundant within a certain period of time. The length of time that consultation needs to take place for is dependent upon the numbers of employees that may face redundancy and the date the proposed redundancies may take effect. The purpose of the consultation is to try and seek to avoid, or minimise, or mitigate against, the need for redundancies. Combined with European Directive it is now accepted by the employers organisation that this period of consultation has to be completed before individual notices can be served on employees.

2. Why are staff not being given information about proposals on new terms and conditions ?

It was jointly agreed at the first meeting - by the council and by each of the unions present - that the fine details of the initial proposals would not be widely publicised. This is for sound and practical purposes including:-

Virtually all negotiations follow a similar pattern to this and at the point that the talking has stopped or reached a developed stage then everybody accepts the need to publicise widely as the basis to inform the latter stages of the consultation.  

3. What terms and conditions will be changed?

Consultations with UNISON and the other trade union who represent staff on a new set of Terms and Conditions began on 1 st December 2009 and will continue for a minimum of 90 days. At the beginning of the consultation period the county council indicated which areas of the current set of Terms and Conditions are under review – these are:

The exact details of the proposals are subject to on-going consultation but UNISON will try and keep all members up to date with latest development through this website and briefings to local representatives.

4. How can UNISON members have their say about any changes to terms and conditions?

Contact your local work place representative for the latest information about the consultations and share your concerns and questions. You can also provide your comments and feedback through this website go to "Have your say".

The joint unions are also discussing holding joint, mass meetings at the most appropriate stages. As above UNISON will NOT be agreeing anything that has not been subjected to a ballot of the membership.

5. What happen if there is no agreement at the end of the consultation period?

If there is no draft agreement at the end of the consultation, or if UNISON's process does not authorise a membership ballot, or if such a ballot rejected the proposals then the Council would have to consider its position and it's clear, as things stand, that this would be to seek individual employee agreement and to serve notice of dismissal and reengagement where necessary. The timing that they choose to do that will, or should, be determined by where things are at by the end of the consultation period.

6. How and when will I find out the outcome of the evaluation of my job?

The exact date when Jobholders will find out the results of their evaluation is not known at the current time. A timeline published on the county council's intranet site indicates " Letters will be sent out to staff at this stage detailing their new pay, and terms and conditions" in March 2010.

7. What do I do if I think the evaluation for my job is wrong?

The details of what help will be available to job holders who think that the evaluation of their job is incorrect in some way has yet to be finalised. Your line manager should be a first point of contact and UNISON will be organsing a telephone help line. Watch this space for more details.

8. I haven't filled in a Job Evaluation Questionnaire (JEQ) so how can my job be evaluated?

Most staff will not have completed a Job Evaluation Questionnaire. For any given job, a representative sample of jobholders was selected to represent all jobholders who have the same job. The sample size will have been based on a number of factors including the number of individuals in the post and the numbers of men and women.

9. I work in a school - will my job be evaluated?

Some school support staff have been evaluated as part of Lancashire County Council's current Equal Pay Review. The groups who have been evaluated are teaching assistants, site supervisors, cleaners and catering staff. Staff in these groups will be receiving an evaluation report at the same time as other County Council Employees. What will happen with other groups of staff has yet to be decided but eventually all school support staff will have their jobs evaluated using a new scheme developed by the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

All school support staff who are employed by Lancashire County Council will be issued with revised Terms And Conditions of Employment regardless of whether their post has been evaluated as part of the Equal Pay Review.

For more information about the School Support Staff Negotiating Body go to the National Unison site.

10. Why have LCC carried out an Equal Pay Review?

Legislation has been in place for many years to avoid discrimination between men and women. This is in terms of their pay and conditions, where they are doing the same or similar work; work rated as equivalent or work of equal value. There is also legislation in place to avoid unequal treatment on race, disability, sexual orientation and religion and age and there is protection also for part time workers.

The 2004 pay deal for local government services, concluded by the National Joint Council, included the requirement on local authorities to conduct local pay reviews. The conducting of such reviews would continue to demonstrate the robustness and fairness of agreed pay structures. It was also recognised however, that, for pay structures that have been in place for some time, like ours in Lancashire, that anomalies may be highlighted which would require attention to ensure that pay structures remain free from any potential inequality.

11. If my Job Evaluation results in my job being paid less than currently, will I receive pay protection?

There is no information currently available about any pay protection.

12. If my Job Evaluation results in my job being paid more than currently, will I receive back pay?

There is no information currently available about any back pay.

13. When will the new pay and grading review be implemented?

Go to the " what happens next section"

14. What is the national position on Car allowances?

Follow the link below for the latest technical advice from the NJC.

Car Allowances - technical advisers report 2010 (133kb)