JMcK/CG/02/2008

15th January 2008

Christine Lawrie
Chief Executive
Probation Board’s Association
83 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0HW

Dear Christine,

NNC Trade Union Side Pay Claim 2008/9

Please see attached the pay claim, effective from 1 April 2008, submitted on behalf of the NNC Trade Union Side, Napo and Unison, for 2008/2009.

We look forward to early negotiations on this claim as it has an effective date of 1 April 2008.

Can we particularly draw to your attention the need for early agreement on the continuation of the existing arrangements for incremental progression from 1 April 2008?

Although this forms part of our claim, we are clear that staff have a contractual entitlement to incremental progression from 1 April each year and we are equally clear that there is nothing in the existing agreement to suggest the current incremental arrangements lapse after the end of March.

It is therefore imperative that the existing arrangements in respect of incremental progression are clearly agreed between us at the earliest possible date.

Please take note that while we will be tabling the overall pay claim at the January NNC, we wish that NNC to be the meeting at which we formally agree the continuation of incremental progression on the current basis.

Yourssincerely,

Judy McKnight
General Secretary
Napo

Probation Service NNC Pay Claim 2008/09
Summary of Claim

The NNC Trade Union Side, Napo and Unison, wish to submit the following claim in respect of probation staff covered by the NNC effective from 1 April 2008:

• Pay increase of 5% or £1000 p.a. (whichever is the greater), on all band points;
• London Weighting increase to £4000 p.a.;
• Harmonisation of working hours between all grades;
• Shorter Pay Bands;
• Incremental Progression - confirmation of existing agreement;
• Essential Car User Allowance advice and guidance from the NNC;
• Work-Life Balance – outstanding claims met in full;
• Workloads - agreement secured to ensure manageable workloads for all;
• Equality Proofing.

Introduction

The Probation Service pay negotiations in 2008 will be the first to follow the substantive Modernisation Agreement reached in 2005, covering the three years from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008 inclusive.

The Trade Union Side believes that it is incumbent on both sides of the NNC to build on that agreement positively and in a way which continues the modernisation process that the 2005 Agreement began.

This year’s pay settlement also needs to recognise the commitment, dedication and professionalism that probation staff bring to their work, along with reward for the fact that the Service is performing better than ever against all targets.

Pay and conditions which are fit for purpose are a pre-requisite for a Probation Service that needs not only to recruit and retain staff, but also, at a time of ever higher workloads and seemingly permanent change and reform, to recognise the importance of showing staff that they are valued. A high performing service also needs staff to have high levels of motivation and staff morale.

For all these reasons, the Trade Union Side believes that its claim is fully justified, notwithstanding the fact that the 2008 pay negotiations will be taking place in the context of a poor financial settlement for the Probation Service and a restrictive policy from the Treasury in respect of public sector pay.

1) Pay Increase

The Trade Union Side claim is for a pay increase of 5% or £ 1000 p.a., whichever is the greater, on all band points. The Trade union Side believe this increase is justified in relation to maintaining the value of pay levels in real terms taking account of inflation and increases in the cost of living, and when set against outside comparators. The under-pinning minimum claim of £1000 p.a. seeks to prioritise low paid workers who would not otherwise receive a substantive increase from a percentage pay increase.

Economic Indicators

Inflation
In the 12 months ending November 2007 the all items Retail Price Index, (RPI) rose 0.1% to 4.3%.

The all-items retail price index (RPI) is the measure of inflation most commonly used by wage negotiators in the private sector and it is used by the government to index pension payments and other state benefits. This is because it covers the full range of goods and services purchased by the majority of households. For example, it includes essential items such as food, housing costs and heating, and also discretionary items like audio-visual products.

The Trade Union Side remains committed to RPI as the most accurate and realistic indicator of the cost of living. Incomes Data Services state “RPI inflation is used universally by pay negotiators as it is the best measure of how far the purchasing power of a salary level has been devalued over a 12-month period”. A recent survey by Industrial Relations Services of over 350 organisations, found that just 21% of private sector employers stated they would use the CPI (consumer price index) with the majority planning reference the RPI.

According to the AA’s fuel price report, unleaded petrol increased by 3.8ppl to average 101.5ppl and diesel increased by 5.6ppl to 105.4ppl, in November 2007. Petrol and oil costs were 11.7% higher, in October 2007, than a year ago. The Bank of England reduced interest rates by 0.25% to 5.5% (6 December 2007) – the first cut since rates started to rise in August 2006. But in October 2007 mortgage interest payments were 24.5% higher than in the previous year.

Inflation forecasts
IRS Employment Review forecasts average inflation for the fourth quarter of 2007 at 3.9% and for the full year averaging 4.2%. For the fourth quarter of 2008 it forecasts an increase of 2.8% and averaging 3.2% for the full year.

Pay settlements
According to the IRS Employment Review pay databank, for the year ending October 2007, the median level of whole economy settlements was 3.5%, with an upper quartile of 4% and a lower quartile of 3%.

Earnings forecasts
IRS Employment Review forecasts whole economy earnings for the whole year 2007 at 3.9% and 4% for the whole year 2008.

2) London Weighting

The claim seeks an increase in London Weighting from the current £3,600 to £4000 pa.

London is the most expensive capital city in Europe and the cost of living and working in London continues to rise. Recruitment and retention of probation staff in London also remains a critical issue.

The Trade Union Side claim for £4,000 is not excessive and the flat rate nature of London Weighting would particularly assist the lowest paid staff.

In making a claim for an increase in the London weighting allowance to £4000 we want to highlight some appropriate comparators:

• Police Officers £6333 (effective from 1/9/06)

• Prison Service £4250 (1/4/06)

• Fire Service £4592 (1/7/06)

• Royal Mail £4081 (4/4/05)

• NHS – Agenda for change £3383 - £5638 (1/4/06)

• National Audit Office £4623 (1/4/05)

• School Teachers (E&W) £4035 - £4509

3) Harmonisation of Working Hours

The 2005 Modernisation Agreement made significant progress on harmonisation of a range of conditions of service but did not tackle the issue of working hours. The outcome of job evaluation has highlighted this issue as jobs are now defined according to their job descriptions rather than by their titles. The current discrepancy in working hours between different, and the same, groups of staff is not sustainable and breaches fundamental principles of parity and equality.

4) Shorter Pay Bands

Both unions and employers have acknowledged that the lengths of the NNC pay bands are in need of review. The current length of the pay bands is a result of legacy issues from the previous pay structure and the financial constraints on assimilation.

The current scales remain too long. For example a member of staff commencing work at the bottom of Bands 3 or 4 will take 11 years to reach the top of the band under the terms of the incremental progression applied in the Pay and Modernisation Agreement.

Although there is yet little case law to rely upon, there is a risk that a challenge might arise to the length of the bands on the basis of an age discrimination claim

The Trade Union Side therefore hopes that we can make progress towards shorter pay scales as part of this year’s pay settlement.

5) Incremental Progression

As part of this year’s pay claim the Trade Union Side wish to confirm the existing agreement that the rate of incremental progression be clearly specified in the NNC Handbook as 3 increments before the development point; 2 increments on the development point and 1 increment above the development point.

This claim is made in response to PACU/employers indication that the amount of progression needs to be negotiated; not withstanding the fact that pay progression within the NNC Pay and Conditions of Service Modernisation Agreement is a contractual right.

Paragraph 4.11 states that:

“There will be a normal expectation of progression subject to satisfactory performance …”

The NNC Pay Agreement provides for a clear expectation on the part of employees that pay progression will form an ongoing and permanent feature of their pay arrangements. There is nothing in the Agreement suggesting that the current arrangements lapse after 31/3/ 2008.

6) Essential Car Users' Allowance (ECUA)

The ECUA is a condition of service referenced in the national terms and conditions but implemented locally by Probation Areas in conjunction with the trade unions.

During the past few months many of those Areas paying the ECUA to staff have sought to remove the allowance provoking a number of formal and informal disputes. Whilst Areas have highlighted issues relating to the environment and equality of entitlement, it has been clear that the primary motivating force has been financial savings and impending budgetary constraint. Consequently, the Joint Secretaries have been involved, on a number of occasions, in assisting Areas and Branches to reach agreement on the future of the allowance in the Area.

The trade union side is concerned about the implications of this piecemeal assault on some members' terms and conditions and the loss of income resulting from local removal of or reduction in ECUA. Whilst the implementation of the allowance is not the subject of national collective bargaining, the harmful impact on local industrial relations consequent of the threat to the allowance should be a concern for the NNC as a whole.

The underpinning concept of NOMS – end to end case management, if it means anything, must be predicated on the ability of case managers to be fully involved in their cases –from end to end. This will, of necessity, include both prison and home visits as a matter of course.

The trade union side is seeking urgent discussions with the employers on the provision of national guidance and support for Areas and Branches involved or potentially involved in ECUA negotiations.'

7) Work-Life Balance

The Trade Union Side would hope that further progress could be made on outstanding work-life balance claims as part of the 2008 Pay settlement.

The major policy area outstanding from previous Trade Union Side claims is the area of an improved retirement policy. We would wish to continue exploration of the scope for pre-retirement leave and for policies that enabled more flexibility in working patterns around the retirement age.

Progress on the extension of work-life balance policies in the workplace are in line with Government policy and would benefit employers as much as employees.

8) Workloads

As part of the 2008 Pay Claim, the Trade Union Side is seeking agreement on concrete measures to tackle excessive workloads in the Service.

Unacceptably high workloads, as are increasingly being demonstrated by the workload measurement tool, threaten both service delivery and the health and well being of probation staff. The continued failure to tackle workload prioritisation and workload management is a failure by the employers and Ministers to honour the basic principles of good employee care.

The “Joint Agreement on Priorities and Employee Care”, signed off by the then Probation Minister Paul Boeteng, issued as PC4/2001 set out an agreed way forward on workloads in 2001.

The unions have also received successive assurances from NOMS that workloads would be prioritised. The reality is that workloads are not prioritised either nationally or within Areas, and the stress of excessively high workloads continues to fall on individual members of staff.

NAO (2006) study of staff sickness absence found that one-third of all sick leave is attributed to stress, anxiety and depression. We believe that there is a strong link between this fact and increasingly unmanageable workloads. Proper workload management and prioritisation could arguably be self-financing by a significant reduction in sickness absence levels

The unions wish to see a clearly specified cap placed on the workloads of all probation staff and hope that agreement can be reached between us as part of this settlement.

9) Equality Proofing

The NNC Pay and Reward Implementation Steering Committee is committed to carrying out a detailed post-implementation audit of the NNC three year pay deal. This will involve:

• Consistency checks;
• An equality audit;
• An examination of pay band distribution;
• A review of regrading and down bandings;
• A specific examination of approved premises JE outcomes;

It is possible that this audit will identify ongoing structural issues that need to be addressed during the next CSR period.

The Potential for a multi-year deal

Notwithstanding the headline claim, the Trade Union Side is willing to explore the potential benefits of a multi-year deal.

Multi-year deals can provide unions and employers with the scope to address longer term strategic aims on pay and reward. Following the successful implementation of the 3 year pay deal, the NNC has the opportunity to take stock and ask “where next on pay?”.

Examples of areas which would benefit from a multi year pay agreement include action to address the length of pay bands, the further work required on the NNC Development and Review Process including the development of a knowledge and skills framework, and the further work needed on consistency checking and equality proofing, and future pay modelling.

Conclusion

The Trade Union Side commends this pay claim on behalf of members in the Probation Service.

Probation staff are currently enduring a continuing process of change and reform and often work in a difficult and pressurised working environment. Despite the various pressures and the period of change, the Probation Service is recognised to be performing better than ever against all targets. This high level of performance is thanks to the work, the commitment and the professionalism of probation staff.

The Trade Union Side look forward to early and positive negotiations on this claim.