Terms and conditions

Authorised car user buyout: 18 October 2010

As you may be aware in order for payment of the authorised car user buy out to be actioned certain documents were required to verify authorised car user status. It has become apparent that in a number of instances providing the evidence as required has caused an issue and could potentially cause some inequality within groups of staff.

In order to resolve this it has been agreed by CLT that the Service Head for each group will need to determine whether or not the authorised car user buy out should be applied for groups of staff.

Given the complexity of this process the payment of the buy out for authorised car users will commence in October and will be completed by the end of November 2010.

Car user allowances - buyout payments: 14 September 2010

The buy out payment for staff who were Essential car users will be paid in the September payroll. The list of other authorised car users is still being finalised and managers have been asked to verify those lists before payment is made. As a result the buy out payment for those staff where the authorised car users status has been verified will be paid in the October payroll.

Update on terms and conditions: 2 July 2010

The Council has reached agreement with the trade unions on the proposed changes to terms and conditions and employment policies.

A negotiated settlement has been reached with the Trade Unions on terms and conditions. This brings to an end, with immediate effect, the industrial action in the form of working to rule and withdrawal of good will, which was being taken by Unison members.

The County Council’s proposal was accepted by 60% of the Unison members who voted in the ballot.

The agreement consists of a single lump sum buy out payment to authorised car users, plus a mileage rate increase for staff travelling in excess of 10,000 miles per year from 12.2p to 25p (HMRC recommended rate).

Details of the proposed lump sum buy out payments are as follows:

All essential car users

£450 equivalent to a further 6 months notice of the removal of the lump sum.

All other authorised car users

£150 as one off compensation for the reduction in mileage rates at the HMRC recommended rate.

Payments will be made regardless of the size of the vehicle driven. They will be paid in September after the expiry of the current notice period for essential car users.

The Council is facing significant financial challenges and must find £120m to save or reinvest over the next four years. The package represents a balanced set of measures which retain an overall good employment package, broadly in line with those offered by other Local Authority employers.

The changes to terms and conditions table [DOC 52KB] summarises the proposal.

Update on terms and conditions: 3 June 2010

Following further discussions with the recognised trade unions a final and formal offer has now been presented to the trade union side to resolve the current on going Unison dispute. 

The offer consists of a single lump sum buy out payment to authorised car users, plus a mileage rate increase for staff travelling in excess of 10,000 miles per year from 12.2p to 25p (HMRC recommended rate). 

Details of the proposed lump sum buy out payments are as follows:

All essential car users:
£450 equivalent to a further 6 months notice of the removal of the lump sum.

All other authorised car users:
£150 as one off compensation for the reduction in mileage rates o the HMRC recommended rate.

The changes to terms and conditions table [DOC 52KB] summarises the proposal.

Payments will be made regardless of the size of the vehicle driven. They will be paid in September after the expiry of the current notice period for essential car users.

The original changes to terms and conditions and related employment polices will remain in place as originally agreed by Personnel Committee. This will be with the exception of the increased mileage rate for staff travelling in excess of 10,000 mile per annum.

Recognised trade unions are considering the offer on the basis that it is a final offer of settlement and if not accepted will be withdrawn.

Overall, the package represents a balanced set of measures which retain an overall good employment package and are broadly in line with those offered by other Local Authority employers.

The Council is anxious to resolve the current dispute. Staff are encouraged to accept this offer, particularly as the need to make savings in these areas remains and is becoming more acute as restrictions on public service finances increase.

Update on terms and conditions: 19 March 2010

Letters have been sent to all employees affected by the changes to terms and conditions and related employment policies.

If you receive a letter, make sure you read it and return a signed copy.

Craft workers, teachers and youth and community workers will receive separate letters because they are not affected by the changes to annual leave entitlement.

Letter for County Council employees [PDF 537KB]

Letter for craft workers, youth workers and teachers [PDF 545KB]

If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

Update on terms and conditions - 29 January 2010

Proposals to change County Council employees’ terms and conditions to help balance the Council’s budget have been backed, subject to the call in period, by Councillors at Personnel Committee (29 January 2010).

The changes will be phased in over the next six months and will help to save £1.2m in 2010/11 which will be reinvested to meet the rising demand for Council services.

Negotiations between the Council and the trade unions led to a number of changes to the original proposals. These changes include:

• paying all car mileage at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recommended rate of 40p per mile up to 10,000 miles, rather than 8,500 miles as originally suggested

• increasing the maximum compensation payment for early retirement and redundancy from the original proposal of 45 weeks pay to a revised maximum of 50 weeks pay, dependent upon age and length of service

• salary protection policy will remain in force for existing staff who are currently in protection and those who enter salary protection as part of phase one of NJE, including school support staff. Any other new claimants will be offered a maximum of two years’ pay protection with no incremental progression or pay award

• social care and other staff who are already in a post which has a specific additional leave entitlement of five or six days will retain that additional leave, even if they take up an alternative post in these service areas which attracts the additional leave. The additional leave entitlement will not apply to new starters

• an agreement that there will be no further changes to terms and conditions for two years, excluding any changes which may emerge as part of a wider review of ways of working.

All other proposals contained in the original package remain.

Consultation between trade unions and their members on these changes is ongoing. 

More information on when and how these changes will be implemented will follow shortly.

Update on terms and conditions - 14 January 2010

Since the original proposals were published for consultation, we have had regular negotiation meetings with the recognised trade unions.  As a result a revised package of proposals has now been offered to the trade unions for consideration.  The proposed changes to the original proposals include:

• Raising the 40 pence a mile cap from 8,500 to 10,000 miles per year as recommended by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

• An increase in the maximum compensation payment for early retirement and redundancy from the original proposal of 45 weeks pay to a revised maximum of 50 weeks pay, dependent upon age and length of service.

• Confirmation that the proposed changes to salary protection will not be applied to staff entering salary protection as part of the implementation of phase one of NJE, including school based staff.  The revised proposal will only be applied to all other new cases of salary protection.

• Social care and other staff who are already in a post which has a specific additional leave entitlement of 5 or 6 days will retain that additional leave.  The proposal to remove this additional leave entitlement will only apply to new starters or existing staff who are moving to a post which does not attract the additional leave entitlement.  The proposal to remove the additional leave entitlement for all staff completing 10 years service will remain

• An agreement that there will be no further changes to terms and conditions for two years, excluding any changes which may emerge as part of a wider review of ways of working.

All other proposals contained in the original package remain as originally proposed.

Changes to terms and conditions for County Council employees

Like all councils, we’re facing a major challenge to sort out our finances. We need to find savings to make sure we can balance our budget. One step towards this is by changing some of your terms and conditions to bring them in line with other local councils. This will help to save £2.9 million each year.

These proposals were sent to the trades unions on 15 October 2009 to start our formal consultation.

In brief, the specific changes include:

• withdrawing the essential car user allowance. Instead you will be able to claim mileage at an increased rate of 40p per mile
• all mileage allowances will be streamlined to a single payment of 40p per mile, in line with recommendations from HM Revenue and Customs
• subsistence payments for expenses like food and drink will only be paid in exceptional circumstances, such as an overnight stay
• disturbance allowance, available if your office location is changed, will only be paid for two years. Excess travel time will no longer be accounted for as part of your normal working day
• salary protection policy will remain in force for existing staff who are currently in protection. Any new claimants will be offered a maximum of two years’ pay protection with no incremental progression or pay award
  
• early retirement and redundancy policy - we are discussing proposals for a revised early retirement and redundancy package that will remove provision for additional years, provide for a maximum of 45 weeks compensation and remove personal circumstances provisions
• removing the entitlement for additional annual leave for employees with more than ten years service from April 2010
• additional leave for social care and associated staff groups will be maintained for existing employees until they change post. However, new employees will not be offered this extra leave entitlement.