FE Q&A: Pay rise 2017 and more on annual leave

Questions and Answers????????????

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An NJNC Joint Secretary’s implementation note is in draft pending final agreement. There is some discussion on the FESCOM Facebook and hopefully this document will help clarify many issues raised.

What if I have left the college since 1 April 2017?

  1. The Pay Award will apply to those in post at 30th June 2017. Those who have left the sector between 1st April 2017 and the date of issue of this Technical Note, who have not received the Pay Award, will be required to write to their former college and request payment.
  2. Staff who have left or agree to leave by the date of this agreement on a voluntary severance basis will have their settlements adjusted accordingly and the relevant pension scheme advised as appropriate.

What if the £425 takes me out of local pay protection?

  1. The Pay Award will be applied on a non-consolidated basis for staff on existing local pay protection arrangements. Where the application of the Pay Award to the substantive grade overtakes the protected salary, the employee will move to the revised scale point on the substantive grade. The employee will still receive £425 but only the part relating to the substantive salary grade will be consolidated. Thereafter the individual will no longer be in receipt of pay protection.

Living Wage?

  1. The Pay Award will be applied in the first instance, then any further uplift applied if required to ensure that staff are in receipt of the Living Wage of £8.45 as at 1st April 2017.

Leave?

  1.  Additional leave will be added to the flexible element of leave entitlement.
  2. This Agreement does not change the number of current local fixed days pending further national negotiations on terms and conditions. The total package of annual leave entitlement will be made of a balance of fixed and flexible days.
  3. Colleges have different leave year start and end dates and will require the 44 day increase to be applied on a pro rata basis from 1stApril 2017. For the implementation of this agreement only, figures should be rounded up to the nearest 0.5 FTE day, to be applied pro-rata to part-time staff.
  4. Colleges may also have to locally adjust carry forward arrangements to ensure that no additional leave as a result of this agreement is lost.

What if I have or am due to qualify for local ‘long service’ leave?

  1. The current local leave entitlements, where they exceed 44, will remain in place pending further national negotiations on terms and conditions. Local conditions in these colleges for ‘long service’ leave remain in place unless and until there is a further national agreement which supersedes this. Any issues pertaining to future protection of leave will be covered in discussions on further national negotiation on terms and conditions.
  2. Changes to hours under approved flexible working arrangements will not impact on personal protected leave.(other than pro rata calculation where hours are reduced to part-time).

Job Evaluation

  1.  The effective date of new grades deriving from the National Job Evaluation exercise will be 1 September 2018. Any change to grades as a result of the national job evaluation exercise will be applied in full with no phasing in period.

20 Colleges covered automatically

  1. The 2017/18 Award will apply in its entirety to colleges who are signatories to the National Recognition and procedures Agreement (NRPA). For colleges who are not signatories to the NRPA, the recommendation from the NJNC is that college boards apply the changes.

John Gallacher
Scottish Organiser
7 July 2017

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