The modernising pay agreement What is the modernising pay agreement?
It is an agreement between the unions and the Association of Colleges
(AoC) to implement a national harmonised pay scale for college staff in
England. The agreement followed recognition from the government and
employers that FE salaries were falling well behind other public services
particularly schools. The national pay scale was introduced to help FE
salaries catch up.How would I benefit if my college implemented the national pay scale?
The introduction of the national harmonised pay scale would mean higher
salaries for college staff. When you move on to the new national pay
scale you should go across to the next highest salary point. For example,
if your current salary is £17,035 you would go across to point 14 on the
new scales taking your salary to £17, 514. Check your pay
The minimum wage in the college would also increase to £6.91 an hour, better than either the NHS or local government. The national pay scale would also reduce the pay gap between school teachers and lecturers. The college should also carry out a Job Evaluation exercise as part of the modernising pay agreement. Job evaluation is a way of ensuring that college staff receive equal pay for work of equal value. What about incremental pay progression for support staff moving
As part of the negotiations with the college, we want to ensure that all
support staff are entitled to incremental pay progression in the future.onto the harmonised pay scale? Some colleges currently employ support staff on spot salaries, so moving on to the national pay scale would be a great opportunity to negotiate incremental progression points. What is Job Evaluation and how does it fit in with the national pay scale?
Job evaluation schemes are used to expose pay anomalies and pave the
way for achieving fair pay and grading structures. At a very basic level job
evaluation is the process that measures each element of your job and
gives it a total score. Job evaluation will then establish a ranking order for
jobs and fit them into a non-discriminatory pay and grading structure to
ensure staff receive equal pay for work of equal value.The unions and the AoC have agreed a job evaluation scheme specifically
designed for the sector called the Further Education Job Evaluation
Scheme (FEJE). FEJE has been designed with the explicit purpose of
covering the full range of jobs within FE colleges. As part of the modernising pay agreement colleges should introduce the Further Education Job Evaluation scheme to ensure equal pay. How long has our college had to bring in the better pay rates?
The modernising pay agreement was reached in 2004. The colleges have
now had more than four years to honour the agreement. The majority of
colleges have honoured the agreement and the unions are now calling
time on those colleges refusing to do so.What if our college says it can’t afford to introduce the national
pay scale?
The AoC surveyed all FE colleges before they agreed to the nationalpay scale. The AoC would not have signed up to the agreement if it was not affordable. The unions will negotiate a timetable for implementation locally if a college can prove it has serious financial problems. Why does it matter if our college won’t honour the national pay deal?
Staff working in our colleges do a first class job, yet receive second class
salaries compared to other colleges. For every year that the college
refuses to match the national pay scale our pay will fall further behind.This will affect our pensions. Our college is not a member of the AoC, so how does the modernising pay agreement and the national pay scale affect me? The pay agreement is between the FE trade unions and the AOC and therefore its members. Most colleges are members of the AoC. The unions regard the pay agreement as a national standard in England and therefore seek to have it implemented in all colleges including those that are not members of the AoC. What are the unions doing about it?
We are calling on the college to open urgent negotiations with the unions
on implementing the national pay scale.What can I do to help?
Keep an eye out for campaign events being organised by the
local unions. Attend joint union meetings and show your support
for the campaign.If you’re not a member of a union then join one today. The more of us there are, the more likely we are to get what we are owed. |
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