Employment Committee
Meeting to be held on 5 September 2016
Electoral Division affected:
None
Pay award for employees on retained NHS terms and conditions
Contact for further information:
Deborah Barrow, (01772) 535805, Head of HR, [email protected]
Executive Summary
In February 2015, the Committee approved a report which recommended that there
should be no changes to the NHS pay conditions applied to employees on retained
NHS terms and conditions, for the financial years 2014/15 and 2015/16.
At the time the report was approved, it was envisaged that by the end of the
2015/16 financial year, the County Council would have implemented phase 2 of the
Transformation process and all employees appointed to the new phase 2 structure
would have been appointed to posts on County Council terms and conditions.
Since the report was approved, the County Council has implemented phase 1 of the
Transformation process but not phase 2 and is now progressing Transformation on
an individual service by service basis. At the time the report was approved there
were 78 employees on retained NHS terms and conditions and, whilst a number of
these employees were appointed to posts on County Council terms and conditions
in phase 1 of the Transformation process, there are 56 employees remaining on
NHS terms and conditions who will be going through the Transformation process in
their individual service areas who have had no pay award since April 2013 at least.
The report therefore proposes the application of the Council's 2-year pay award (1%
from 01.04.16 and 1% from 01.01.17) given to all staff on NJC terms and conditions
of employment for the reasons set out in the report.
Recommendation
The Committee is recommended to approve the application of the 2-year County
Council pay award (1% from 01.04.16 and 1% from 01.01.17), which was agreed in
May 2016 via the National Joint Council bargaining process, for employees on
retained NHS terms and conditions
Background and Advice
In February 2015 the Employment Committee agreed not to apply a pay award or
other contractual changes for employees on NHS terms and conditions of service. At
the time this decision was made the County Council was operating to a different
timetable for Transformation and the rationale for the decision taken was as follows:
 The legal position regarding the application of pay awards for employees who
have transferred under TUPE arrangements is that TUPE is 'static' and the terms
and conditions are frozen at the point of transfer. Therefore in respect of County
Council employees on retained NHS terms and conditions there is no link back to
the NHS pay conditions and they are not recognised as a separate bargaining
group within the local government structure. The scope of the report covered the
NHS pay award, changes to mileage rates and changes to pay enhancement
rates such as overtime, night work and shift work.
 The County Council and the NHS have separate grades, pay scales and pay
award bargaining, therefore changes to the County Council's NJC national and
locally agreed pay conditions do not apply to County Council employees on
retained NHS terms and conditions. Similarly, changes to the NHS pay conditions
do not automatically apply to County Council employees on retained NHS terms
and conditions as they are no longer part of the NHS employee group for which
the change is bargained for.
 Typically the NHS grades and salaries were higher than comparable County
Council posts, which had the potential to create an equal pay risk to the County
Council. Whilst the risk could be managed due to the County Council honouring
TUPE terms and conditions at the point of transfer, the risk would be compounded
by implementing changes to pay conditions, potentially increasing and sustaining
the pay discrepancy between the comparable posts on County Council and NHS
conditions.
The report specifically covered the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years because at
the time it was envisaged that the phase 2 Transformation structure would have
been in place for the beginning of the 2016/17 financial year and by that time there
would not have been any employees on retained NHS terms and conditions
remaining as they would have been appointed to new posts on the new structure on
County Council terms and conditions or have left the Council's employment.
In February 2015 there were 78 employees on retained NHS terms and conditions.
That number has reduced since due to phase 1 appointments and leavers, however
there are 56 employees remaining that are still on retained NHS terms and
conditions who are employed in services that are due to go through Transformation
between now and 2018. Those employees will have had no pay award applied to
them since April 2013, if they transferred to the County Council before that date. If
they transferred to the County Council after that date they will not have had a pay
award since they transferred.
The breakdown of the 56 employees on retained NHS terms and conditions is as
follows:
NHS Grade
Number of Employees
Band 2
Band 3
Band 4
Band 5
Band 6
Band 7
1
5
21
5
9
15
When compared to the County Council grades, the NHS grades range from the
County Council grade 4 (Band 2) to grade 10 (Band 7).
This report seeks approval from the Employment Committee to apply the County
Council 2-year pay award for 2016/17, which has been recently agreed in May via
the National Joint Council process. This would represent a 1% increase to salary
points for employees on retained NHS terms and conditions from 01 April 2016 and
a further 1% from 01 April 2017, the rationale for this recommendation is as follows:
 The previous report specifically covered the period up to 31 March 2016 because
it was envisaged the phase 2 Transformation structure would be in place and
everyone would have been appointed to posts on County Council terms and
conditions. This has not happened and therefore a decision needs to be made
regarding the application of any pay award for the current employees on retained
NHS terms and conditions.
 If no pay award was applied as in previous years, it potentially creates a two tier
system where there are employees formerly on retained NHS terms and
conditions appointed to posts in phase 1 on County Council terms and conditions
who have received the County Council 1% pay award and employees who are
still on retained NHS terms and conditions pending the next phases of
Transformation who would not receive any pay award for the third year running
and potentially not receive any pay award up to March 2018, subject to when their
service was going through Transformation.
 The potential equal pay risk is minimised at this stage as the higher graded posts
which presented the greater potential for an equal pay risk have been replaced
with County Council graded posts in the phase 1 Transformation structure and a
number of higher graded employees who were on retained NHS terms and
conditions have either been appointed to new County Council posts or left County
Council employment. The remaining posts, where employees have retained NHS
terms and conditions which range, in salary terms, from the County Council grade
4 to 10 are closer matches to County Council posts and any risk will eventually
erode once the next phases of Transformation are implemented as all
appointments will be on Council terms and conditions.
Consultations
N/A
Implications:
This item has the following implications, as indicated:
Risk management
The potential for any equal pay risk is minimised at this stage as the higher graded
ex NHS posts which presented the greater potential for an equal pay risk have been
replaced with County Council graded posts in the phase 1 Transformation structure
and a number of higher graded employees who were on retained NHS terms and
conditions have either been appointed to new County Council posts or left County
Council employment during phase 1. The remaining posts, where employees have
retained NHS terms and conditions which range, in salary terms, from the County
Council grade 4 to 10 are closer matches to County Council posts and any risk will
eventually erode completely once the next phases of Transformation are
implemented as all appointments will be on Council terms and conditions.
Financial
There has already been budget provision made in 2016/17 and 2017/18 for the
national pay award for all County Council employees therefore there is not a further
budget pressure as a result of this report. The cost will be met from within the
existing County Council budget.
Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985
List of Background Papers
Paper
Date
N/A
Reason for inclusion in Part II, if appropriate
N/A
Contact/Tel