HR Services for Schools
Schools HR Update
8th October 2014
 HR update
AGENDA
– ACAS and Early Conciliation
– School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document 2014 and Pay
Policy
– Teachers Pay Progression September 2014
– Non Teaching Staff Strike 14th October 2014
– Employee Relations Update, Policies and Law
– Twilight Training
 H&S update
 Payroll update
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National Minimum Wage and SCP 5
Interrogates & Pension statement calculations
Teachers Pension Scheme 2015
National Fraud Initiative
Contacting Payroll
 HR health check
HR Services for Schools
Human Resources
updates
October 2014
ACAS Early Conciliation – a reminder
 Now a Legal requirement for claimant to have made a
Early Conciliation notification to ACAS before can go
to ET
 We can tell ACAS now who the contact person for the
school is (HR can collate a list) or they will phone
whoever the claimant puts as their employer – most
likely to be the school!
 If we don't tell them, Line Manager may be first contact
 Ensure those individuals understand importance of
that initial contact - take as seriously as a formal legal
communication and should not attempt to resolve
themselves
 Alert HR Provider immediately and pass on to details
of the dispute to individual who would manage any
subsequent ET claim
School Teachers Pay and Conditions
Document 2014 and Pay Policy
 STPCD continues pay increases related
to performance
 STPCD does not change Safeguarding
(pay and TLR protection) but no
guarantee of grade if go to new school
 Pay Policy sets out pay scales and
applies 1% increase – mostly using DfE
‘reference points’
 Issue of STPCD additional payments to
HTs
School Teachers Pay Progression
September 2014 - background
 STPCD says no “automatic” salary
progression for teachers in September
2014
 This applies to all Maintained Schools
(Community, Foundation and VA) and
Academies who use STPCD
 OFSTED may check why teachers have
progressed!
School Teachers Pay Progression
September 2014 - process
 Performance Management Appraisals
should have/be taking place
 Headteacher recommends
progression/not progress to Pay
Committee
 Decision given to teacher (Teachers
Annual Pay Statement) by 31st October
 Right of appeal to Pay Appeals
Committee
School Teachers Pay Progression
September 2014 – other issues
 Notification to Payroll!
 Use of Capability process for those not
progressed?
 Support/development plans for those not
progressed
 New SMART targets for 2014/15
 Lessons learnt? – targets, appraisers
skills/confidence, moderation/fairness,
SLT & Govs skills/confidence
School Teachers Pay Progression
September 2014 –
HR Support for Pay Appeals
 Pay Appeal Committees should be able
to call upon their HR provider to support
them at pay appeals
 If your school has concerns about
appeals then we recommend seeking
advice now
Non-teaching staff Strike Action
14th October 2014
 UNISON, GMB & UNITE National dispute over
Local Government pay award offer 14/15
 Request for information to send to DfE on
expected/actual numbers going out on strike
sent out in letter from Simon Leftley
 Now informed DfE do not, on this occasion,
want that information!
 PLEASE DON’T FILL IN THE PRO FORMAS!!!
 Please do send in the Payroll pro formas by 1st
NOVEMBER
Employee Relations Update, Policies and
Law
 Caselaw
Be careful in what you offer/contract!
LGA reports that in Hershaw and others v Sheffield
City Council the EAT held that a letter from an HR
consultant setting out the result of a pay and
grading appeal which incorrectly told the employees
they would be placed on a higher grade than was
actually decided was capable of having contractual
effect, as the HR consultant had ostensible, if not
formal, authority to communicate the result
Each case is different but it is important to check
what is offered /set out in writing OR verbally as this
may result in it being contractual
Employee Relations Update, Policies and
Law
 Policies
 put onto SLN
– Teachers Pay Policy 2014
– Flexible Working
 going onto SLN
– Pensions (LGPS)
– Criminal Records Checks
 in consultation
– Retirement
 in preparation
– Shared Parental Leave
– Non-teaching Appraisal
Employee Relations Update, Policies and
Law
 Legal Timetable
 From 1 Oct 2014
 Prospective fathers and the partners of mothers to
be will be able to take time off to attend two antenatal appointments
 Employees dismissed for reasons connected with
membership of a reserve force will not need two
years’ service to claim unfair dismissal
 From Late 2014
 Introduction of the DWP Health and Work Service
aimed at providing all employers, employees and
GPs with occupational health guidance to help
employees stay in or to return to work
Twilight Training
 Improving the understanding and skills of
Senior Management Teams, Headteachers and
Governing Bodies – HR can offer
Twilight/Evening Sessions at a school or for a
number of schools
 Investigation Training – a proper investigation for
Disciplinary, Capability or Grievance is essential.
Are those staff and Governors who would conduct
an investigation confident to do so?
 Hearing and Appeal Training – Headteacher and
Appeal Panel Governors. Apart from employee
relations cases, are Governors who would conduct
a Pay Appeal confident to do so?
 Policy Training – for SLT/Office Managers/Bursars
HR Advisory Services
 Advisory Services
– Team Manager is Liz Farrell with Nikki
Anderson as Senior HR Officer
– Nikki will shortly be going on Maternity Leave
so if she is your named officer ten please call
Claire Sims (215509) instead whilst Nikki is off
HR Services for Schools
Health and Safety
update
October 2014
HSE EDUCATION NEWS
As the new school year begins, the HSE is reminding
school leaders to strike the right balance in their
approach to health and safety risks
If you believe some of the stories you hear, health
and safety is all about stopping any activity that
might possibly lead to harm.
Whilst children need to be kept safe, they also should
be able to learn through experience and play conkers
without wearing goggles!
‘Elf and Safety’
Examples of the cases HSE’s Mythbusters
Challenge panel has ruled on:
-Primary school not allowed ladders
The Myth
Primary school not allowed ladders due to health
and safety. Therefore staff use chairs to reach up
when 'working at heights'.
Panel decision
There is nothing in health and safety law that
prevents primary schools from using step
ladders in classrooms
-Hot drinks not allowed on school trips
The Myth
Enquirer's daughter took a hot drink in a flask on
a school trip. Following the trip the enquirer was
told that the school has a no hot drink policy 'due
to Health and Safety'.
Panel decision
Health and safety legislation does not prevent
children from having hot food or drink in their
packed lunches, for consumption in school or on
school trips.
-School bans children from wearing frilly socks
The Myth
It was reported that a school banned children from
wearing frilly socks for health and safety reasons.
Panel decision
There is nothing in health and safety law which stipulates
how long or short frills on school girls' socks should be.
Schools are free to set their own uniform policies but
these decisions shouldn't hide behind spurious references
to health and safety law.
School fines
Some examples of fines imposed on schools
for breaching health and safety legislation-A college was ordered to pay a total of £175,000
in fines and costs after the death of a 3 year old
girl in their nursery care.
-A College was fined £100,000 after an
employee was exposed to high levels of silica
dust as he worked to preserve the sandstone
building.
Sensible Health and Safety
management in schools
So in summary, a sensible approach to health
and safety in schools means to ‘strike the right
balance’ , so that the real risks are managed and
learning opportunities are experienced to the
full.
Sensible health and safety management should
be straightforward, it's just part of good school
leadership.
Sensible controls for
Asbestos in Schools
Asbestos was extensively used as a building material in the
UK from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s.
System buildings constructed during the period 1945 -1980
were widely used for the construction of school
premises. These buildings can have structural columns fire
proofed with asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
HSE has undertaken sample inspections in the education
sector to assess duty holder's compliance with the
Control of Asbestos Regulations.
HR Services for Schools
Payroll update
October 2014
National Minimum Wage and SCP 5
 From 1 October 2014 the national minimum
wage hourly rates took effect as follows:
 adult rate for those aged 21 or over increased from
£6.31 to £6.50
 aged 18 or more but under 21 increased from £5.03 to
£5.13
 16 and 17 year olds, increased from £3.72 to £3.79
 Apprentices, it increased from £2.68 to £2.73
IF YOU HAVE STAFF NOT ON A SCP WHO WILL OTHERWISE BE
BELOW THE NMW PLEASE SUBMIT A PAY 2 TO INCREASE
THEM
 This means SCP 5 had to be increased to
£12,540 pa we will do this automatically
Interrogates
 These reports are very important for schools and for
Payroll as they allow a check that what has been paid is
correct and avoid ongoing under or overpayments if
errors are picked up
 Please therefore send back a signed copy of the report
by 31st OCTOBER EVEN IF THERE ARE NO
CORRECTIONS NEEDED so that only current data is
being used
 Any interrogates received after this date, cannot be
actioned, and pay forms will be needed
 We apologise having to do this, but we need to make
sure that only current data is being changed and we are
sure that you will understand that we need to make sure
changes with peoples pay are accurate
Pension statement calculations
 We have had a number of queries regarding
pension statements for Local Government staff.
The query is usually regarding the hours as it
does not always correspond with the hours they
actually work. The way pensions come to these
hours are as follows:
Actual hours X actual weeks / 52.1429 = hours
HR Services for Schools
Teachers Pension Scheme
2015
October 2014
Teachers Pension Scheme 2015
 The TPS will change from April 2015 to
introduce a career average calculation
and flexibilities
 Posters have been posted on SLN for
schools to display and/or distribute to
teachers
 All teachers should be encouraged to go
to www.teacherspensions.co.uk/keepinformed
National Fraud Initiative
 Individual staff in schools must be given the
notification from payroll that we are complying
with the National Fraud Initiative – this includes
all those off sick, on maternity leave or
otherwise absent
 This is because their payroll information will be
provided to the Audit Commission for the
purposes of preventing and detecting fraud
 If the notification has not been given to all
employees then please ensure that it is so that
we can all meet our legal obligations
Contacting Payroll
 Payroll Services receive a large volume of
information from schools and we are always
looking at how we can best receive this to avoid
risk of it being missed or changes duplicated
 To help with this would schools please:
 Send initial emails to
schoolspayroll@southend.gov.uk
rather than individual members of the team
Avoid sending information in more than once
or, if doing so, ‘cross reference’ to show that
clearly
HR Services for Schools
Human Resources
Health check
October 2014
HR Updates 2014/2015
 Wednesday 4th February 2015, 1pm to
3.30pm, Tickfield, Darwin Room
 Wednesday 13th May 2015, 1pm to 3.30pm,
Tickfield, Darwin Room