SSOULBU
NUT SOULBURY NEWS
SOULBURY PAY UPDATE
MARCH 2009
The Soulbury Committee met on 23 March 2009 to reopen negotiations
on the September 2008 pay agreement. Agreement was reached to
produce an additional 0.3 per cent pay increase on top of the original
2.45 per cent previously agreed, backdated to September 2008.
Agreement was also reached on a revised pay structure for Scale A
educational psychologists and updated job profiles for the three
Soulbury groups.
2008 SOULBURY PAY AGREEMENT
The Soulbury Committee met on 23 March 2009 to reopen negotiations on the
September 2008 pay agreement. The 2008 Soulbury pay agreement, reached in
November, provided for a 2.45 per cent increase effective from 1 September 2008.
The pay increase was in line with that for school teachers. The Officers’ Side of
Soulbury reluctantly accepted the offer given the deteriorating economic climate.
The agreement did provide, however, that the Soulbury unions could return to the
issue of pay in the light of developments elsewhere. When local government workers
covered by the NJC for Local Government services were awarded a 2.75 per cent
pay increase following ACAS arbitration, the Soulbury Officers’ Side wrote to the
national employers asking for negotiations to be reopened.
At the Soulbury meeting on 23 March, the Leader of the Officers’ Side, Christine
Blower, argued that there was no justification for Soulbury officers to be treated less
favourably than other local government workers. Although there are no formal
linkages between Soulbury and other negotiations, she insisted that they should
receive at least the same total pay increase.
After long discussions, the employers eventually gave way and agreed to pay the
additional 0.3 per cent. That will be added to the original 2.45 pay increase, making a
total pay rise of 2.75 per cent backdated to 1 September 2008.
Christine Blower, NUT Acting General Secretary and Leader of the Soulbury Officers’
Side, said "We are very pleased to have secured a higher 2008 pay increase but
action is still needed to close the pay gap between Soulbury staff and senior
teachers, their traditional pay comparators."
A Soulbury Committee joint circular setting out the revised pay scales from 1
September 2009 will be issued shortly.
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REVISED PAY STRUCTURE FOR EDCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
An agreement was also reached to restructure the educational psychologists’ salary
scale A with effect from 1 September 2009.
The new structure:
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shortens the scale, allowing faster progression to the maximum of the pay scale
and providing bigger annual incremental increases;
offers higher minimum starting pay for newly qualified educational psychologists;
maintains existing pay entitlements for experience and for those educational
psychologists with SPA and discretionary points; and
includes assimilation provisions that guarantee the position of existing
postholders.
In future educational psychologists will be placed on an individual six point scale.
“Discretionary points” (which extend individual pay scales) will be replaced by
discretion over the choice of six point scale used. The separate provision to receive
up to three further pay points under the SPA system remains in place. The
assimilation provisions will protect previously awarded discretionary points and SPA
points. Provision has also been agreed for local authorities to pay additional
allowances to educational psychologists who are required to supervise trainees.
Andrew Morris, NUT head of negotiations and Soulbury Officers’ Side Secretary,
commented: “This is a complicated agreement but it delivers the prospect of faster
pay progression and higher overall pay for EPs – a significant success for the NUT in
leading the Soulbury negotiations”.
JOB PROFILES
Soulbury also reached agreement on revised and updated job profiles for the three
Soulbury groups:
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Educational Improvement Professionals – the revised job profile for this group
provides updated descriptions of the range of duties and responsibilities
undertaken by the four categories of EIPS. There is also a general statement
setting out considerations to be taken into account by local authorities in
determining their organisational andp ay structure.
Young People’s/Community Service Managers – as well as agreeing a
revised range of duties for managers of youth services (previously called
youth and community service officers), agreement was also reached on pay
differentials. Youth Managers will benefit from an agreement that the pay
differential between Soulbury-paid youth service managers and any JNC
Professional Range youth workers they supervise should be the equivalent of
at least one full increment on the Soulbury pay scale.
Educational Psychologists – the job profile includes an updated qualification
structure for EPs and updates the duties undertaken by the three categories
of EPs.
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OTHER ISSUES
The Soulbury Committee will carry out a joint survey on workload during the Summer
Term. The survey will ask questions about hours worked, workload and
responsibilities, staffing levels and annual leave. Authorities will be expected to
consult their Soulbury paid staff when completing the survey. NUT Soulbury
members should make sure that their employing LA knows the name of an NUT
representative who can be contacted and consulted about this and other issues
affecting Soulbury officers
The Soulbury Officers’ Side continues to pursue the issue of car user allowance
schemes. The Employers’ Side has agreed to consider our concerns about changes
that a number of local authorities have made to their schemes and the impact on
Soulbury officers. Discussions will continue on evidence to be submitted by the
Officers’ Side.
NEXT STEPS TO BE TAKEN
Local Secretaries and NUT Soulbury-paid representatives should take steps to
ensure that the revised Soulbury pay scales are implemented by authorities without
delay and that the backdated arrears of pay are included in the April 2009 pay
packets if at all possible.
They should also ensure that employing authorities implement the revised job profiles
and make arrangements so that the new pay structure for main scale educational
psychologists is introduced on 1 September 2009.
An NUT Soulbury Digest will be issued shortly to all NUT Soulbury-paid members
giving details of the above agreement.
NUT Salaries, Superannuation, Education Economics Dept.
March 2009
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