3 September 2024

Update from Glasgow City Council on Job Evaluation and new pay and grading structure

Banner with graphic of a checklist, arrows and speech bubbles with text Colleague update

The Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, Susanne Millar has today (Tuesday 3 September) issued an update on the Council’s plan for a new Council Family-wide pay and grading structure, which will include all Glasgow Life colleagues. You can read the update in full below.

The main messages for you in this communication can be summarised as:

  • Job Evaluation information on Primary Benchmark jobs is being shared with the joint Operational Steering Group (OSG). This is a very important and positive step in the programme.
  • The Council and Trade Unions agree that the implementation date previously targeted must be revised to ensure we get the new arrangements right.
  • This will mean that your pay will not be changing in February 2025 as previously indicated.
  • We want to be sure that we have high confidence before confirming a revised target date – we will do this as quickly as we can and keep you updated at every stage.
  • When we finalise the pay and grading structure, we will tell you what this will mean for you. At that stage we will confirm:
    • Whether you are due any backdated pay. This will apply from October 2023.
    • Whether you will be due any elements of pay protection and what this means for you.
  • The Council and the Trade Unions are committed to completing this work as soon as possible and ensuring we pay equally for work of equal value. 

Full message from Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, Susanne Millar

Colleagues,

I want to provide you with an update on Job Evaluation and our latest plans for a new pay and grading structure (PGS).

As we all know, Job Evaluation is the foundation for our future pay and grading structure and the way we meet our aim to make sure we pay equally for work of equal value. The Council and Trade Unions are committed to achieving this aim with all possible haste and integrity.  

Our colleagues in the Job Evaluation team, which includes nominees from the three recognised Trade Unions, have been working to finalise the evaluation of Primary Benchmark jobs – these are the most common jobs in the Council Family, covering around 80% of employees in scope. The scale of this task is significant and work continues to evaluate Secondary Benchmark and Unique roles.

We can now confirm that the initial information on the evaluations of Primary Benchmark jobs will be provided to the Job Evaluation Operational Steering Group (OSG), a joint forum of Trade Union representatives and Council service/ALEO management. This will allow consultation to start in earnest between Trade Unions and the Council on the new PGS, following a period of dialogue at the OSG.

Delivering the Primary Benchmark information is a key milestone on our route to a new pay and grading structure, but regrettably we have not met our planned timescale. This means that we will need to revise our date for the implementation of the new pay and grading structure, which cannot now take place in February 2025.

The Council, Trade Union colleagues and our Independent Technical Advisor all understand the need to amend the implementation date and agree that it is essential. This is due to the scale and complexity of the work required and to ensure the integrity of the process and outcomes.

I want to be very open with you about the challenges we face in setting a new implementation date at this point. We have started evaluations of Secondary and Unique roles, but at this stage it is it is only possible to estimate the timescales for completion; we must allow sufficient time for Trade Union consultation and give us all the best chance of reaching an agreement on the new arrangements.   

Progress depends on efforts and input from everyone involved, including employees, service management, Trade Union colleagues and the Programme Team.  We will work closely with Trade Union colleagues to ensure revised detailed plans include their input and we will update you on progress at each milestone stage.

May I reassure you as previously communicated, when we finalise the Council’s proposed pay and grading structure, we will tell you what this will mean for you, on an individual basis and confirm any elements of pay protection and back dating of pay, to the effective date of 15 October 2023, which are appropriate to you.

I know that this could be an unsettling period for you, but I want to stress that this delay is necessary to meet our commitment to paying everyone equally for equal work – everyone is committed to moving this forward and I will let you know as soon as possible when we can confirm timescales for delivery. Spending appropriate time on evaluating jobs through consistent and thorough job evaluation, in consultation with our Trade Unions, is an essential part of meeting this commitment.

More Information

You can find frequently asked questions on the Council’s website here. If you have further questions, you can email JE-SUPPORT@glasgow.gov.uk. Please be aware that the Council is unable to answer questions about individual outcomes as it is not yet at that stage.  

Regards,

 

Susanne Millar

Chief Executive

Glasgow City Council

 

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