Task and Finish
Task and Finish is a concept alien to many people – but it's part and parcel of Glasgow’s Workforce Pay and Benefits Review (WBPR), the pet name given to Glasgow’s ‘in-house’ job evaluation (JE) scheme.
Remember, Glasgow turned its back on the nationally recommended (and tried and tested) JE scheme in favour of its own home grown solution.
So, what’s the rumpus? Well, task and finish is a working practice, but one that applies only to traditional male jobs – such as refuse workers, gardeners and suchlike – the kind of jobs that have benefited from bonus payments down the years.
Most council workers have jobs with set start and finish times – say between 9am and 5pm, with maybe an hour off for lunch.
Many part-time jobs work a straight shift with no formal breaks – say a four hour shift between 9am and 1pm or 5pm and 9pm.
The key point is that the hours are fixed – and the work is done between start and finishing times – whether you’re a catering worker, a home carer, a classroom assistant or a clerical worker.
But if you’re in a task and finish job things are different – if you skate through the job in less time than you’ve been given to do the work – then you’re deemed to have ‘finished’ work for the day - and can head home, free as a bird!
Although this begs the question: “How come these arrangements only apply to male dominated jobs?”
And to that there is no good answer. Because in female dominated council jobs ‘task and finish’ simply isn’t allowed. If a carer or a cleaner or a classroom assistant announced:
“I’ve finished all my work early – think I’ll just shove off home now/head for the pub/go and do the shopping!”, then that person would be up on a disciplinary charge.
Yet, in Glasgow – to add insult to injury - task and finish jobs are doubly rewarded with extra pay – under the Workforce Pay and Benefits Review (WPBR).
And just like working full-time, being in a task and finish job means you get an extra 7 WPBR points – worth over £800 a year – but women’s jobs don’t qualify.
Who said it’s a man’s world?
Remember, Glasgow turned its back on the nationally recommended (and tried and tested) JE scheme in favour of its own home grown solution.
So, what’s the rumpus? Well, task and finish is a working practice, but one that applies only to traditional male jobs – such as refuse workers, gardeners and suchlike – the kind of jobs that have benefited from bonus payments down the years.
Most council workers have jobs with set start and finish times – say between 9am and 5pm, with maybe an hour off for lunch.
Many part-time jobs work a straight shift with no formal breaks – say a four hour shift between 9am and 1pm or 5pm and 9pm.
The key point is that the hours are fixed – and the work is done between start and finishing times – whether you’re a catering worker, a home carer, a classroom assistant or a clerical worker.
But if you’re in a task and finish job things are different – if you skate through the job in less time than you’ve been given to do the work – then you’re deemed to have ‘finished’ work for the day - and can head home, free as a bird!
Although this begs the question: “How come these arrangements only apply to male dominated jobs?”
And to that there is no good answer. Because in female dominated council jobs ‘task and finish’ simply isn’t allowed. If a carer or a cleaner or a classroom assistant announced:
“I’ve finished all my work early – think I’ll just shove off home now/head for the pub/go and do the shopping!”, then that person would be up on a disciplinary charge.
Yet, in Glasgow – to add insult to injury - task and finish jobs are doubly rewarded with extra pay – under the Workforce Pay and Benefits Review (WPBR).
And just like working full-time, being in a task and finish job means you get an extra 7 WPBR points – worth over £800 a year – but women’s jobs don’t qualify.
Who said it’s a man’s world?
