North Lanarkshire - Settlement Process
Lots of calls and e-mails are still coming in from readers in North Lanarkshire - about the settlement process which is well underway.
Yet again a significant number of claimants have not been made revised offers - for reasons that are not fully understood - because the council has still to explain its position.
But there is no need to panic or worry.
Because as far as Action 4 Equality Scotland is concerned all valid claims - i.e. for people in predominantly female former manual worker jobs - are covered by the recent agreement reached with North Lanarkshire Council.
At this stage the council is not willing to settle the claims of former APT&C employees - nor those of male workers in predominantly male posts, e.g. school janitors - so these cases will continue through the Employment Tribunals until a settlement is achieved.
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As things stand every individual settlement query has already been recorded - and has already been raised with North Lanarkshire Council.
The ball is on the council's court at the moment - they have to respond and confirm their intentions - but things are clearly complicated because of the holiday period which is in full swing.
In addition there are lots of queries raised by claimants (who have been made offers) about their hours - and again these issues have all been recorded individually and then raised with the council.
But queries about hours will need to be properly investigated by the council - and will take some time to resolve - weeks rather than days, if pay records and other documents need to be checked.
In the meantime, everyone should sit tight and wait on these various issues working their way through the system.
Sending e-mails every two or three days or ringing the office - asking for an update - won't speed the process up - in fact it just slows the process down.
Everything that can be done is being done - to resolve all the outstanding queries as quickly as possible.
Yet again a significant number of claimants have not been made revised offers - for reasons that are not fully understood - because the council has still to explain its position.
But there is no need to panic or worry.
Because as far as Action 4 Equality Scotland is concerned all valid claims - i.e. for people in predominantly female former manual worker jobs - are covered by the recent agreement reached with North Lanarkshire Council.
At this stage the council is not willing to settle the claims of former APT&C employees - nor those of male workers in predominantly male posts, e.g. school janitors - so these cases will continue through the Employment Tribunals until a settlement is achieved.
.
As things stand every individual settlement query has already been recorded - and has already been raised with North Lanarkshire Council.
The ball is on the council's court at the moment - they have to respond and confirm their intentions - but things are clearly complicated because of the holiday period which is in full swing.
In addition there are lots of queries raised by claimants (who have been made offers) about their hours - and again these issues have all been recorded individually and then raised with the council.
But queries about hours will need to be properly investigated by the council - and will take some time to resolve - weeks rather than days, if pay records and other documents need to be checked.
In the meantime, everyone should sit tight and wait on these various issues working their way through the system.
Sending e-mails every two or three days or ringing the office - asking for an update - won't speed the process up - in fact it just slows the process down.
Everything that can be done is being done - to resolve all the outstanding queries as quickly as possible.
