North Lanarkshire Council
I am still receiving emails on a daily basis asking for more information about the back pay that is due to Home Support workers in North Lanarkshire.
"When will I receive my letter?" and "How much is my offer worth?" are typical questions that people ask, but for obvious reasons they are not going to be answered by email or over the phone on a piecemeal basis.
As I explained on the blog site the other day, individual offer letters are in the process of being sent out to all A4ES clients in North Lanarkshire via HBJ Gateley.
If anyone needs to update their personal details (e.g. a new address), they can do so by sending an email to A4ES at the following address: enquiries@action4equality.co.uk
A4ES and HBJ Gateley are working flat out to get all the paperwork sent out as quickly as possible.
So please avoid raising unnecessary queries, by phone or email, as this just slows everything down.
North Lanarkshire Update (14/11/16)
Great news for Home Support workers in North Lanarkshire!
The Council has finally 'signed off' on the Settlement Agreement which deals with the back pay that is due to Home Support workers, as a result of the late-running job evaluation (JE) review.
The news has only just arrived this afternoon which means that letters will start to go out to A4ES clients tomorrow via HBJ Gateley.
So readers in North Lanarkshire can put away their protest placards as a demonstration outside Council headquarters in Motherwell would now appear to be unnecessary - although my thanks to all the readers who sent messages of support.
Keep you eyes on the blog site for any further news in the days ahead and remember - the sooner that the completed paperwork is returned, the sooner it can passed on to North Lanarkshire Council for payment.
North Lanarkshire Update (13/11/16)
A kind reader has shared a reply from Anne Burns, head of human resources at North Lanarkshire Council, regarding the long-awaited back pay payments to Home Support workers.
The relevant part of the response states:
"For those individuals with an equal pay claim, and who are awaiting a final settlement payment, this information has now been passed to their legal representatives, who will administer the Settlement Agreement process direct with their clients."
I have to tell people that this is completely untrue - the Settlement Agreement forms part of the overall settlement package and has still not been formally approved by North Lanarkshire Council.
The financial data has been provided (after weeks of delay) and individual settlement letters from A4ES/HBJ Gateley are ready to go out, but these cannot be released until the Council confirms its acceptance of the Settlement Agreement.
"For those individuals with an equal pay claim, and who are awaiting a final settlement payment, this information has now been passed to their legal representatives, who will administer the Settlement Agreement process direct with their clients."
I have to tell people that this is completely untrue - the Settlement Agreement forms part of the overall settlement package and has still not been formally approved by North Lanarkshire Council.
The financial data has been provided (after weeks of delay) and individual settlement letters from A4ES/HBJ Gateley are ready to go out, but these cannot be released until the Council confirms its acceptance of the Settlement Agreement.
A4ES and HBJ Gateley have already approved the document, so the latest hold-up is entirely down to the senior official and politicians at North Lanarkshire Council.
If the present debacle is not resolved by tomorrow (Monday 14 November 2016), I propose a demonstration outside Council headquarters in Motherwell.
