Glasgow's Shame Over ALEOs
Glasgow City Council appealed to the Court of Session in an attempt to prevent the female workers employed in ALEOs such as Cordia from being able to compare their earnings to much higher paid male employees in other parts of the council.
Here's a commentary from the EHRC on the Court of Session judgment which threw Glasgow's appeal out on its ear, but had the council succeeded with its cynical argument Home Helps and many others would have been stopped from pursuing equal pay claims.
Sometimes I wonder how the Glasgow politicians and senior officials behind this terrible strategy can live with themselves - they must have no sense shame.
Not for the first time I take my hat off to the judges at the Court of Session who stood up for the 'little guy' yet again in the long fight for equal pay.
Court of Session judgment in Glasgow City Council ALEO equal pay appeal
The Court has upheld the judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal that Glasgow City Council are associated employers for the purposes of equal pay law and that the female claimants working for City Parking and Cordia can compare their pay with that of men still working for the Council.
The issue at the heart of this litigation was whether the claimants, who work for City Parking (Glasgow) and Cordia (Services) LLP, should be allowed to compare their pay with male employees working for the Council. The claimants used to work for the Council. However, they were transferred to City Parking and Cordia when these arm’s length external organisations (ALEOs) were established to carry out functions which were formerly carried out by the Council directly.
Under the Equality Act 2010 an employee can claim equal pay with a comparator of the opposite sex who is doing like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value. However, the comparator must be employed by the same or an associated employer at the same establishment or workplace or if they are employed at a different establishment or workplace, then there must be common terms and conditions between employees. This is referred to as the ‘same employment’ test.
Under European Union (EU) law differences in pay must be attributable to a single source which is capable of remedying any unlawful discrimination. If this is different from the ‘same employment’ test, EU law may be applied to produce a remedy.
The Court of Session agreed with the EAT that the Council is an associated employer of both City Parking and Cordia and that men employed by the Council are to be treated as in the same employment with women employed by the ALEOs.
The Court went on to find that the correct approach to the single source question, as explained by Lord Justice Mummery in Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs v Robertson [2005] ICR 750, is to determine whether there is a single source setting the relevant terms for the relevant employees and “which is responsible for the inequality and which could restore equal treatment”.
The Council’s appeal was refused and the equal pay claims were remitted back to the tribunal to proceed.
The SNP-led administration in Glasgow announced recently that Cordia will be dismantled and that the pay and conditions of staff will be brought back into line with those of other GCC employees.
Now this is a good thing if you ask me, but it's also an admission that Cordia staff have been treated as second class citizens for years, as a result of the City Council trying to escape its obligations over equal pay.
Glasgow's 'Not Fit For Purpose' ALEOs (22/02/18)
A kind reader from Glasgow drew my attention to this article from the Evening Times which reports that the City Council is planning to dismantle Cordia, an Arms' Length External Organisation (ALEO) which was set up in an effort to help GCC escape its obligations over equal pay.
Now this is a good move if you ask me and if Cordia is now regarded as "no longer fit for the purpose it was set up for" what does that say about Glasgow's WPBR pay scheme which has been judged as 'unfit for purpose' by the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court?
Regular readers will recall that Glasgow's current chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell is credited with setting up the City Council's ALEOs.
See post below dated 17/02/18 - 'Glasgow's Shame Over ALEOs'
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16040065.Thousands_of_Cordia_staff_set_to_be_brought_back_under_council_control/
SNP in Glasgow set to bring thousands of Cordia staff back under council control
By Stewart Paterson - Evening Times
Moira Duffy, a home carer with Cordia pictured with Mary Jenkins age 86 at home in Yoker. Moira is holding her iPhone that has the CareSafe mobile app installed on it. Photograph by Colin Mearns21 April 2017
SCOTLAND’S biggest Aleo is to be brought back under the control of Glasgow City Council.
The SNP administration at the council is preparing for the break up of Cordia which employs thousands of home carers, school janitors and runs the council catering service Encore.
It said Cordia is no longer fit for the purpose it was set up for and is “unwieldy and inefficient” with too many different functions under one organisation.
If a review of Aleos recommends the move then the council is setting aside £2.5m to facilitate the switch.
The janitors will transfer to Development and Regeneration Services, the home carers to Health and Social Care and Encore will become part of Glasgow Life.
Feargal Dalton, the City Workforce Convenor, said it would help with harmonising staff contracts with most of the equal pay cases being Cordia home carers as well as improving the service.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15847638.Delight_as_Glasgow_City_Council_votes_to_end_long_running_equal_pay_battle/
Mr Dalton said: “The City Government has long believed that Cordia has outlived any usefulness those who created it believed it had. We said in our manifesto that we would seek to dismantle Labour’s inefficiencies and wanted a new relationship with our workforce. Laying out the financial plans to bring Cordia back into the council proper is part of that.
“Home carers employed within Cordia have been those most affected by the equal pay mess and legacy of inequalities left by previous administrations for the City Government to clear up. The harmonisation of terms and conditions is part of the overall strategy to resolve this."
Glasgow's Shame Over ALEOs (17/02/18)
Here's a little reminder that the appalling decision to set up Glasgow's ALEOs (Arms Length External Organisations) was headed up by the City Council's current chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell - see article below from Holyrood Magazine.
Following a two year secondment as deputy director of social work services, she returned to corporate services in 2007, serving as assistant director and head of external governance as the council established its ALEOs.
Now since the real reason for setting up ALEOs in the first place was a shameful attempt to circumvent the Glasgow City Council's obligations over equal pay, surely it's time close these organisations down.
Yet again the Court of Session sent Glasgow City Council packing and if you ask me, the politicians and officials behind this crazy scheme owe the workforce an apology.
Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (09/01/18)
Here's an interesting article from 'Holyrood Magazine' which was published back in 2014 just as Annemarie O'Donnell's was appointed as the new and first woman chief executive of Glasgow City Council.
The upshot is that Annemarie has been in a variety of senior positions within the council for a very long time - through the Christmas 2005 'capped' settlement offers, the introduction of the WPBR in 2007 and the establishment of Glasgow's ALEOs - before succeeding Ian Drummond as executive director of corporate services and then George Black as CEO.
What puzzles me though is why there has been such a long and hard fight for equal pay in Glasgow when the City Council has such powerful women in its senior ranks?
Regular readers will know that Carole Forrest succeeded Annemarie as executive director of corporate services (which deals with Freedom of Information requests) and that Glasgow now has a woman Lord Provost (Eva Bolander) and a woman council leader (Susan Aitken).
The political changes at the top of the City Council are relatively recent, of course, but isn't it remarkable that the battle over equal pay has been so fierce in Glasgow - even with women officials in the most senior positions.
New chief executive for Glasgow City Council
Written by Kate Shannon on 12 November 2014 in News
Annemarie O’Donnell has been appointed
Glasgow City Council has appointed a new chief executive to replace George Black, who retires next month.
Annemarie O’Donnell, who has been the council’s executive director of corporate services since 2011, was chosen for the role last week.
Black announced his retirement in August and will leave the council on 11 December.
Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “The quality of candidates was exceptionally high but Annemarie brings a wealth of experience, passion and vision to the role and was the unanimous choice of the interview panel.
"There has never been a more exciting time to work in Glasgow, with the city in the spotlight like never before following the best ever Commonwealth Games and the signing of Scotland’s first city deal. I am in no doubt that Annemarie is the best possible choice to lead our dedicated and talented staff through the next chapter in our city’s long and proud history.
“I also want to take this opportunity to thank George Black for his exceptional work on behalf of the city and wish him every happiness and success in the future.”
I believe we have the energy, the ideas and, crucially, the best people to meet those challenges
O’Donnell, 49, is a qualified solicitor and a member of the Law Society of Scotland. She has two adult children and her husband is a lawyer specialising in criminal law.
After joining Glasgow District Council from a legal practice in the east end of Glasgow in 1991, she worked as a solicitor and then senior solicitor in a team focusing on construction, housing and planning.
Following local government reorganisation in 1996, she was promoted to chief solicitor, leading the council’s work on commercial contracts, procurement, planning and environmental law.
In 2003, O’Donnell was appointed assistant head of legal and administrative services, a new post that saw her take responsibility for the running of elections for the first time – along with committee services, registrars, litigation, licensing and corporate law.
Following a two year secondment as deputy director of social work services, she returned to corporate services in 2007, serving as assistant director and head of external governance as the council established its ALEOs.
She said: “I am delighted and humbled to have been appointed. This is a really exciting time for Glasgow. There is no doubt the next few years will be challenging for everyone in local government. But I believe we have the energy, the ideas and, crucially, the best people to meet those challenges.”
Read Holyrood’s full interview with George Black here.
Glasgow's Shame Over ALEOs (14/02/18)
How's this for a nonsense story from the Evening Times?
Services provided by ALEOs are part of Glasgow City Council yet they are being spoken about here as if they 'owe' the council money!
Glasgow's ALEOs were set up by a previous Labour administration in a effort to escape the council's obligations over equal pay.
At the time, Glasgow argued that ALEOs were completely separate employers and independent legal entities which meant (they said) that workers employed in ALEOs could not compare their pay to comparable (male) workers in other parts of the council.
A4ES challenged this argument in the Court of Session and won which is a good thing if you ask me, because were it not for this ruling the fight for equal pay in Glasgow would have been stopped in its tracks years ago.
But it just goes to show you what sneaky moves and dirty tricks these senior officials get up to given half a chance.
As everyone now knows, staff working for Cordia who predominantly women, of course, are employed on poorer pay and conditions than those working in other male dominated areas of the council, e.g. Land Services and City Building!
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15989868.Aleos_come_up_short_on_cash_for_Glasgow_City_Council/
Aleos come up short on cash for Glasgow City Council
By Stewart Paterson - Evening Times
Cordia, the council’s catering and care service, is said to be £2m down on projections
GLASGOW City Council’s Aleos have a £2 million shortfall in the last three months, according to the latest report.
The monitoring report into the ten Arms Length External Organisations owned by the council shows they are coming up short of the budgeted for cash expectations.
The firms, that are intended to deliver a discount, meaning cash goes back to the council, are not making as much as anticipated.
The biggest deficits are showing for Cordia the council’s catering and care firm and Glasgow Life which runs museums, libraries and leisure centres.
Cordia is £2m down while Glasgow Life is £1.3m lower than projected.
The reports said Glasgow Life was struggling with income from its Glasgow Sport arm.
It stated: Actual income in Sport is lower than anticipated and continues to be extremely challenging.”
The Aleo is predicting a deficit of £1m for the year compared to a budget expectation is would break even.
The report added: “Glasgow Life are putting in place various interventions to manage this through underspends across the service.”
Cordia has a surplus of £31,000 against a budgeted for surplus of £2,059,000. The monitoring report found that the catering and technical care operations were doing better than forecast but the home care and facilities sections were below expectations.
It is £1m lower than the expected surplus of almost £3.5m.
The council’s budget expects income form the Aleos termed discounts totalling more than £14m.
The report stated: “ Forecast shortfalls in their surplus are reporter for Cordia, City Property and City Building which is likely to impact on the discount which is due to be returned to the council. City Property and City Building are mitigating this shortfall with the use of reserves and carry forwards.”
The council is due to set the budget in the next few weeks with further cuts expected to departments.
A spokesman for the City Council said A spokesman said: “Both organisations are on track to return a surplus to the council, however, the report details that, at quarter three, these are below the levels budgeted at the start of the financial year.
“These are known issues that are taken account of in the council’s overall financial position.”
Glasgow Senior Officials (20/02/18)
I submitted a freedom of information request (FoI) to Glasgow City Council in which I asked for details of all posts held by Annemarie O'Donnell and Carole Forrest, the council's two most senior officials.
Here's the response I received.
Annemarie O'Donnell
1998 - 2003: Chief Solicitor
2003 - 2007: Assistant Head of Legal and Admin
2007 - 2014: Head of External Governance
2007 - 2014: Executive Director of Corporate Services
2014 - 2015: Chief Executive Designate
2015 - 2018: Chief Executive
Carole Forrest
1998 - 2003: Solicitor
2003 - 2007: Assistant Chief Solicitor
2007 - 2007: Chief Solicitor
2007 - 2008: Executive Legal Manager
2008 - 2011: Head of Council 2014 Team (Commonwealth Games)
2011 - 2014: Assistant Director of Corporate Services
2014 - 2016: Acting Executive Director
2016 - 2018: Director of Governance and Solicitor to the Council
Now both Annemarie and Carole joined GCC at the same time in 1998 and they were both in senior positions throughout the period when the City Council dug itself into a dirty great big hole by its handling of 'unequal pay'.
Tough questions are now being asked of officials over the City Council's pay arrangements, the creation of the WPBR and setting up of Glasgow's ALEOs - quite rightly, if you ask me.
Annemarie's immediate predecessor (George Black) retired from the City Council's employment a few years ago and the former Executive Director of Corporate Services (Ian Drummond) is no longer around either - having retired in 2010/11 with a big boost to his pension after being awarded 'added years'.
So the buck now stops with Annemarie O'Donnell and Carole Forrest which is quite ironic.
Because as I've said before the fight for equal pay in Glasgow has been a long hard battle and the City Council has been 'defending the indefensible' for years - despite the fact that two women occupy the council's two most senior positions.
