Questions and Answers

I missed all the excitement on Facebook yesterday about the Council's settlement offers, the JES and 'Why aren't we getting our Equal Pay as of yesterday?'.

Now the reason for this is that I had a very busy day and other important things to do, but if I had the chance I would have posted something like:

• Lots of these questions have been explained previously on my blog site. For example, why the new JES is taking so long to introduce - until 2021 possibly
• I don't have enough hours in the day to write a new answer every time someone can't be bothered to keep up with what's already been explained on my blog - or elsewhere for that matter
• Moaning or complaining doesn't help - not least because we're all doing our level best to get everything done as quickly as possible
• More advice about the settlement process is being prepared all the time, as I write in fact  

So 'lighten up' Facebook users and if you've got a point to make, try and be positive rather than negative, as this always helps.

More to follow soon.  

  

Questions and Answers (14/02/19)

Karl and his team in the A4ES office continue to receive lots of telephone enquiries from people who ask:

"How far does my equal pay claim go back?"

Now I explained this in some detail in a previous post which I am publishing again below because responding to these phone queries takes up lots of valuable time, especially when Karl and his team have other important things to be getting on with.

So unless claimants have a very urgent question or issue, please don't ring the A4ES office - you can check your own client information online at: www.a4es.co.uk - the important thing is to ensure is that your personal and contact details are up to date.

But just remember that no one's equal pay can go back in time beyond 01 January 2007 - no one's claim can jump back more than 5 years - and the clock only starts ticking only once a claim has actually been registered.

  

Questions and Answers (31/01/19)

I said I would provide a more detailed explanation on this business of calculating the length of an equal pay claim.

1) The settlement period starts from January 2007 because this is the year when the WPBR was originally introduced - so no one can go back beyond January 2007.

2) The end date of the settlement period has still to be agreed with Glasgow City Council, but this will be somewhere between 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2018.

3) Claims already registered in January 2007 continued to 'add on' time going forward until the agreed settlement date,  so long as the claimants remained employed with Glasgow City Council.

4) If a claimant left the Council's before the agreed settlement date, their claim goes up to the last day of their employment with GCC.

5) If a claim was registered after January 2007, the claim can jump back in time for a maximum of 5 years - assuming the claimant had 5 years service at the time.

6) For example, a claim registered in January 2012 would jump back to January 2007 - and would also start to 'add on' time going forward from January 2012 up to the agreed settlement date.

7) Any claims registered later than January 2012 cannot go all the way back to the beginning because the '5 year rule' is laid down by Scots law and applies to all Glasgow equal pay cases. 

8) The period beyond the settlement date has still to be resolved in future discussions with Glasgow City Council since the WPBR is still in operation in 2019 and will not be replaced for some time, possibly in 2021.

9) Let's assume the WPBR is replaced on 31 March 2021 and that the current settlement date goes up to 31 March 2018 - this leaves a 3 year 'gap' period period which is not covered by the current settlement agreement and may result in GCC employees pursuing additional equal pay claims in 2021.

I hope this makes sense, but I'm happy to give it another crack if anything is less than clear.

The key points are that the equal pay 'clock' only starts ticking once a claim has actually been registered and the maximum period of any claim is 12 years - assuming a settlement date of 31 March 2018.

  

Questions and Answers (30/01/19)

I received a nice email from a regular reader of the blog who as well as passing on some kind words, asked the following follow-up question. 

Hi Mark 

I would like to say a great big thank you for every thing you have done in the fight for equal pay for the women of Glasgow 

I would also like to say thank you for keeping us up to date via your blog it's been truly helpful and informative and on that subject 

Could l please ask you could you explain the answer to question 2 (iv) how many years are claims going back ?

I don't really understand that answer

Thank you again

H

I'll do my best to explain this in more detail tomorrow.

  

Glasgow - Questions & Answers (29/01/19)

Here's the first set of Question and Answers on the Glasgow City Council equal pay settlement.

Equal Pay Update – 2019

Q&A

1. When will my offer come out?

• Once the Central Administration Committee approves the deal. council finance and administrative staff will process the pay data of each claimant to produce

a settlement offer. Due to the number of claims and complexity of the pay system, this is likely to take several weeks, so offers are unlikely to be Issued

before June 2019.

2. How was my offer worked out?

Your offer is worked out based on:

i. The post(s) you have held with the council

ii. The length of time in each post

iii. The number of hours worked in the post,

iv. Subject to a maximum 5 years back from the date of your claim(s)

3. How will I know what my offer ls worth, is its full value and If less how much less?

• If the council makes you an offer, you will receive detailed legal advice explaining the offer. The settlement is based on legal analysis by the claimant side lawyers, with each element of the deal being measured against possible outcomes in tribunal.

• The agreement reached is a realistic estimate of what each claimant would have received in court.

4. Will I get to know my comparator?

• The settlement does not use Individual comparators as ii was too difficult to Identify an appropriate comparator. Instead calculations are based on grade.

5. Do I need to advise the tax office?

• No, the council Is in contact with HMRC and will agree an amount in respect of all liabilities for lax and national insurance.

6. What will my tax liability be?

• The lax liability will be agreed between the council and HMRC

7. How long will it take for the money to be paid?

• It is likely that payments will be made by July 2019.

8. Will this affect my benefits?

• Depending of the amount or compensation, your social security benefits may be affected. You should seek advice from a welfare rights advice service via Glasgow Advice and Information Network (GAIN)

9. This settlement only covers one period; how will the next settlement be calculated?

• The current settlement preserves all of your rights for the period after settlement until the introduction of a new pay and grading scheme.

• When the outcomes of the new job evaluation are known, probably in 2021, we will engage with the council's representatives to settle the remaining period.

10. Can I refuse this offer and what happens if I do?

• The offer Is considered a reasonable settlement of your claim and is being recommended by all off the claimants' representatives.

• The offer is made on the basis that the claimants' representatives will stop representing those who refuse to accept our recommendation.

• It would then be open to you to continue with your claim in the Employment Tribunal at your own risk and expense.

11. Are male claimants Included?

• Men in female dominated roles and men who held roles that can rely on female dominated roles are included. Men In roles that are part of the male dominated comparator roles will not be included as their claims did not have a reasonable chance of success. Morton Fraser will be writing out soon to claimants who are not included with a detailed explanation.

Unison has kindly done the work involved in putting this document together after consulting with the other Claimant organisations - so thanks to Unison for their efforts on this occasion.

Now one question often leads to another in my experience so I imagine there will be more Question and Answer documents issued as the settlement process unfolds.

If readers have any suggestions to make, send these to me or to your own representative organisation