Do You Want To Know A Secret?
I missed all the excitement recently when a bit of a 'ding-dong' broke out on the equal pay Facebook page over the Claimants' settlement offers.
At issue was what some Claimants 'think they know' and what they 'think they should be entitled to know' about other people's settlements.
Well, the answer is that A4ES cannot discuss or compare one client's settlement details with a 'third party' because the process has to remain confidential to comply with the law and the UK's data protection regulations.
So discussing other people's private business is simply not going to happen and no one at A4ES is going to share a client's settlement details with anyone other than the individual concerned.
If an A4ES client has any issue with their own settlement offer, a query needs to be raised in writing and will be fully answered, in writing, as you would expect.
Stefan Cross explained the position in the following Facebook post - it's sound advice and anyone who refuses to listen to reason is making a big mistake, of you ask me.
The point is that some things are private and confidential for a good reason - and that applies here.
Stefan Cross
There is so much about this post that is depressing
It contains the biggest problem of comparison - what matters to M is not that she gets what’s she’s entitled to but that her colleagues don’t get more than M thinks they are entitled to, or more than her.
Somehow M “knows” what other people are entitled to.
Let’s repeat a fundamental principle - if your circumstances are the same you will get the same.
If you are getting different offers then your circumstances are not the same. End of. That’s despite what M thinks she “knows.”
It’s not just hours that can alter calculations. It’s date of claim, holidays, sickness, overtime, other jobs etc etc. I’d be surprised if M “knows” all of this for all her colleagues, let alone her own data.
Poor Karl B has had to recheck figures for hundreds of folk like M who “know” their pay data is wrong. So far not a single person has proved Karl wrong however strongly they believed they “knew” he’d got it wrong.
This is one of the reasons why the offers are confidential - so that we are not asked to justify to the M’s of the world why her offer was less than someone else she works with. These types of debate are toxic and unnecessary.
It contains the biggest problem of comparison - what matters to M is not that she gets what’s she’s entitled to but that her colleagues don’t get more than M thinks they are entitled to, or more than her.
Somehow M “knows” what other people are entitled to.
Let’s repeat a fundamental principle - if your circumstances are the same you will get the same.
If you are getting different offers then your circumstances are not the same. End of. That’s despite what M thinks she “knows.”
It’s not just hours that can alter calculations. It’s date of claim, holidays, sickness, overtime, other jobs etc etc. I’d be surprised if M “knows” all of this for all her colleagues, let alone her own data.
Poor Karl B has had to recheck figures for hundreds of folk like M who “know” their pay data is wrong. So far not a single person has proved Karl wrong however strongly they believed they “knew” he’d got it wrong.
This is one of the reasons why the offers are confidential - so that we are not asked to justify to the M’s of the world why her offer was less than someone else she works with. These types of debate are toxic and unnecessary.
All M needs to know is that her offer is correct. She is not entitled to verify every other offer in her workplace. It’s sad that before offers have even arrived, this is what is eating M - snapping defeat from the jaws of victory
Two last points.
Two last points.
If you discuss your offer with others you do so at your own risk. You have been warned.
Second, under no circumstances discuss your offer with your line manager. They do not know how the offers are calculated - so they cannot tell you if the offer is right or wrong. What they can, and will do, is report you to management. I don’t care how friendly you are with your manager, DONT DO IT!.
Second, under no circumstances discuss your offer with your line manager. They do not know how the offers are calculated - so they cannot tell you if the offer is right or wrong. What they can, and will do, is report you to management. I don’t care how friendly you are with your manager, DONT DO IT!.
THE OFFERS ARE SECRET (CONFIDENTIAL)
You must keep it that way.
I know some of you think this is a joke but the council are very serious.
You can tell immediate family (partners/parents) but not your distant cousins. But family must also keep it confidential.
You can tell legal advisers and professionals (who are bound by confidentiality anyway)
These clauses are standard practice. I’ve not had a single council not require these clauses. Or put the other way every single council insists on them. Doesn’t matter whether you think that’s right or wrong, you’ll be contractually bound. (And no telling someone before you sign doesn’t get you off the hook)
And yes councils have withheld payments when there have been breaches they can prove.
The easiest proof is discussing it with your line manager. They don’t know what you’re getting and some would love to know, if just to gossip. Managers are often told to report staff who break the agreement.
And just to repeat we cannot discuss your offer with your friends or their offer with you, even if your convinced your circumstances are the same. Your friends should not know your offer and you shouldn’t know hers.
It doesn’t matter how thrilled, or how angry, you are about the offer, they are all confidential.
Hard I know, but thems the rules. The unions will be putting out similar messages.
And absolutely do not be stupid enough to put your numbers on Facebook, Instagram, twitter, tinder or any other social media.
