Brass Neck Of The Year!
The Facebook warriors at DM Legal have been trying to set Glasgow's equal pay claimants against one another by suggesting that those whose claims were backdated 5 years were let down, duped even.
Well here's an interesting Facebook post dated 10 October 2019 which refers to the Employment Tribunal '5 year rule' and offers to take cases up in North Lanarkshire Council on the very same basis, ie backdated for 5 years.
Now the truth is that every equal pay settlement in Scotland has been based on the same principle of claims jumping back five years in time from the date they are registered with the Employment Tribunals.
So not everyone's claim is worth the same and what happened in Glasgow is exactly the same as what happened in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire, Edinburgh and Fife, Falkirk and West Lothian - in every Scottish council, as a matter of fact.
Yet the folks at DM Legal have the bare-faced cheek to make comments like these on social media:
"I got an anonymous email to say a group of workers at a Glasgow school got £180,000 each!!!!"
"Are you unhappy with the Glasgow Equal Pay Settlement Offer?
"I would never take any settlement knowing my friends and colleagues were only getting 5 years money and £17,000 if they were lucky."
"Shocking distribution of public funds!!!..this £500 million is given out like a lottery.
"I am pleased for you all getting £500 million but it should have been split amongst ALL the Glasgow workers not just the lucky ones"
"I'm hearing some workers got £120,000...are your fu*king kidding me!!!!! The Glasgow unions should be hanging their heads in shame!"
"Shocking!!!....let's take £500 million pounds and give some people over £120,000 then others get £17,000"
"the distribution of the £500 million settlement deal has been shocking!!!!"
"To be honest I don't give a fuck about professionalism"
Now these are shameful comments if you ask me, full of malign nonsense and bogus claims from someone who freely admits that they "don't give a fuck about professionalism".
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.
Out of Control (21/06/19)
Anyone who is dumb enough to say, in public, on social media:
"To be honest I don't give a fuck about professionalism"
Has a big problem if you ask me and is drawing attention to the fact that they cannot control themselves.
For some reason I keep receiving infantile messages from these 'Facebook chancers' who tell me that they want to be taken seriously.
Yet they keep slagging off the Glasgow Claimants for accepting equal pay settlements which have been the subject of a fierce battle, both in and out of court, for the past 12 years.
Here's another of their dumb Facebook comments:
"I would never take any settlement knowing my friends and colleagues were only getting 5 years money and £17,000 if they were lucky."
Now I have no idea what would drive someone to speak in such an arrogant and condescending manner, but it's embarrassing and unprofessional for sure.
Yet they keep slagging off the Glasgow Claimants for accepting equal pay settlements which have been the subject of a fierce battle, both in and out of court, for the past 12 years.
Here's another of their dumb Facebook comments:
"I would never take any settlement knowing my friends and colleagues were only getting 5 years money and £17,000 if they were lucky."
Now I have no idea what would drive someone to speak in such an arrogant and condescending manner, but it's embarrassing and unprofessional for sure.
Barking Up The Wrong Tree (19/06/19)
The Facebook 'chancers' from DM Legal appear to be in full scale retreat after having so much to say about Glasgow's long fight for equal pay in recent days.
Instead, they now readily admit that these 'late arrivals' on the equal pay scene have played no role in the 12-year long battle to knock over the City Council's 'unfit for purpose WPBR - nor are they involved in developing a new, non-discriminatory job evaluation scheme (JES).
Yet that hasn't stopped them from having the bare-faced cheek to criticise the Claimants and their representatives (including A4ES) for negotiating an historic settlement agreement in Glasgow.
Here's a reminder of what the Facebook 'chancers' have been saying recently:
"I would never take any settlement knowing my friends and colleagues were only getting 5 years money and £17,000 if they were lucky."
"No morals to stand in fake solidarity then when it comes to the crunch take the money"
"Shocking distribution of public funds!!!..this £500 million is given out like a lottery.
"I am pleased for you all getting £500 million but it should have been split amongst ALL the Glasgow workers not just the lucky ones"
"Shocking!!!....let's take £500 million pounds and give some people over £120,000 then others get £17,000"
"the distribution of the £500 million settlement deal has been shocking!!!!"
In other words, if these social media warriors had their way there would be no equal pay settlement in Glasgow which is barking mad, if you ask me.
Siren Calls - Robbing Peter to Pay Paul (3)
I thought I would share some more of the more unhinged comments on social media about the Glasgow equal pay settlement - along with my own observations which are in bold.
"I got an anonymous email to say a group of workers at a Glasgow school got £180,000 each!!!!"
Complete fantasy - never happened
"Are you unhappy with the Glasgow Equal Pay Settlement Offer?
I'm afraid that's confidential and none of your business.
In which case what are you doing?
"I would never take any settlement knowing my friends and colleagues were only getting 5 years money and £17,000 if they were lucky."
Imagine having the arrogance and ignorance to criticise Claimants for accepting settlement offers after their 12-year long fight.
"No morals to stand in fake solidarity then when it comes to the crunch take the money"
Stop slagging off people who've been fighting for equal pay for years - without any help from the likes of you!
"Listen I don't need to explain my business model to the likes of you..."
I think it's fair to ask why you require £100 up front and charge 20% plus VAT (ie 24%) of any settlement.
"To be honest I don't give a fuck about professionalism"
Sadly, this is all too obvious to anyone reading your comments on social media.
Far from being the 'lucky ones' the Glasgow Claimants are finally getting what they've been fighting for - a fair settlement of their equal pay claims up to 2018.
The 'new arrivals' on the scene have contributed nothing to this fight up until now - and are not involved in the development of a new job evaluation scheme to replace the WPBR.
The good old Glasgow word 'chancers' springs to mind, as a fair description of what's been going on, so here's a bottle of Brasso to go with their brass neck.
Siren Calls - Robbing Peter To Pay Paul 2 (13/06/19)
I know lots of people were shocked by yesterday's post about, but what's even more shocking is the language and behaviour of these 'new faces' on social media.
Here's a sample of what these 'no nothing' critics have been claiming in recent days:
"Shocking distribution of public funds!!!..this £500 million is given out like a lottery.
"I am pleased for you all getting £500 million but it should have been split amongst ALL the Glasgow workers not just the lucky ones"
Here are a few of the readers' comments I've received in response to yesterday's post about 'Siren Calls and Noises Off'.
Well said Mark and A4ES xx
T
It's really shameful to try and divide the workforce with the suggestion that some Glasgow Claimants are benefiting at the expense of others.
A
Go A4ES great advice xxxx
H
The Claimants know A4ES has been on their side from Day 1 of this fight
R
Now the 'new faces' that have arrived on the scene in Glasgow know nothing of the agreement reached with the City Council because they were not involved in the 13 month long settlement negotiations - nor in the 10 year court battle which finally brought down the 'unfit for purpose' WPBR pay scheme.
Yet they snipe from the sidelines by suggesting that many Claimants are receiving much more than they're due while others are receiving much less.
Which is not only ill-informed and poisonous - it's a load of old baloney from start to finish because the unspoken message is all about 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.
I've been catching up with the claims being made on Facebook that the trade unions in Glasgow are to be sued for negligence over their handling of certain members' equal pay claims.
Now who this may affect and what the basis of any action might be has never been explained and, so far at least, the 'discussion' has focused on wild stories, anonymous claims and ill-informed speculation.
So if I were a Glasgow Claimant attracted by this offer of help, I would ask some pointed questions such as:
1) What is the basis of any claim for negligence against my trade union and how do you assess my chances of success?
2) Have you previously made similar claims for negligence in the past, have any of these claims been successful and can you kindly share the details?
3) Are you advising me not to accept my offer of settlement with Glasgow City Council?
4) Are you prepared to indemnify and compensate me if the amount recovered by your organisation is worth less than my current offer of settlement from Glasgow City Council?
5) How long do you estimate the legal process will take and how do you justify such a high success fee of 20% plus VAT (or 24%) of any future settlement?
6) Will your advice be issued to me in writing?
7) Will this advice be issued by a fully qualified solicitor who is recognised by the Law Society of Scotland?
The reason I would ask these questions is that Action 4 Equality Scotland (A4ES) and Stefan Cross have been here before and I think it's fair to say that the position in Glasgow in 2019 is very different to what has gone in the past.
The recent settlement agreement reached with Glasgow City Council has been led by Stefan Cross and A4ES - and is not part of some old-fashioned, union stitch-up.
Sadly, it's not unusual for other organisations to turn up late in the day when all the 'heavy lifting' over equal pay has been done - claiming they will do a better job.
The thing that needs to be challenged, however, is the poisonous message criticising the agreement which has been reached and tries to sow disunity by setting one group of Claimants against another.
Because that really is a load of old baloney.
"I'm hearing some workers got £120,000...are your fu*king kidding me!!!!! The Glasgow unions should be hanging their heads in shame!"
"Shocking!!!....let's take £500 million pounds and give some people over £120,000 then others get £17,000"
"the distribution of the £500 million settlement deal has been shocking!!!!"
"To be honest I don't give a fuck about professionalism"
Now as I said the other day the individuals making these wild statements damn themselves with their own words - because they are just trying to stoke jealously and resentment.
Whereas the reality is that the settlement in Glasgow is based on the length of people's equal pay claims, the jobs they do (or did) and their hours work - which is what has happened in every other council in Scotland.
So the Glasgow Claimants are not 'lucky' - they're finally getting what they've been fighting for which lots of them have been doing for over 12 years.
So the Glasgow Claimants are not 'lucky' - they're finally getting what they've been fighting for which lots of them have been doing for over 12 years.
As regular readers know, Action 4 Equality Scotland is the largest Claimant organisation, by far, and has taken the lead in settlement negotiations - having led the fight for equal pay in Glasgow from Day One.
Siren Calls - Robbing Peter to Pay Paul (12/06/19)
Here are a few of the readers' comments I've received in response to yesterday's post about 'Siren Calls and Noises Off'.
Well said Mark and A4ES xx
T
It's really shameful to try and divide the workforce with the suggestion that some Glasgow Claimants are benefiting at the expense of others.
A
Go A4ES great advice xxxx
H
The Claimants know A4ES has been on their side from Day 1 of this fight
R
Now the 'new faces' that have arrived on the scene in Glasgow know nothing of the agreement reached with the City Council because they were not involved in the 13 month long settlement negotiations - nor in the 10 year court battle which finally brought down the 'unfit for purpose' WPBR pay scheme.
Yet they snipe from the sidelines by suggesting that many Claimants are receiving much more than they're due while others are receiving much less.
Which is not only ill-informed and poisonous - it's a load of old baloney from start to finish because the unspoken message is all about 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.
Siren Calls and Noises Off (11/06/19)
I've been catching up with the claims being made on Facebook that the trade unions in Glasgow are to be sued for negligence over their handling of certain members' equal pay claims.
Now who this may affect and what the basis of any action might be has never been explained and, so far at least, the 'discussion' has focused on wild stories, anonymous claims and ill-informed speculation.
So if I were a Glasgow Claimant attracted by this offer of help, I would ask some pointed questions such as:
1) What is the basis of any claim for negligence against my trade union and how do you assess my chances of success?
2) Have you previously made similar claims for negligence in the past, have any of these claims been successful and can you kindly share the details?
3) Are you advising me not to accept my offer of settlement with Glasgow City Council?
4) Are you prepared to indemnify and compensate me if the amount recovered by your organisation is worth less than my current offer of settlement from Glasgow City Council?
5) How long do you estimate the legal process will take and how do you justify such a high success fee of 20% plus VAT (or 24%) of any future settlement?
6) Will your advice be issued to me in writing?
7) Will this advice be issued by a fully qualified solicitor who is recognised by the Law Society of Scotland?
The reason I would ask these questions is that Action 4 Equality Scotland (A4ES) and Stefan Cross have been here before and I think it's fair to say that the position in Glasgow in 2019 is very different to what has gone in the past.
The recent settlement agreement reached with Glasgow City Council has been led by Stefan Cross and A4ES - and is not part of some old-fashioned, union stitch-up.
Sadly, it's not unusual for other organisations to turn up late in the day when all the 'heavy lifting' over equal pay has been done - claiming they will do a better job.
The thing that needs to be challenged, however, is the poisonous message criticising the agreement which has been reached and tries to sow disunity by setting one group of Claimants against another.
Because that really is a load of old baloney.
