At 5pm on 30 January, the Employers received from the NJC Trade Unions a 2023 pay claim for local government services (‘Green Book’) employees (click the link to view). Councils will be briefed on the unions’ claim and other relevant background information, at regional pay briefings scheduled to take place between 6 and 15 February.
The Pay Briefing for the South East is on Thursday 9 February at 12 noon. Please see our Events Page on our website for further details and to book to ensure your Council is represented.
The claim seeks:
- RPI + 2 per cent on all pay points
- Consideration of a flat rate increase to hourly rates of pay in order to bring the minimum rate up to £15 per hour within two years
- A review and improvement of NJC terms for family leave and pay
- A review of job evaluation outcomes for school staff whose day-to-day work includes working on Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- An additional day of annual leave for personal or well-being purposes
- A homeworking allowance for staff for whom it is a requirement to work from home
- A reduction in the working week by two hours
- A review of the pay spine, including looking at the top end, and discussions about the link between how remuneration can be used to improve retention
The most recent inflation figures, released by ONS on 18 Jan, confirms RPI was 13.4 per cent in Dec 22 (NB: since 2013, ONS has said “RPI does not meet the required standard for designation as a National Statistic, but in recognition that it continues to be widely used in contracts, we continue to publish the figure each month”).
To meet the unions’ pay claim in full (15.4 per cent) would increase the national paybill by more than £2.6bn.
Separate pay claims have not yet been submitted by the Staff Sides representing local authority Chief Executives, Chief Officers and Craftworkers.
The National Employers will be meeting on 23 February.
CLARIFICATION:
The detail in the unions’ claim cites an RPI figure of 10.7 per cent, which is the current annual forecast for RPI in 2023, published in November 2022 by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Therefore, to meet the pay element of the claim in full (12.7 per cent) would increase local government’s national paybill by more than £2.1bn.