Pay consultation now open – use your vote!
Our pay negotiations this year have taken an unusually long time. This has been frustrating for both negotiators and members. The talks have now finished, and we need the views of members on the final offer detailed below.
Importantly, our vote is less about whether or not the pay rise should be implemented, but whether there is an appetite for a strike ballot to challenge it and push for more.
Your vote really matters. You can vote either by email (using the unique link sent to you) or by responding to the text we’ve sent you.
The consultation will close on Wednesday 19 March at 12pm.
The final offer
A pay rise of between 4.1% – 5.79%
Important: This differs from grade to grade, and only some of it will be backdated to last August.
Take a look at the full pay offer in spreadsheet form for more information.
A response to the concerns we raised after our January members meeting
- They have offered further discussion on issues we raised like Living Wage Accreditation, performance increments for G2&3, workload and sickness absence trigger points.
- The 35 hour working week is delayed until June.
You can see their response to us in a separate document.
The committee’s recommendation is that we should vote to reject this offer.
Our original claim
Our original claim was for:
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A fair settlement on the pay spine dispute – note that our claim was originally submitted in May 2024, before the settlement of the SSPR (Support Staff Pay Reform) dispute.
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A pay rise of 10% on all points
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The University to become a foundation living wage employer
You can read our original claim in full in a separate document.
Dispute process and counter proposals
We did not receive an offer from the University until July 2024. We rejected this offer as insufficient and went into dispute resolution with the University.
The dispute process was lengthy and long intervals passed between meetings. In an attempt to find an amicable solution, members agreed and submitted an amended proposal to the University in January of this year.
Our amended proposal
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Pay: A pay rise of at least 6% for staff on all bands and spinal points.
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Living Wage: The University should finally become an accredited real living wage employer, and commit to retaining the increases between the different points on grade 2 when the real living wage goes up in future.
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Grade 2 & 3 performance pay: There should be a new point (4) for grades 2 and 3, to reduce the disparity in access to performance related pay between these bands and grades 4 and 5.
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Workload: There needs to be a commitment to negotiate workload models for professional services staff, with clear measures for key roles such as maximum staff-student ratios and the like.
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Sickness absence monitoring:There needs to be a commitment to renegotiate the sickness absence procedures (alongside the increase in sick pay) so the “trigger points” for monitoring and investigations are less severe.
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35 hour week: Compensation should be given for the delay in implementation of the 35hr week, dating back to the start of the year – we feel it would be fairer to give this compensation as additional time off rather than extra pay.
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Other issues: We need firm deadlines on the other issues referenced in last month’s dispute settlement, including pensions and grading.
The Committee’s recommendation
The final decision on this year’s pay is yours. We need to decide whether we accept this final offer, or reject it and look at moving to a ballot for strike action. This year we would also like to hear from you as to whether you think action short of strike action, such as a work to rule would work for your area.
The committee believes that the University’s final offer is completely unsatisfactory and we recommend that you reject it.
Why we recommend you reject
There’s been a disappointing lack of willingness to work with us on pay and most of our concerns about other important issues have been dismissed. Last year we ended our strike after the University promised to implement a 35 hour week, so the long delay in this has been particularly disappointing.
While the University are willing to discuss our concerns, this is without any firm commitments and we know from the delay in the 35 hour week change that we need to hold the University to concrete commitments rather than vague promises to look into things, without solid results.
What your vote means
This vote will not lead to strike action directly. A formal ballot for industrial action would need to follow before any strike action or action short of strike action takes place. What you decide is important, but we will also look closely at how many members vote in this consultation. The vote tells us what appetite there is for a formal strike ballot.
We need every vote
Whatever your decision, we need a high percentage of our members to vote to have confidence in the decision.
Every vote will count, so please vote and ask your colleagues to do so as well!
Reminder – you can vote using the unique link sent to your email address, or by responding to our text messages about the consultation.
The consultation will close on Wednesday 19 March at 12pm.
