The Trade Unions have continued discussions with the employer about the proposed new arrangements for unsocial hours payments.
The employer has outlined a forward-looking proposal that would replace the current claim-based system for some staff with an annualised allowance, paid monthly. This would mainly affect some staff in Unpaid Work and Approved Premises Residential Workers. Other staff with less predictable unsocial hours would remain on a revised claimable system or on a hybrid system.
Concerns over transparency and fairness
The proposals are complex, and the Trade Unions have made clear that members must be able to understand how any new system works before it is implemented. We have also raised concerns about how the employer intends to explain how the allowance will be calculated, particularly where part-time staff may receive different amounts depending on their working pattern.
The key unresolved issue remains back pay. Napo does not accept that the forward-looking solution can simply be separated from the retrospective position. The trade union dispute covered both aspects and we believe that these two aspects are intrinsically linked and must be resolved together to achieve the best outcome for members. Importantly, we are also concerned that the current back pay offer does not properly include Approved Premises Residential Workers.
Member consultation before any agreement
Napo’s position is that members directly affected must be consulted before any agreement is reached. We are currently waiting for the employer to provide the necessary final set of materials, so as unions we can share the final set of materials with members to engage in meaningful member consultation.
Next steps
- The Trade Unions will review the employer’s slides and materials once received.
- Napo will continue discussions with sister unions on our collective position.
- We will press the employer to resolve the outstanding back pay issues, including the position of Approved Premises staff.
- Affected members will be consulted before Napo agrees to any final position.
Napo remains committed to securing a fair, transparent and understandable system that pays members correctly for the unsocial hours they work, including proper resolution of historic underpayments.
5 responses
AP staff will lose far more than they will be prepared to uplift our wages by. You can absolutely guarantee that! Especially with the new rota meaning we now do 50% more night shifts and weekends than before!
Our unsocial hours in unpaid work was illegally implemented by SSCL as we the employees were not told about this as we should be told in writing not by email and given 90 days notice. You were supposed to sort this but you didn’t do anything it was never resolved. We had to work out a formula to claim back once a month what we were owed and I believe most staff gave up as it was ridiculous. The deal with wages not us as we are not self employed. They are now going to alter it again you say. We demand this is done legally as they have not contacted me about this you have, that is not how the law works.
it seems to me that they are trying to offset the cost of an increase in nights and weekend work linked to the implementation of this new rota. With a significant increase in night work i.e. 54% of our working hours, and the increase in w/end work will significant raise the wages bill. the old saying ‘done up like kipper’ comes to mind. they want us to complete the work, but not pay us accordingly.
This is all well and good , will we be paid for all our unsocial hours ? Will pay be based on the 7 week rota or the new 9 week rota as they considerably differ in the amounts of unsocial hours ? Will we be out of pocket and working unsociable hours for no enhanced payments ? A yearly increase of around £9000 would be needed to cover a RW on the top band on the proposed 9 week rota ?
Would this be an option for community programmes staff? We do up to three evenings a week that end at 10pm!