Government agree to RE-OPEN PAY TALKS

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Napo’s Probation Negotiating Committee met yesterday to consider a pay offer that had received the personal endorsement of the new Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood.  While the PNC noted that the offer does not wholly satisfy the terms of Napo’s current trade dispute on pay and workloads, it follows the joint unions’ campaign to re-open the three year pay award to give probation staff more pay now. The unions submitted a claim to get more pay back in 2023, which HMPPS rejected in April this year.

But following votes in the UNISON and Napo consultative ballots of members which showed strong support for consideration of industrial action, the change of government, the escalating prison overcrowding crisis and the embarrassment of probation pay falling further and further behind prison pay, HMPPS finally agreed to re-open the award and offer more money in this final year of the Multi Year Pay Deal MYPD to our members. Of course, It would have been better if the employer had done this much earlier, but their hands were tied by the previous Conservative government.

The HMPPS offer would not have happened without the unions’ campaign to re-open the pay talks over the last year and a half.

HMPPS OFFER

The offer which HMPPS made to the unions this week is for:

  1. The pay rise for all staff which was due on 1 October 2024 to be brought forward to 1 April 2024. This will deliver much needed additional cash to staff 6 months earlier than set out in the current three year pay award. The back pay owing will be paid in a single lump sum as soon as possible. This money will be subject to tax and national insurance in the usual way. staff who have left the organisation since 1st April 2024 will be entitled to the pay rise back pay so we ask colleagues who may be in touch with them to tell them to write in to claim it.
     
  2. The deletion of the lowest pay point in pay band 2. The unions have been battling for months to get HMPPS to treat pay band 2 staff fairly who were affected by the implementation of the national living wage in April 2024. The offer from HMPPS will delete the lowest pay point in pay band 2 and move all staff on this pay point to the next highest pay point of £23,250 (full time salary) backdated to 1 April 2024.
     
  3. The temporary extension of premium overtime rates to pay bands 4, 5 & 6 until 31 March 2025. Currently, staff on pay bands 4, 5 & 6 are only entitled to time off in lieu or payment at plain time for any additional hours worked above contractual hours. The unions have been seeking the extension of premium overtime rates since the start of this year, so this is a welcome move. However, the Unions want to see this made permanent. The extension of premium overtime rates is undoubtedly linked to the demand which is coming Probation’s way from SDS40. There is very little likelihood of this demand having receded by 31 March 2025, so Napo will be arguing that these overtime rates will have to be extended again.
     
  4.  A temporary overtime bonus scheme. In addition to the extension of premium overtime pay to pay bands 4, 5 & 6, HMPPS has offered an overtime incentive scheme as follows:
     
      1. £125 payable to staff after two weeks in which the employee has committed to work at least 5 hours per week over a two week period.
      1. £250 payable to staff after four weeks in which the employee has committed to work at least 5 hours per week over a four week period.

Napo ACCEPTS the offer Napo’s PNC Met on 1 August to consider the offer. The Committee agreed to accept the offer with the following reservations.

  1. HMPPS to confirm when the lump sum back pay will actually be paid
  2. HMPPS to set out what staff on each pay point in pay bands 2-6 can expect by way of lump sum backpay (gross pay) when the offer is paid
  3. HMPPS to set the detail of the pay band 2 proposal
  4. HMPPS to enter into urgent negotiations with the unions with immediate effect to agree the protocols which will govern the award and payment of overtime and the overtime incentive scheme going forward for staff on pay bands 2-6. Both overtime and the incentive scheme must be administered fairly and transparently AND GIVE ACCESS TO ALL STAFF WHO CHOOSE TO TAKE UP THE OFFER IRRESPECTIVE OF PAYBAND AND ROLE . These talks must also clear up the on-going misapplication of sessional pay for overtime and the confusion over the relationship between overtime and unsocial hours to the unions’ satisfaction.

Napo’s Negotiating Committee also AGREED THAT OUR CURRENT TRADE DISPUTE IS NOT FULLY RESOLVED AND TALKS CONTINUE AT HIGH LEVEL ON THE NEED TO REDUCE WORKLOADS .

WHAT NEXT?

Subject to the urgent talks next week, the rules for the extension of overtime and the overtime incentive scheme should be published shortly. HMPPS should also confirm to staff what they are entitled to by way of backpay for the early payment of this year’s salary increase with effect from 1 April.

With probation pay falling further and further behind prison service pay (Prison staff got a 5% pay rise last week) our attention will then turn to next year’s pay claim. Members can expect to be consulted on your ideas for our 2025 pay claim in the autumn.

THANKS

Thanks to all the  Napo members  who took part in our digital consultative ballot back in June. Of those voting, 98% said that they would be prepared to consider industrial action to get HMPPS to offer more pay if formally balloted. This showed HMPPS the strength of feeling of members over their pay and this could not be ignored.