VLO members of Napo and UNISON will be aware that there is a disagreement between the unions and the Probation Service in relation to the date to which the VLO regrading from pay band 3 to pay band 4 should take effect.
The Probation Service is stating that backdating will be from 26 June 2021, the day that the newly unified Probation Service was inaugurated. The trade unions’ position is that the backdating should take effect from 4 July 2019 which is the date that the VLO job description was last changed.
The employer’s position appears to be based on nothing more than the administrative convenience of choosing vesting day of the reunified service and the operating start of the target operating model as the point at which backdating takes effect.
Napo and UNISON’s position is in line with what is set out in the Probation Service job evaluation user guide, and the fact that there was no change in the job description on 26 June 2021.
In light of this disagreement, we recommend that VLO members who have signed to accept the regrading in their 1-2-1, caveat this to the manager who conducted the 1-2-1 by cutting and pasting the following text in bold into an e-mail to the manager concerned:
E-Mail Subject Heading: VLO Regrade Backdating
I understand that my union is contesting the 26 June 2021 date for backpay calculations for the VLO regrade from pay band 3 to pay band 4 and is claiming instead that 4 July 2019 is the correct date for backdating. In light of this, and therefore the current provisional status of the employer’s proposed 2021 backpay date, my signing to accept the regrade from pay band 3 to pay band 4 is without prejudice to my trade union’s claim for the earlier date for backdating, and to any claim which I may wish to bring in relation to this matter in the future.
It is important that you send this e-mail to your manager as soon as possible in order to reserve your interests. Please make sure that you keep a copy of your e-mail for future reference.