Here we have the latest mailout from Napo today, complete with yet another set of bloody letters - RRMP - from the command and control HMPPS:-
Welcome news reached us this week during the NPS Joint National Committee, that discussions on Pay are to resume in the near future. Dialogue between HMPPS and the Treasury has taken place to discuss the pay remit and we expect to receive a formal invitation to meet with the NPS Pay and Reward team soon.
The delay in the payment of pay progression due in April and the failure by the employer to properly resource the competency based framework project (see below) has been a considerable source of anger for our members.
What’s been going on?
The pay year in the NPS runs from April to March in line with the financial year. The 2018 pay deal agreed by members, was for two years, 2018/19 and 2019/20 so members received payment for the second year of this in April 2019. READ IN FULL - or read below.
OMiC Update
Our regular meetings with members of the OMiC Board have resumed now that we are working towards recovery and some of the staff who were seconded out of the OMiC project will be returning to it. A final draft of the OMiC recovery EDM will be shared shortly for our final opportunity to consult on it but this week’s meeting was a useful opportunity to raise some of the issues that have really been highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis.
SPO line management arrangements
While the move to formal line management of prison SPOs by the Governor has not yet happened informal management arrangements most certainly are in place and there have been examples of tensions between the NPS approach to exceptional delivery and the prison service approach placing prison SPOs in an almost impossible situation. We have supported manager members to address these issues and in some cases escalated them to ensure that SPOs have the right level of support from their division in implementing the EDM and the NPS guidance on social distancing, hygiene and PPE that underpins the protection of health and safety during the crisis. We have insisted that these issues be taken into consideration as we resume discussions about the line management of the prison SPOs. For now issues should be raised locally via the divisional implementation board and if necessary referred to Katie Lomas.
The approach to recovery
Once the EDM is published each prison will develop a regime recovery management plan (RRMP) and local reps, both Napo and POA must be involved in consultation on this along with the associated Health and Safety risk assessments for the OMU and related activities. As reported earlier in the week Napo and the POA have agreed to work collaboratively on this and where there is no Napo H&S rep in the prison local branch reps will be able to liaise with the POA H&S rep and members working in the establishment.
Napo HQ
--oo00oo--
What’s been going on?
The pay year in the NPS runs from April to March in line with the financial year. The 2018 pay deal agreed by members, was for two years, 2018/19 and 2019/20 so members received payment for the second year of this in April 2019.
The pay deal included the commitment to developing a competency based framework (CBF) for pay progression to use from 2020/21 onwards. Our position has always been that the scheme needed to be agreed in time for it to be in place for a full 12 months before it was used to determine progression. So to determine progression in April 2020 it needed to have been in place by the end of March 2019. When it was clear that this would not happen we secured a further agreement from the employer that progression in April 2020 for the year 2020/21 would be automatic. When it then became clear that the CBF scheme would not be in place by March 2020 we secured a further agreement for automatic progression for 2021/22. These agreements stand.
In March this year, the employer explained to us that because the pay progression due in April 2020 had not been agreed by HM Treasury they would not be able to pay it on time and would have to wait until they were authorised to enter talks with the trades unions on any pay award for 2020/21.
All Government departments have to go through proper process in terms of pay. First they get the 'advice' from HM Treasury which is based on Government directives about public sector pay. This usually comes in the early part of the year. Then the departments submit a proposal to HM Treasury and then they begin negotiations with the Unions. Once we, as a union, get to a point where we have achieved as much as we feel possible by negotiations we put the offer to members in a ballot. If the offer is agreed the pay award is made. This negotiation is a completely separate process to pay progression.
Next steps
This year the process has been delayed because there was a General Election in December 2019 which meant that HM Treasury were later than usual in issuing their advice. We know that the advice has been issued to the employers in the last few weeks so we expect to start negotiations on the pay award very soon. The Trade Unions in any case submitted our pay claim in March 2020 so that the employers were aware of our position. You can see the claim on our website here https://www.napo.org.uk/nps-pay-claim-20202021 which also neatly summarises the position in relation to pay progression. This pay claim was developed in consultation and approved by Napo's Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC) who report to every NEC meeting which means that the reps on PNC and NEC will have been involved in the conversations about it. The pay claim was, as is customary, sent out to members and placed on the website for reference.
We have written to members in mailouts at the end of 2019 and in March and May 2020 to update you on the pay position which essentially is that the progression through pay scales will be automatic for 2020/21 and 2021/22 but that for this year progression will not be paid until the pay award negotiations have been settled. Once we resume pay negotiations we will let members know and will report progress, initially this will be in confidence to the Napo PNC. Once we have negotiated as much of our as possible, the offer will be put to members.
What’s been going on?
The pay year in the NPS runs from April to March in line with the financial year. The 2018 pay deal agreed by members, was for two years, 2018/19 and 2019/20 so members received payment for the second year of this in April 2019.
The pay deal included the commitment to developing a competency based framework (CBF) for pay progression to use from 2020/21 onwards. Our position has always been that the scheme needed to be agreed in time for it to be in place for a full 12 months before it was used to determine progression. So to determine progression in April 2020 it needed to have been in place by the end of March 2019. When it was clear that this would not happen we secured a further agreement from the employer that progression in April 2020 for the year 2020/21 would be automatic. When it then became clear that the CBF scheme would not be in place by March 2020 we secured a further agreement for automatic progression for 2021/22. These agreements stand.
In March this year, the employer explained to us that because the pay progression due in April 2020 had not been agreed by HM Treasury they would not be able to pay it on time and would have to wait until they were authorised to enter talks with the trades unions on any pay award for 2020/21.
All Government departments have to go through proper process in terms of pay. First they get the 'advice' from HM Treasury which is based on Government directives about public sector pay. This usually comes in the early part of the year. Then the departments submit a proposal to HM Treasury and then they begin negotiations with the Unions. Once we, as a union, get to a point where we have achieved as much as we feel possible by negotiations we put the offer to members in a ballot. If the offer is agreed the pay award is made. This negotiation is a completely separate process to pay progression.
Next steps
This year the process has been delayed because there was a General Election in December 2019 which meant that HM Treasury were later than usual in issuing their advice. We know that the advice has been issued to the employers in the last few weeks so we expect to start negotiations on the pay award very soon. The Trade Unions in any case submitted our pay claim in March 2020 so that the employers were aware of our position. You can see the claim on our website here https://www.napo.org.uk/nps-pay-claim-20202021 which also neatly summarises the position in relation to pay progression. This pay claim was developed in consultation and approved by Napo's Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC) who report to every NEC meeting which means that the reps on PNC and NEC will have been involved in the conversations about it. The pay claim was, as is customary, sent out to members and placed on the website for reference.
We have written to members in mailouts at the end of 2019 and in March and May 2020 to update you on the pay position which essentially is that the progression through pay scales will be automatic for 2020/21 and 2021/22 but that for this year progression will not be paid until the pay award negotiations have been settled. Once we resume pay negotiations we will let members know and will report progress, initially this will be in confidence to the Napo PNC. Once we have negotiated as much of our as possible, the offer will be put to members.
It aint napo, but it is news in Boris's Britain:
ReplyDelete"On Thursday, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) declared a major incident in which crews were abused for attempting to empty overflowing bins on the seafront.
The council said 33 tonnes of waste was cleaned up along the Dorset coastline on Thursday morning, in addition to eight tonnes collected between the piers on Wednesday during a second collection that day.
In Japan, littering is called "illegal dumping" and carries a penalty of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million yen (£75,100)."
Great Yarmouth - The refuse collector's cart is overflowing.
"Yesterday was particularly bad, there were eight beach towels floating around, plastic bottles every where and three five-gallon plastic beer buckets - I think there had been some kind of party.
"The beach was absolutely covered, with beer bottles, plastic rubbish everywhere. I don't think I've ever seen so much."
The Bournemouth council leader reported people abandoning cars in the middle of streets and road traffic roundabouts, saying to local police 'I know, so give me a ticket, I'll pay it later. I'm just off to the beach.'
Am I missing something? We were also supposed to be moved up yo band maximum in 2020 so what relation does that have to do with the competency issue. This was supposed to be automatic? No sarky responses please just genuinely don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the pay band question I'm afraid.. but I thought I remembered being told, by both union and employer in 2018, that the deal would mean a minimum 6% pay rise over 3 years. That was supposed to include a final 2% this year. It was sold as something we should be very very grateful for after 10 years of sweet FA. Now it's not being paid. Jim tubby Barton is sending out emails offering 'sincere' apologies for not honouring it - and Napo (who I'm still forking out to every month to receive a pamphlet in the post full of 'research' about 'what works' by post-grad students) are crowing about their triumphs. Just remind me what Mr Lawrence's salary is again?
ReplyDeleteYes I thought it was a 3 year deal. I think they've conveniently forgotten that
DeleteTo be fair to Napo, the deal was for two years (see details of the pay offer below). I think the issue is that they say pay progression this year is guaranteed (which is probably is while we await the framework). However they assumed, or allowed everyone to think, it would be automatic from April, which obviously has not happened. They don't appear to have realised that this is not how the Civil Service and the treasury works.
Delete“Pensionable increases to all NPS staff over the two years of the deal (April 2018-March 2020), ranging from 13.6% to a minimum of 6%. In cash terms, all staff will receive between £3772 and £1405.
Increases to the current band maxima by at least 3%, giving the first consolidated increase for staff at their band maxima for nearly a decade.
Fully consolidated increases ranging from at least 3% for all staff already at their band maxima, rising to 12.2% for some staff progressing through their pay ranges.
Progression to the new higher band maxima in less than 6 years in all bands.
For staff in Band 1, progression to a new 17% higher band maxima in no more than 2 years
Guarantee further progression payments in 2020-21 for those still not at their band maxima
Pay progression from 2021 linked to a new Competency Based Pay Progression Framework (CBPPF), which will be designed in partnership with the unions, aligned to National Probation Professional Standards. Napo are insisting these must also cover CRCs.
A joint-review of management grades from Band 5 upwards, recognising the additional pressures and workloads that implementation of the new CBPPF will bring, as well as the changing nature of the role since TR.
Some additional elements that more closely align NPS terms with MoJ terms (set out below).”
https://www.napo.org.uk/crc-summary-nps-pay-offer
Does anyone know when we are likely to increase the automatic pay increment that was supposed to take place in April. Whilst I understand the current Covid situation has made things more challenging, other than an apology from our employers back in March that there will be a delay in getting it, we have heard nothing since. I guess I am really asking, are we still getting the automatic progression? Will it be back dated? and when we would be likely to get it? Thanks in advance for any help as I am need of the extra income.
DeleteI have edited the following comment. Please avoid personal insults as it detracts from any point being made. Thanks.
ReplyDelete"Ian [edited] Lawrence takes 120k plus 12k pension or there abouts. He took a 10k lift when the pay deal was approved backdated."
In the interest of Beebalance will you do similar for the same comments re-Jim Barton within @ 22:48's post?
DeleteGrass! ��
DeleteThe 07.35 needs a bit more editing, assuming facts as well as opinions matter. I've looked at the annual returns to the certification officer for trade unions. The facts, as of 2019, are: general secretary's pay £72,295; pension £2892.
DeleteFacts and opinion can be presented without the use of offensive language.
DeleteIt would be useful to be clear about the rules of future engagement. There have been quite a few insults, which would undoubtedly be counted as 'personal', posted on the blog about some (Trump, Grating, BJ being the most obvious recent examples). Is it the content of the insult or its target which determines its acceptability?
DeleteAlso, would adjectives like 'greedy' or 'self-serving' (which are undoubtedly pejorative) also be considered 'personal'. These seem more like unfounded opinion than something like 'tubby' - which is an observable fact... and doesn't feel too personally insulting to me?
So much for unions being for the workers then. Sounds a bit I'm alright Jack. In my experience napo are happy to take subs, bat off any real work with members who are pushed onto reps and then when you wa t to take it further don't want to know. I took my membership elsewhere.
DeleteAnon 11:01 A very fair question and the answer is it depends pretty much on the judgement of the editor/blog facilitator. I can't be bothered drawing up rules and criteria, so it's very unscientific and quite likely biased. However, I think we run a pretty liberal ship here and I'm just as likely to delete what I consider is boring, repetitive, or seriously off topic than anything.
DeleteFair enough just as long as we do not refer to the Napo GS as tubby nor Jim tubby Barton as it may not be factual. Opinions need some support.
DeleteHow are Napo going to square the equality & fairness circle if there's a blanket transfer of CRC staff to NPS without Civil Service vetting?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that contradict the 'rules' for equal opportunities, i.e. it disadvantages those who previously applied for NPS jobs & were refused on the grounds of vetting?
And if any of those 'failed' applicants are still in the CRCs, how can it be justified that they are now to be automatically transferred to NPS when they couldn't cut-it via individual application?
What compensation for loss of benefits & associated stress is there for those who were randomly (or maliciously) allocated to CRCs against their will, refused access to NPS on appeal, but now find themselves being transferred to NPS because of the government's decision?
What about those who left the probation arena when they were unceremoniously dumped into a CRC, but who would have stayed if their employment as a Trust/NPS PO continued? Is that constructive dismissal or similar?
Is Napo considering any of these scenarios?
No, because none of the situations you described involved the breaking of any laws in any way.
DeleteUnder law, people can only be discriminated against based on a protected charateristic.
As for compensation for being assigned to a CRC, on what grounds exactly? Companies and organisations merge, split, etc all of the time. Constructive unfair dismissal can only be claimed when there has been a breach of contract of employment.
I agree with Anon 10:22. The problem is we are all too concerned with ditching the CRCs and private companies when we should instead be focused on separating PROBATION from prisons and the Civil Service.
ReplyDeleteDitch police vetting - we are not the police and do not need Visor (an excuse for vetting).
Ditch prisons - we do not need OMiC, we do not need Command and Control.
Ditch the Civil Service - it will continue to meddle in Probation affairs until there is no probation left.
I think it's time to let go of the past and move forward. Trusts were full of shit managers ( quite a lot of whom are still there) and self important staff with greatly inflated egos
DeleteI wouldn't dismiss the wisdoms above. All generations that I have witnessed have all been self serving only we did better before trusts and as well under them. The management all went superior and uppity as they all seem to have a personal bent than objective care of their functions. However the bureaucratic aggressive NPS is beyond any values we hold and their management self serving are those people from the trust days the problems are they really have had a chance to act out their narcissistic beliefs.
DeleteAndrew Hatton posted what I consider a very important link yesterday to the Governments intention to create Nightingale courts to clear a half million backlogged cases. They're also restricting the right to trial by jury for some offences.
ReplyDeleteI thought it very important because processing half a million cases through Nightingale courts at breakneck speed could have a considerable impact on probation work. Not just for court teams and PSRs, but for caseloads and unpaid work aswell.
I'm a little surprised it's something that hasn't been touched on by the union.
'Getafix
Spot on 'Getafix - I haven't covered it on here yet either - it's probably something to do with covid/lockdown fatigue or the sheer degree of corruption under the current Tory government. A minister of the Crown not only overturns a planning decision by an LA, but his own officials as well and rushes it through in order to beat a deadline that robs a community of £50million in direct contravention of his own government's policy and legislation. Oh and because the guy is mates with Boris and gives the party some cash. Honestly I'm getting fatigued by the stench of it all.
DeleteI agree it all stinks, and bode badly for the future.
DeleteUnder the blackout blanket of Covid19 there's all sorts of dirty and corrupt deals going on, from the big outsource companies buying each other up, to managing a no deal Brexit in a way so the EU can be blamed for failure to reach a trade deal.
But still we can all celebrate Independence day next Saturday (really the starting flag for herd immunity) and we can all get a taste of what it's going to be like to be American, eating Kentucky cholinated fried chicken.
It's all very dark.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/24/priv-j24.html
'Getafix
Why is Jim Barton taking so much flak? Last time I checked, Jo Farrar is CEO of HMPPS, Amy Rees is Director General of Probation and Sonia Crozier is Chief Probation Officer. I think you're barking up the wrong tree.
ReplyDeleteThose named may well be in charge but the dog is what delivers the bark. His lackey and close allegiance is with the napo GS so noises off.
DeleteThere's an awful lot of "don't mention the war" going on.
ReplyDeleteI always understood unions to be something people paid subs to for the protection of their terms & conditions in the workplace, NOT conditional terms & conditions that suit the unilateral arrangements made between the union and the employer, arrangements that members never get to vote on.
The White male Tory charabanc is off the marks and building up steam yet there seem to be increasingly fewer and quieter voices raising objection to the corruption, the lying, the deception, the contempt & the barefaced cashing-in of our citizenship for personal gain by a handful of spoilt brats. In fact there seem to be an increasing number of voices clamouring to be heard in defence of the heartless, soul-less, unscrupulous, immoral self-defined 'elite'.
The no-deal Brexit they are constructing will mean massive pay-days for the lying cheating privileged few, and penury for the rest of us.
The piss-poor management of the pandemic will mean massive pay-days for the lying cheating privileged few, and long-term life-threatening illnesses for the rest of us.
The pleasing of the simple-minded thorugh the premature opening of pubs, of air-corridors and the removal of quarrantine periods will mean massive pay days for the lying cheating privileged few, and protracted misery for the rest of us as the virus enjoys a resurgence throughout the population.
Everyone is expendable except for the privileged few, and even then its up for debate. If you're on the charabanc, you're quids in. But if you blot your copy book, you're out on your arse with the rest of us (although you've probably got a few more quid stashed away than most of us).
Once upon a time Napo was an irritating & painful thorn in the side of the Home Office/MoJ/NOMS. Now its barely noticeable as an innocuous blade of grass bending in the breeze.
Once upon a time Probation staff were angry, independent, creative professionals with flaws & irritating habits who nevertheless kept most of their caseloads in some sort of order.
SPOs were generally tough cookies who kept a team together & on-course regardless of the occasional rebellious spirit; more often than not turned into a force for good rather than thrown overboard.
The Chiefs often struggled to straddle the twin paths of hail-fellow-well-met versus canny Captain of a raucous but effective crew, but most managed it with good grace because they recognised the value of their crew.
Now? If you're wearing the expensive team shirt, nicely pressed-and-ironed to management standards, you get a seat in the boat. Whether or not you can pull your weight. Whether or not you know what to do. Just so long as you make the bosun feel in control and the captain's happy with the homogeneous presentation, you've got a seat.
"Oars at the ready, and... Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!"
For those missing the daily briefings:
ReplyDelete890 new cases & 100 deaths per UK gov data today 27/6/20
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53207700
ReplyDelete"The prime minister has pledged his government will "not go back to the austerity of ten years ago" ahead of a speech on Tuesday.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Boris Johnson set out his plans for a post-lockdown economic recovery. They will include a new taskforce, led by the chancellor, which he says will look at speeding up the building of hospitals, schools and roads.
The economy shrank by 20.4% in April - the largest monthly fall on record.
Amid continued criticism of the way his government has handled the pandemic, the PM said ministers will be "doubling down on levelling up" - spending on infrastructure in order to "build our way back to health".
__________
Its not so much repeating the 'austerity of ten years ago' that will hurt, its a repeat of the persistent & targetted austerity ***over the last ten years*** that will tear the country apart - yet another desperate survival experience that Bozo & his cronies will *never, ever* experience or understand.
The nation's thrall with Bozo's fatuous empty soundbites & lies allowed Brexit to happen and led to the clown walking into No.10.