“60%” OF COUNCIL STAFF REJECT SINGLE STATUS CONTRACTS

15-12-2007

Rumours circulating among well-placed sources at Birmingham City Council suggest that up to 60% of staff who’ve returned their revised contracts have rejected new terms and conditions.

The deadline has passed for most of the local authority’s 40,000 directly employed workers to either accept or decline management’s official offer, and many simply haven't responded.

Our information is that of those who have, as many as six in ten have said they intend to fight their new grading.

When we asked the Council to confirm or deny this, they asked us to put in (another) Freedom Of Information request – so we have.

Around 18,000 employees in schools along with the Council’s controversial “bonus earners” (including refuse collectors) have not yet had their formal letters.

Even so, it’s possible that the number of refuseniks could run into thousands.

Members of staff who haven’t formally accepted their new deals and who haven’t yet responded could also still reject their contracts when they kick in early next year.

They still have the chance to claim unfair dismissal and seek damages at an industrial tribunal.

One complicating factor is the refusal of the Council to allow unhappy staff to see the comparators on which their new grades are based – which as The Stirrer revealed yesterday has prompted a flood of Freedom of Information claims: see link here

Staff have had their salaries and terms and conditions reviewed as a result of the government's Single Status legislation designed to eliminate unfair pay.

Join the discussion about Single Status on our Message Board.