Schools HR Update

1
HR Services for Schools

• Schools HR Update
• 8th October 2014

2
AGENDA

• HR update
• ACAS and Early Conciliation
• School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document 2014
  and Pay Policy
• Teachers Pay Progression September 2014
• Non Teaching Staff Strike 14th October 2014
• Employee Relations Update, Policies and Law
• Twilight Training
• HS update
• Payroll update
• National Minimum Wage and SCP 5
• Interrogates Pension statement calculations
• Teachers Pension Scheme 2015
• National Fraud Initiative
• Contacting Payroll
• HR health check

3
HR Services for Schools

• Human Resources updates
• October 2014

4
ACAS Early Conciliation a reminder

• Now a Legal requirement for claimant to have made
  a Early Conciliation notification to ACAS before
  can go to ET
• We can tell ACAS now who the contact person for
  the school is (HR can collate a list) or they
  will phone whoever the claimant puts as their
  employer most likely to be the school!
• If we don't tell them, Line Manager may be first
  contact
• Ensure those individuals understand importance of
  that initial contact - take as seriously as a
  formal legal communication and should not attempt
  to resolve themselves
• Alert HR Provider immediately and pass on to
  details of the dispute to individual who would
  manage any subsequent ET claim

5
School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document 2014
and Pay Policy

• STPCD continues pay increases related to
  performance
• STPCD does not change Safeguarding (pay and TLR
  protection) but no guarantee of grade if go to
  new school
• Pay Policy sets out pay scales and applies 1
  increase mostly using DfE reference points
• Issue of STPCD additional payments to HTs

6
School Teachers Pay Progression September 2014 -
background

• STPCD says no automatic salary progression for
  teachers in September 2014
• This applies to all Maintained Schools
  (Community, Foundation and VA) and Academies who
  use STPCD
• OFSTED may check why teachers have progressed!

7
School Teachers Pay Progression September 2014 -
process

• Performance Management Appraisals should have/be
  taking place
• Headteacher recommends progression/not progress
  to Pay Committee
• Decision given to teacher (Teachers Annual Pay
  Statement) by 31st October
• Right of appeal to Pay Appeals Committee

8
School Teachers Pay Progression September 2014
other issues

• Notification to Payroll!
• Use of Capability process for those not
  progressed?
• Support/development plans for those not
  progressed
• New SMART targets for 2014/15
• Lessons learnt? targets, appraisers
  skills/confidence, moderation/fairness, SLT
  Govs skills/confidence

9
School Teachers Pay Progression September 2014
HR Support for Pay Appeals

• Pay Appeal Committees should be able to call upon
  their HR provider to support them at pay appeals
• If your school has concerns about appeals then we
  recommend seeking advice now

10
Non-teaching staff Strike Action 14th October
2014

• UNISON, GMB UNITE National dispute over Local
  Government pay award offer 14/15
• Request for information to send to DfE on
  expected/actual numbers going out on strike sent
  out in letter from Simon Leftley
• Now informed DfE do not, on this occasion, want
  that information!
• PLEASE DONT FILL IN THE PRO FORMAS!!!
• Please do send in the Payroll pro formas by 1st
  NOVEMBER

11
Employee Relations Update, Policies and Law

• Caselaw
• Be careful in what you offer/contract!
• LGA reports that in Hershaw and others v
  Sheffield City Council the EAT held that a letter
  from an HR consultant setting out the result of a
  pay and grading appeal which incorrectly told the
  employees they would be placed on a higher grade
  than was actually decided was capable of having
  contractual effect, as the HR consultant had
  ostensible, if not formal, authority to
  communicate the result
• Each case is different but it is important to
  check what is offered /set out in writing OR
  verbally as this may result in it being
  contractual

12
Employee Relations Update, Policies and Law

• Policies
• put onto SLN
• Teachers Pay Policy 2014
• Flexible Working
• going onto SLN
• Pensions (LGPS)
• Criminal Records Checks
• in consultation
• Retirement
• in preparation
• Shared Parental Leave
• Non-teaching Appraisal

13
Employee Relations Update, Policies and Law

• Legal Timetable
• From 1 Oct 2014
• Prospective fathers and the partners of mothers
  to be will be able to take time off to attend two
  ante-natal appointments
• Employees dismissed for reasons connected with
  membership of a reserve force will not need two
  years service to claim unfair dismissal
• From Late 2014
• Introduction of the DWP Health and Work Service
  aimed at providing all employers, employees and
  GPs with occupational health guidance to help
  employees stay in or to return to work

14
Twilight Training

• Improving the understanding and skills of Senior
  Management Teams, Headteachers and Governing
  Bodies HR can offer Twilight/Evening Sessions
  at a school or for a number of schools
• Investigation Training a proper investigation
  for Disciplinary, Capability or Grievance is
  essential. Are those staff and Governors who
  would conduct an investigation confident to do
  so?
• Hearing and Appeal Training Headteacher and
  Appeal Panel Governors. Apart from employee
  relations cases, are Governors who would conduct
  a Pay Appeal confident to do so?
• Policy Training for SLT/Office Managers/Bursars

15
HR Advisory Services

• Advisory Services
• Team Manager is Liz Farrell with Nikki Anderson
  as Senior HR Officer
• Nikki will shortly be going on Maternity Leave so
  if she is your named officer ten please call
  Claire Sims (215509) instead whilst Nikki is off

16
HR Services for Schools

• Health and Safety update
• October 2014

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HSE EDUCATION NEWS
As the new school year begins, the HSE is
reminding school leaders to strike the right
balance in their approach to health and safety
risks
If you believe some of the stories you hear,
health and safety is all about stopping any
activity that might possibly lead to
harm. Whilst children need to be kept safe, they
also should be able to learn through experience
and play conkers without wearing goggles!
18
Elf and Safety

• Examples of the cases HSEs Mythbusters Challenge
  panel has ruled on
• Primary school not allowed ladders

The Myth Primary school not allowed ladders due
to health and safety. Therefore staff use chairs
to reach up when 'working at heights'. Panel
decision There is nothing in health and safety
law that prevents primary schools from using step
ladders in classrooms
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-Hot drinks not allowed on school trips
The Myth Enquirer's daughter took a hot drink in
a flask on a school trip. Following the trip the
enquirer was told that the school has a no hot
drink policy 'due to Health and Safety'. Panel
decision Health and safety legislation does not
prevent children from having hot food or drink in
their packed lunches, for consumption in school
or on school trips.
20
-School bans children from wearing frilly socks
The Myth It was reported that a school banned
children from wearing frilly socks for health and
safety reasons. Panel decision There is nothing
in health and safety law which stipulates how
long or short frills on school girls' socks
should be. Schools are free to set their own
uniform policies but these decisions shouldn't
hide behind spurious references to health and
safety law.
21
School fines
Some examples of fines imposed on schools for
breaching health and safety legislation-
-A college was ordered to pay a total of 175,000
in fines and costs after the death of a 3 year
old girl in their nursery care.
-A College was fined 100,000 after an employee
was exposed to high levels of silica dust as he
worked to preserve the sandstone building.
22
Sensible Health and Safety management in schools
So in summary, a sensible approach to health and
safety in schools means to strike the right
balance , so that the real risks are managed and
learning opportunities are experienced to the
full.
Sensible health and safety management should be
straightforward, it's just part of good school
leadership.
23
Sensible controls for Asbestos in Schools
Asbestos was extensively used as a building
material in the UK from the 1950s through to the
mid-1980s. System buildings constructed during
the period 1945 -1980 were widely used for the
construction of school premises.  These buildings
can have structural columns fire proofed with
asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
HSE has undertaken sample inspections in the
education sector to assess duty holder's
compliance with the Control of Asbestos
Regulations.
24
HR Services for Schools

• Payroll update
• October 2014

25
National Minimum Wage and SCP 5

• From 1 October 2014 the national minimum wage
  hourly rates took effect as follows
• adult rate for those aged 21 or over increased
  from 6.31 to 6.50
• aged 18 or more but under 21 increased from 5.03
  to 5.13
• 16 and 17 year olds, increased from 3.72 to
  3.79
• Apprentices, it increased from 2.68 to 2.73
• IF YOU HAVE STAFF NOT ON A SCP WHO WILL
  OTHERWISE BE BELOW THE NMW PLEASE SUBMIT A PAY 2
  TO INCREASE THEM
• This means SCP 5 had to be increased to 12,540
  pa we will do this automatically

26
Interrogates

• These reports are very important for schools and
  for Payroll as they allow a check that what has
  been paid is correct and avoid ongoing under or
  overpayments if errors are picked up
• Please therefore send back a signed copy of the
  report by 31st OCTOBER EVEN IF THERE ARE NO
  CORRECTIONS NEEDED so that only current data is
  being used
• Any interrogates received after this date, cannot
  be actioned, and pay forms will be needed
• We apologise having to do this, but we need to
  make sure that only current data is being changed
  and we are sure that you will understand that we
  need to make sure changes with peoples pay are
  accurate

27
Pension statement calculations

• We have had a number of queries regarding pension
  statements for Local Government staff. The query
  is usually regarding the hours as it does not
  always correspond with the hours they actually
  work. The way pensions come to these hours are as
  follows
• Actual hours X actual weeks / 52.1429 hours

28
HR Services for Schools

• Teachers Pension Scheme 2015
• October 2014

29
Teachers Pension Scheme 2015

• The TPS will change from April 2015 to introduce
  a career average calculation and flexibilities
• Posters have been posted on SLN for schools to
  display and/or distribute to teachers
• All teachers should be encouraged to go to
  www.teacherspensions.co.uk/keepinformed

30
National Fraud Initiative

• Individual staff in schools must be given the
  notification from payroll that we are complying
  with the National Fraud Initiative this
  includes all those off sick, on maternity leave
  or otherwise absent
• This is because their payroll information will be
  provided to the Audit Commission for the purposes
  of preventing and detecting fraud
• If the notification has not been given to all
  employees then please ensure that it is so that
  we can all meet our legal obligations

31
Contacting Payroll

• Payroll Services receive a large volume of
  information from schools and we are always
  looking at how we can best receive this to avoid
  risk of it being missed or changes duplicated
• To help with this would schools please
• Send initial emails to schoolspayroll_at_southend.gov
  .uk
• rather than individual members of the team
• Avoid sending information in more than once or,
  if doing so, cross reference to show that
  clearly

32
HR Services for Schools

• Human Resources Health check
• October 2014

33
HR Updates 2014/2015

• Wednesday 4th February 2015, 1pm to 3.30pm,
  Tickfield, Darwin Room
• Wednesday 13th May 2015, 1pm to 3.30pm,
  Tickfield, Darwin Room