Voluntary Redundancy Is Still Dismissal

A recent case has essentially confirmed that volunteering for redundancy still amounts to a dismissal.

In Optare Group Ltd v TGWU, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) held that volunteers for redundancy should be counted towards the number of workers the employer was proposing to dismiss as redundant.

In March last year, the company announced it needed to make redundancies at its Leeds and Rotherham sites. It expected 19 to be from Leeds, falling just short of the legal threshold for consulting the union (Section 188 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992). However, after a selection process and request for volunteers it decided to make 17 workers compulsorily redundant and accepted three others who had volunteered. Since the total number to be dismissed was now 20 the union said there was a statutory obligation to consult them. However, the company argued that the volunteers did not count.

Fortunately, both the original tribunal and the EAT agreed with the union: The workers volunteered to be dismissed as part of the redundancy exercise; and the only reason they had volunteered was because they had been invited to do so by the employer as part of its duty to mitigate the impact of the redundancies.

Although not a surprising outcome, the decision is certainly welcome. If the ET had ruled against the TGWU it would have made a mockery of Section 188; and meant that union consultation could be avoided simply be requesting enough volunteers.

It also serves as a useful reminder to those colleges who might have tried this argument during one of their many staff restructures.

Public Sector Pay Rises By 2.8%

While members in England wait on the outcome of consultations over the latest pay offer from the Association of Colleges (AoC), figures from the independent Labour Research Department show that in the three months to May, pay rises in the public sector were running at 2.8% (median). By contrast, the equivalent private sector figure was 3.6%.

Annual retail price inflation in May stood at 4.3 %, or 3.3 % excluding mortgages. According to HM Treasury, figures of 3.5% and 2.7% are forecast for the fourth quarter of 2007.

Interestingly, the Chartered Management Institute national salary survey for 2007 found the average earnings increase for all managers to be 5.3%, with HR managers coming out best at 5.9%.

A-Level Standards Slipping?

A leading academic appointed by the government to advise on the teaching of maths at school has said that A-levels are easier now than ever before.

Sir Peter Williams, who is the chancellor at the University of Leicester and was last week appointed by Gordon Brown as an advisor, has said that there is clear evidence A-levels are easier now than they were when they were first introduced.

He did, however, point out that this wasn’t disastrous, although did blame it for the reason why many university courses are now taught over four years and why some subjects are introduced to students later in their time at university.

He said that A-levels needed ‘fine tuning’ with optional, tougher questions, rather than being completely changed. He welcomed last week’s announcement that A-level students achieving more than 90 per cent would be rewarded with the new ‘A-star’ super-grade, and there would be ‘Oxbridge style’ questions added to exams.

“I believe that, with some more stretch and challenge inserted into it, the A-level is still the right vehicle,” said Sir Peter. “We should not decry the fact that increasingly large cohorts of young 18-year-old men and women attain higher levels in their graduation qualification coming out of secondary education. That is something we should applaud.”

Sir Peter drew his conclusions after studying maths papers from across the past 20 years and found that questions in modern papers required less depth of understanding than those found on papers 20 years ago.

However, the new Department for Children, Schools and Families denied any slip in standards, “The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has a regular programme of monitoring and quality assurance and these most recent studies show that the exam standards have been maintained over time,” said a DCSF spokeswoman.

(Source: BBC, ATL, Guardian Unlimited)

TUC Says Take Stock Of Academies

The Government should take a step back and appoint an independent panel of experts to review its overall approach towards secondary schools and especially the impact that academies are having upon standards, says the TUC today (Monday).

In a report A new direction published today, the TUC says that the change in government gives ministers the perfect opportunity to take stock and analyse the contribution that the new academy schools are making.

A review would give everyone in the education world a better understanding of the relative merits of academies compared to other national and local authority initiatives aimed to improve standards in secondary schools such as Excellence in Cities and the London Challenge, says the report.

A new direction is to be launched later today at Congress House by TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber and a number of the heads of TUC-affiliated education unions. It recommends:

• The establishment of an independent panel including academics and education policy experts to assess how each element of the Government’s programme to improve the teaching of teenagers is faring, taking into account cost and overall effectiveness.
• Moves to make academies more accountable to parents, staff and local communities, ultimately returning them to the control of local education authorities.
• A review of the kinds of organisations that can sponsor academies, with greater encouragement for the involvement of local authorities and other public sector organisations.
• A new approach that gives unions the same recognition rights in academies as in mainstream schools, and which ensures pay and conditions are protected.

A copy of the report is available at http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/academies.pdf

PILON Not An Implied Term

In Scotland, the Court of Session have held that an employer could not imply a pay in lieu of notice clause (PILON) into a contract of employment.

The case, Morrish v NTL Group concerned an employee with a 12 months notice entitlement in his contract. The employer terminated in breach of notice, arguing that there was an implied term entitling them to make a payment in lieu.

Union Organising Guide

A new booklet, Guide to Organising has been published by the TUC. It aims to offer unions a framework for planning, implementing and winning organising campaigns based on practical experience, proven best practices and research around organising in the UK and internationally.

The focus of the guide is organising to secure union recognition in greenfield campaigns and ‘in-fill’ campaigns, or campaigning around pay and other issues. While the specifics of every campaign will be different, this guide applies the key principles that form the basis of successful campaigning and organising. This guide is available free of charge and is available for download from www.tuc.org.uk/extras/guidetoorganising.pdf

Forty Percent Have No Stress Policy

Almost 40% of colleges don’t have a policy for preventing work-related stress according to a recent survey of ACM branches. What’s worse, when asked what happens when a risk assessment reveals high levels of stress, the top response was “nothing” (20%)!

The results, which were reported recently to the Further Education Safety and Health Forum (FESH), may surprise or even alarm some members. However, in another survey we carried out back in 2004, we found that one in seven members had been diagnosed by a doctor within the previous 12 months as suffering from work related stress.

So evidence that a problem exists is undeniable. Indeed, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already identified education as one of the worst offenders, accounting for 13% of all the incidence of work related stress in this country. So what is being done?

The HSE has been working hard to raise awareness of its stress management standards, and has been running a series of workshops for colleges and others in the education sector. These are being followed up by a number of regional one day master-classes focusing on specific aspects of the management standards process. In addition, the HSE has set up a management standards Helpline (0845 345 5678), and from April this year, HSE inspectors are targeting various educational institutions including colleges.

Stress has also been identified as a priority for FESH, and a strategic workplan is being developed to take the matter forward. One particular aspect that ACM will be raising is the need to ensure that college principals are fully on-board. Whether we use carrot, stick or both remains to be seen, but unless we have active support from the top, then many colleges will just pay lip-service to tackling stress.

In the meantime, ACM branches are being urged to press colleges on their stress policies (or lack of) and ensure that active preventative measures are put into place.

More Restructures and Mergers Expected

With management restructuring already rife, and some eight college mergers expected by the end of the year, fears are growing that more uncertainty is to come. Funding pressures, the Train to Gain initiative, the 14-19 agenda and increased competition from private providers are all combining to bring further change to the sector.

To adapt, it is likely that even more colleges will merge, more functions such as human resources, MIS and finance will become shared, and staff restructuring will become an almost annual event at individual colleges. If this becomes a reality then there is no doubt that many jobs will be lost.

For ACM and our members, it is going to be a bumpy ride ahead. Membership growth and improving local branch organisation will be central to dealing with restructures and mergers, as will equipping branches with the information they need to stay ahead of the game. Watch out for a new recruitment kit for branches in the near future. In the meantime, our guidance for branch officers on restructuring can be downloaded from the ACM website.

New LSC Initiative

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has recently announced a new initiative aimed at improving the nation’s skills base. Our Future. It’s in Our Hands , is a new campaign in conjunction with the Government and the Sector Skills Development Agency and on behalf of the Further Education system. The campaign calls on employers and individuals to take control of their future by investing in skills.

The website www.lsc.gov.uk/inourhands, provides valuable information to individuals and employers on the many skills training and funding programs which are available and resources for others working in the learning sector to use.

Give Us Stability

ACM will be calling for stability in employment in further education colleges at this year’s Trades Union Congress. In a motion on job losses in the sector, ACM will argue that the continuing round of restructuring and college mergers have had a detrimental affect on staff, and could damage the reputation of FE as a provider of quality learning.

The Congress, which meets in September, will be asked to back plans calling for action from government, and for any future reviews or consultations on any aspect of further education policy to take meaningful account of the impact of change on staff job security.

A second motion is being submitted on raising the participation age in education and training to 18. ACM will be calling for assurances that the training young people in employment receive is of a sufficiently high standard, and of value to them in the future.

NJF Pay Offer Accepted

ACM has with some reluctance, agreed to accept the pay offer made to unions at the English National Joint Forum. The decision was taken at a meeting today of the ACM President’s committee after considering the views of branches. Although a number of branches described the offer as derisory, a majority felt that in the current circumstances, there was no prospect of securing anything better.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) offer to the unions was for a 2% rise from 1 August 2007, and a further 1% on current rates from 1 February 2008. ACM General Secretary Peter Pendle said that these figures should be viewed as minimum by branches when it comes to local implementation of the pay deal; and that we would help any branch seeking a higher increase at their college.

The employer’s offer also included:

• To tackle low pay, a rounding up of the second instalment in February for scale points 4 to 11 inclusive (up to £15,057) on the current AoC pay spine to give an overall rise of £500.

• To continue negotiations on a Joint agreement on Training and Development, with an aim to complete by August 2007, but recognising that we are awaiting final legislation.

• To set up an officer’s working party to commence negotiations on a national joint agreement on guidance on work life balance and working time, with a completion date of December 2007.

• The AoC to provide case studies on how colleges use the Advanced Teacher and Training scale.

The other NJF trade unions are currently consulting on the offer and the final outcome may not be known until later this month.

E-mail Contact List Belongs To Employer

The High Court recently ruled that a list of contacts kept using Outlook software on a company laptop computer system belonged to the employer, even though the employee had made some of the contacts before he joined the company (PennWell Publishing (UK) Ltd v Isles and others 2007).

Mr Isles joined PennWell Publishing and brought with him a list of contacts that he transferred to his employers Outlook email system. During his time with the company he added details of any new contacts he made and downloaded the entire list of contacts when he left. He then set up a competing business with two colleagues.

Isles had no restrictive covenants in his contract preventing him from competing with PennWell. He did have a confidentiality clause which continued post-termination and a clause requiring him to return all company property, as well as a clause preventing him from having an interest in another business whilst working for PennWell.

PennWell argued that it was confidential information and at all times the property of PennWell as it was prepared and maintained on its computers whilst Isles was its employee.

Isles maintained that this list did not belong to PennWell for two reasons: first, because some of the information included predated his employment with PennWell, and secondly because he maintained the list of contacts for his role as a journalist and not as an employee of PennWell.

The court held that where an address list is contained in a program which is part of the employer’s email system and backed up by the employer, the database or list of information belongs to the employer, and the list may not be copied or removed in its entirety by employees for use outside or after employment.

As a result of this ruling, College staff are advised to safeguard the details of any contacts they made before joining their college by putting these contacts in a separate personal folder. In this particular case, had Isles maintained a separate list which was obviously personal to him, then it is more likely that it would be his property.

The High Court also took the view that many employees would be unaware of the issue concerning ownership of contacts. To be enforceable in this respect, e-mail policies should identify what information is considered to belong to the employer as a result of it being stored on their computer system.