Bulletin

NICS
£
£
Equal
Pay

“The latest news from NIPSA Headquarters” NICS Equal Pay

General Secretary, John Corey
To:- All Members in: Bulletin B/27/09
Administrative Assistant plus related/analogous grades
Administrative Officers plus related/analogous grades
Executive Officer IIs plus related/analogous grades
Civil Service Group Branch Secretaries (3MM)
Civil Service Group Executive Committee (1DD)
HQ Officials (Int 1) and Departmental Secretaries (3AA)
25 November 2009

NI CIVIL SERVICE : EQUAL PAY OFFER

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
PROPOSALS AS BASIS FOR SETTLEMENT
This NIPSA Bulletin provides members with further detailed information on:-

V Management Side’s proposals to settle the equal pay claims

V The Civil Service Executive Committee’s assessment of the offer and recommendation
to members
V The arrangements for consulting with all members and claimants in the affected grades
to provide a mandate for the union to proceed to seek to finalise a settlement of the
claims on the basis of Management Side’s proposals.

Equal Pay Claims

NIPSA submitted equal pay claims for the following grades:-

For Administrative Assistants and all related/analogous grades the union claimed equal pay
with Technical Grade II staff *
For Administrative Officers and all related/analogous grades the union claimed equal pay
with Technical Grade I staff *
For Executive Officer IIs and all related/analogous grades the union claimed equal pay with
Professional and Technology Officer (PTO) staff.*
(* See Appendix 1 detailing the analogous and related grades)

In the absence of any resolution of the claims NIPSA was obliged to initiate legal processes and
lodged up to 5,000 equal pay claims in the Industrial Tribunal. As explained in previous bulletins, to
comply with equal pay law, the claims lodged were for female members but the union also initiated
the process for ‘piggy back’ equal pay claims for male members in the same grades.

The Leading Public Service Union

Harkin House, 54 Wellington Park, Belfast BT9 6DP
Tel: 028 9066 1831 Fax: 028 9066 5847 Web:1 www.nipsa.org.uk E-Mail: info@nipsa.org.uk
Proposals for Settlement
In the prolonged and intensive negotiations with Management Side, and with successive Ministers,
NIPSA pressed for proposals to provide a resolution of these equal pay claims without the need for
members to have to go through protracted legal processes.

Last week NI Executive Ministers gave their approval to a package of proposals negotiated with the
union to be put to members for consideration. The formal letter of offer was circulated with NIPSA
Bulletin B26/09; the key elements of the proposals are as follows.

V For Administrative Assistants

(and analogous/related grades – see Appendix 1)
Revised Pay Scale and Assimilation Terms

The offer provides for the Administrative Assistant pay scale to be revised to give equal pay with the
Technical Grade II pay scale.

In addition all members in the Administrative Assistants (and the related/analogous grades) will
be assimilated to the revised pay scale with effect from 1 February 2009. The assimilation terms
negotiated take account of the period of reckonable service in the (substantive) grade as follows:-

Current AA Revised
Pay scale Pay scale Period of Reckonable Service in AA or
1/08/08 1/02/09 Analogous Grade at 1 February 2009
13,130 13,280 less than one year service in the substantive grade
13,493 and below the maxima
13,872 14,131 From 1 year to less than 3 years service in the
14,201 substantive grade and below the maxima
14,420
14,981 From 3 years to less than 5 years service in the
substantive grade and below the maxima
15,619 From 5 years to less than 6 years service in the
substantive grade and below the maxima
16,257 6 years service or more in the substantive grade and
below the maxima
16,682 Staff on the maxima with less than 6 years service in
the substantive grade
17,108 Staff on the maxima with 6 or more years service in
the substantive grade
17,533

Back Pay

Under equal pay law, where an equal pay claim is successful at an Industrial Tribunal, up to six years
of back pay can be awarded to the date of the claim being lodged with the Tribunal. On the basis
that the revised rates of pay above would be implemented with effect from 1 February 2009, the 6
year period would go back to 1 February 2003.

As part of these proposals for settlement, NIPSA secured Management Side’s agreement to offer
back pay to members by way of a lump sum compensation payment as set out in the matrix below.

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 1 or more 2 or more 3 or more 4 or more 5 or more
but less but less but less but less but less
Less than than 2 than 3 than 4 than 5 than 6 6 years or
1 year years years years years years more
105 770 2,660 4,200 6,300 8,400 9,993

The amount each member would receive will depend on their length of reckonable service in the
substantive grade.

It should also be noted that these lump sum payments are net of Income Tax and National Insurance.
The NI Civil Service will be responsible for payment of those costs directly to HM Revenue and
Customs. Consequently members would not be required to report these compensatory payments
to HMRC and we are advised that payment of these lump sums will not affect Working Family Tax
Credits retrospectively or in the future.

V For Administrative Officers plus analogous/related grades

Revised Pay Scale and Assimilation Terms

The offer provides for the Administrative Officer pay scale to be revised to give equal pay with the
Technical Grade I pay scale with effect from 1 February 2009 – with assimilation terms as follows:-

Current AO Revised
Pay scale Pay scale Period of Reckonable Service in AO or
1/08/08 1/02/09 Analogous Grade at 1 February 2009
14,890 15,277 Less than one year service in substantive grade and
15,539 below the maxima
16,136 16,312 From 1 year to less than 3 years service in the
16,714 substantive grade and below the maxima
17,099
17,348 From 3 years to less than 5 years service in the
substantive grade and below the maxima
18,038 From 5 years to less than 6 years service in the
substantive grade and below the maxima
18,728 6 years service or more in the grade and below the
maxima
19,419 Staff on the maxima with less than 6 years service in
the substantive grade
20,109 Staff on the maxima with 6 or more years service in
the substantive grade
20,799
21,490
21,835
22,180

Back Pay

Similarly to Administrative Assistants as above, Management Side is offering to meet back pay
entitlement for Administrative Officers plus related/analogous grades, by lump sum compensation
payments as follows:-

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 1 or more 2 or more 3 or more 4 or more 5 or more
but less but less but less but less but less
Less than than 2 than 3 than 4 than 5 than 6 6 years or
1 year years years years years years more
280 1,488 4,130 5,723 8,750 11,585 13,965

These are also net of income tax and National Insurance liabilities and do not affect Working Family
Tax Credits retrospectively or in the future.

V Executive Officer IIs plus analogous/related grades

Revised Pay Scale and Assimilation Terms

Throughout the negotiations on equal pay Management Side has rejected NIPSA’s claim that Executive
Officer IIs should have equal pay with the PTO grade. Management Side insist that the Executive
Officer I grade is the appropriate comparator with PTO. Management proposed making minimal
adjustments to the EOII pay scale pending the proposed Comprehensive Pay and Grading Review.

NIPSA was not prepared to accept this response and after intensive representations, as part of the
package of proposals to settle all the equal pay claims, Management Side is offering to increase the
pay of Executive Officer IIs with effect from 1 February 2009 with assimilation terms as follows:-

August 2008 February 2009

pay scale pay scale
Max 23,250
7 22,718
Max1 21,132 6 22,186
9 20,844 5 21,654
8 20,637 4 21,122
7 20,390 4 21,122
6 20,018 3 20,590
5 19,647 2 20,015
4 19,152 2 20,015
3 18,657 1 19,450
2 18,163 1 19,450
1 17,668 1 19,450
1 Staff on the maximum of the Typing Manager scale will move to £22,186

Lump Sum Payment

As Management Side is not prepared to accept Executive Officer IIs have a valid equal pay claim
against the PTO grade, no entitlement to back pay is conceded. However again, as part of a package
of proposals to settle the equal pay claims, NIPSA has secured a Management Side offer of one off
lump sum payments as follows:-

Less than 3 years 3 or more but less than 5 years or more

5 years
250 1,100 1,700

These payments are also net of income tax and National Insurance and we are advised will not impact
on Working Family Tax Credits retrospectively or in the future.

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Comprehensive Pay/Grading Review

The other element of the package for Executive Officer IIs is the proposal to give priority to further
examination of the EOII pay and grading in a comprehensive pay and grading review covering all
grades in the NI Civil Service.

Comparison of offer with potential Tribunal Settlements

NIPSA’s strategy, endorsed by Annual Conference, was to seek to negotiate acceptable settlements
of the equal pay claims but at the same time to take appropriate action to protect legal entitlements
by lodging claims with the Industrial Tribunal. It was also determined by Annual Conference that
decisions on whether or not any proposals for settlement are acceptable would be a matter for the
members and claimants affected to determine.

In placing these proposals before members for consideration NIPSA is also obliged to advise members
of the option of pursuing the claims at an Industrial Tribunal and what potentially might be secured if
there was a successful outcome at Tribunal.

Administrative Assistants plus related/analogous grades

Administrative Officers plus related/analogous grades

The revised pay scales for Administrative Assistants, Administrative Officers plus their related/
analogous grades are the same as the comparator grades of Technical Grade II and Technical Grade
I respectively. In the negotiations NIPSA pressed for special assimilation terms to the revised pay
scale to take account of the length of reckonable service in the grade of AA, AO, etc. The assimilation
terms offered address the anomaly that significant numbers of members with longer service are still on
the minimum pay points. It is possible for some members, depending on their current pay point and
length of service in the grade, to achieve a higher pay point if a claim was successful at a Tribunal.

The lump sum payment matrix has been calculated based on actual pay for these grades during the
preceding six year period to arrive at an average figure for full time equivalent staff. The outcome
of the negotiations is that Management Side is offering lump sum payments equating to 70% of the
totals of the average figures calculated.

Legal entitlement to back pay only arises when an equal pay claim is successful in a Tribunal. The
amount an individual would recover in back pay would depend on the actual difference in pay received
by the claimant with the earnings of the comparator. The amounts could be higher or lower than the
matrix lump sum payments in individual cases and interest would be payable. However it should be
noted any amount of back pay awarded by a Tribunal will be a gross figure, subject to deductions for
Income Tax and National Insurance and could impact on Working Family Tax Credits.

Executive Officer IIs plus analogous/related grades

As stated earlier in this bulletin, Management Side strongly rejects NIPSA’s claim that Executive
Officer IIs should have equal pay with the PTO grade as a comparator. Management Side insist that
the Executive Officer I grade is the appropriate comparator with PTO.

However, while that remains the position, as a result of NIPSA’s intensive representations, Management
Side agreed to include in this overall offer the improved pay scale for Executive Officer IIs. This revised
pay scale, with the assimilation terms indicated, will also be effective from 1 February 2009. As a
result of NIPSA’s representation we also secured the proposed one off lump sum payments based
on length of service in the grade.

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In addition Management Side will agree to give first priority to further examination of the Executive
Officer II pay and grading in the Comprehensive Pay and Grading review proposed as part of this
equal pay settlement.

Valid comparisons cannot be made between the revised pay and lump sums offered as part of this
package and what an individual Executive Officer II might receive if there was a successful outcome
at Tribunal. Legal advice on the merits of the equal pay claim submitted is contained in the next
section.

Legal Advice
NIPSA’s legal team has provided ongoing advice to the union on the action to be taken to secure
equal pay for members in the affected grades. Senior Counsel fully endorsed the union’s strategy of
seeking to negotiate a settlement of the claims while taking the necessary action to lodge equal pay
claims to protect NIPSA members’ legal rights. We have sought legal advice on the proposals now
received which is as follows.

Administrative Assistants, Administrative Officers, etc

For both the Administrative Assistants, Administrative Officers and their related grades the legal
opinion is that there are strengths with the claims submitted to the Tribunal. However this has always
to be balanced against the element of risk involved in any Tribunal proceedings and there can be no
guarantee of success.

It is also the case that legal proceedings are likely to be lengthy and it would be some considerable
time before claims would be resolved.

Senior Counsel’s advice is that the lump sum payments, together with the assimilation terms
to the revised ‘equal pay’ scales, would be a fair negotiated settlement to be considered when
balanced against the element of risk in any litigation action. The amounts being offered by
Management Side reflect the advice given to us, that the cases of the AA’s and AO’s are more
likely than not to succeed, but that success cannot be guaranteed.

Executive Officer IIs etc

For the Executive Officer IIs the legal advice from Senior Counsel is that there may be potential
difficulties in establishing before the Tribunal that the current EOII pay scale is discriminatory against
the PTO comparator grade. Currently the Executive Officer I grade pay scale is equivalent to the pay
scale for PTO and Management Side insist that the Executive Officer I grade is equivalent to PTO.

We are advised that there may be an arguable case in respect of the equal pay claim submitted for the
EO II grade. However to sustain this case we would be required to produce evidence that a statistically
significant percentage of EOII posts and PTO posts are graded as equivalent under job evaluation
and /or of equal value and meet the tests for sex discrimination under Equal Pay legislation. Senior
Counsel advises that the claim for the Executive officer II is far more complex with a significantly
higher level of risk of not succeeding than is the case with the AA and AO equal pay claims.

With the Management Side’s commitment to give priority to a further examination of the Executive
Officer II pay and grading in the wider comprehensive review, taking account of the significant risk
with litigation action on this claim, Senior Counsel’s advice is that the Management Side’s offer
of the revised EOII pay scale, the assimilation terms and the one off lump sum payments at
this time should be considered positively by members.

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Executive Committee’s Recommendations
The Executive Committee appreciates that members have had to wait a long time to reach the point
of securing this offer to settle the equal pay claims initiated by NIPSA many years ago. As advised
previously however equal pay claims give rise to complex and difficult issues which have required
the extensive and prolonged negotiations over the last eighteen months.

Having gone through the process, it is the Executive Committee’s view that the assimilation terms
to the revised pay scales plus lump sum payments are the best that can be achieved through the
negotiations. The alternative to accepting these Management Side proposals is to proceed to litigation
through the Industrial Tribunal. However, mindful of Senior Counsel’s advice as reported above, the
Executive Committee is now recommending that members should accept the proposals as a
basis to settle the equal pay claims.

The Executive Committee appreciates that members in the Executive Officer II grade will be
disappointed to learn that Management Side is rejecting the union’s equal pay claim and to learn
of the potential difficulties that would be faced in securing a successful outcome if the claims were
pursued at the Tribunal. The Executive Committee believes that against that background the offer
secured is the best that can be achieved in the negotiations. In considering this matter, members
should also note:-

(a) Many EOIIs promoted from the Administrative Officer (AO) grade since 1 February 2003
will be eligible for the back pay lump sums for Administrative Officers depending on their
length of service in the AO grade from 1 February 2003 to 31 January 2009.

(b) NIPSA will be pressing for further improvement on EOII pay in the proposed Comprehensive
Spending Review.

(c) If the proposals are not accepted there is no guarantee that Management Side will increase
EOII pay pending the outcome of any Tribunal proceedings.

Northern Ireland Office/NDPBs etc

The Management Side offer received from the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) applies
to the equal pay claims submitted to NI Civil Service Departments. NIPSA will be seeking to ensure
that the terms of a settlement of those NICS equal pay claims will be applied to staff in the equivalent
grades for example, in NIO, Court Service, PSNI, NI Water Ltd, INI, AFBI, etc and NDPBs such as
the Equality Commission, LRA, etc.

NIPSA will be contacting directly all of the relevant bodies, NDPBs etc to commence discussions on
the issues involved in extending the settlement to those areas.

NIPSA Branches covering NIO, NDPBs, etc will be consulted on the action to be taken and a meeting
of Branch representatives covering all of these areas is being arranged. The Branches concerned
will be notified separately.

Consultation With Members and Claimants

The next step is to consult with all members in the grades affected including those who have registered
claims with the Industrial Tribunal through the union. As stated earlier NIPSA’s Annual Conference
determined that members and claimants should decide whether or not the proposals for settlement
are acceptable. The Executive Committee wishes to ensure this is established democratically and it
is proposed therefore to proceed to ballot all members in the affected grades.

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NIPSA will also be arranging to consult directly with all NIPSA members who have registered equal pay
claims with the Industrial Tribunal. The union will be providing further detailed legal advice to those
members as required with a view to discontinuing those claims if the Management Side proposals
are acceptable to members.

Further details of the arrangements for the ballot of members will be issued to Branches as quickly
as possible. We will also be making arrangements with Branches for meetings of members in
grades covered by the equal pay offer to provide more information and address members’ queries.
Arrangements for these meetings will be published shortly.

Members should now consider the offer in respect of their substantive grade. For all the reasons
set out in this Bulletin, and taking into account the legal advice from Senior Counsel, NIPSA’s Civil
Service Group Executive Committee is recommending that members should vote in favour of
mandating NIPSA to proceed to settle the equal pay claims.

Yours sincerely

JOHN COREY
General Secretary

Note: This NIPSA Bulletin is solely for the purposes of advising members in relation to the
potential terms of a negotiated settlement being offered on equal pay claims submitted and
the content is without prejudice to the validity of those claims or any future litigation before
a Tribunal.

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 APPENDIX 1

Administrative Assistant and Administrative Officer and Executive Officer II and

Analogous Grades Analogous Grades Analogous Grades

Analogous Analogous Analogous

Grade Title Grade Grade Title Grade Grade Title Grade
Administrative Assistant AA Administrative Officer AO Executive Officer II EOII
Administrative Assistant (New AA Administrative Officer (New AO Audit Assistant (H&SS) EOII
Deal) Deal) Trainee Careers Advisor EOII
Administrative Assistant London AA Administrative Officer London AO Law Clerk II EOII
Assistant Custodian AA Assistant Programmer AO Senior Mapper EOII
Cleaner AA Assistant Supervisor (Office AO Programmer EOII
Dental Surgery Assistant AA Machines) (Obsol)
Traffic Examiner EOII EOII
ICT level 1 AA Custodian AO
Personal Secretary EOII
O Level Trainee Civil AA Field Monument Warden AO
Senior Personal Secretary EOII
Engineering Assistant Healthcare Assistant AO
Social Security Officer 1 EOII

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O Level Trainee Planning AA ICT Level 2 AO
Agricultural Inspector Group 1, EOII
Assistant Mapper AO
Imports Inspector EOII
Sandwich Course student AA Medical Attendant AO
Fisheries Officer II EOII
Sandwich Course student (IT) AA Nurse Grade C AO
Support Manager 3 EOII
SGB2 AA Security Guard AO
Supervisor of Security Guards EOII
SGB2 Security Guard AA Security Officer AO
Support Manager 3 (Supervisor EOII
SGB2 Watchperson/cleaner AA SGB1 AO of Security Guards)
Trainee Electrical Engineering AA SGB1 Security Guard AO EOII London EOII
Assistant
Social Security Officer IIA AO Personal Secretary London EOII
Trainee Mechanical & Electrical AA
Social Security Officer IIB AO Typing Manager EOII
Engineer
Trainee Mechanical Engineering AA Driver and Traffic Examiner EOII
Assistant Enforcement Officer EOII
Trainee Planning Assistant AA
Typist AA
Typist London AA
Vacational student AA