Public and Commercial Services Union

Following a review of allowances, management gave formal notice of their intention to withdraw allowances on the grounds that the original basis for the introduction of allowances no longer existed.

PCS sought to remove the discussion of allowances out of the main pay offer. However, management disagreed and included them in the pay negotiations process and in the final offer.

The final offer letter states that the following allowances will cease:

ADP machine operator
ADP fast keying
Typists/PS
ADP IT
ADP project and programme
Procurement allowances other than 13 key and designated posts identified. PCS is awaiting details of these 13 posts.

No new allowances will be awarded.

PCS has taken legal advice. Our advice is that managements proposals, although bound to be unpopular with members, cannot be challenged by litigation.

The above allowances, apart from ADP, are not contractual and are known as ‘recruitment and retention’ allowances.

Recruitment and retention allowances are designed to address a particular skills shortage by paying a supplement in order to recruit to these posts and to retain staff in these posts. There is no legal entitlement to these allowances in perpetuity.

The ADP allowance differs in that it is contractual but even so there is no legal entitlement to pay this allowance in perpetuity.

As part of the negotiations process, management provided us with the following statement.

“The removal of allowances is the final step in the programme of work we have been carrying out since 2001 to equality proof our pay systems. We have carried out a market rate review of all allowances in payment to establish whether the original reasons for paying the allowances are still valid, and therefore whether the allowances are still justified. The results of this exercise have shown that with the exception of a small number of auditor/accountant/procurement roles, there is no longer justification for paying more to those currently attracting the allowance”.

For members in receipt of allowances

AAs and AO

In recognition of low pay and the financial difficulties that withdrawal of allowances might cause, Management propose to consolidate the allowances but to defer ‘mark time’ arrangements for 3 years, and so extend the period of pay protection.

Management state:

"AA/AOs will continue to receive their allowances for the next 3 years along with a pay award year on year (provided that pay increases are awarded given the economic climate). They are also able to earn their non-consolidated performance bonus. At the end of this 3 year period they will begin to mark time. This means that their allowance will be consolidated into their basic pay and they will receive this until the substantive rate catches up. They will still be able to earn the non-consolidated performance bonus payment while on mark time."

Effectively this means that pay increases will be applied to your salary for the next 3 years, after which it will be frozen at whatever level it is in 2012 and will remain at this level until the pay maxs for AAs and AOs exceed this level.

EOs to grade 6

Allowances will be consolidated into basic pay on a 'mark time' basis. This protects current levels of pay but means that there will be no further increases until pay catches up. Unless your basic pay and consolidated allowance puts you below the max, there will be no further pay increases until the max itself exceeds your pay. A non consolidated, non pensionable buy-out payment will be paid for the next 3 years. The value of this will equate to 75% of the value of the pay award in Year 1, 50% in Year 2 and 25% in Year 3.

Management state:

"Following the pay award (for 2009/10) staff will then start to mark time which means that their allowance will be consolidated into basic pay and they will receive this until the substantive rate catches up. Next year, to compensate staff for the loss of basic pay award increases and help them manage the change, they will receive a non-consolidated, non pensionable payment worth 75% of any pay award in 2010, 50% of any pay award the following year and 25% of any pay award the year after. These staff will still be able to earn the non-consolidated performance bonus payment (provided they achieve an acceptable score for objectives)."

Comment
 

PCS reps have received a number of phone calls and emails on this issue over the past few months; from those who had the allowance and did not wish to lose it, as well as from those who did not have the allowance and felt it was unfair that others did. Some said they wished to instigate equal pay claims on this basis. Contractually, the position is as follows:

Members who are in receipt of an allowance
 

Management have undertaken a business review and state there is no longer a recruitment and retention problem and so there is no business justification for these payments to continue.

Members who are not in receipt of an allowance

Those members who are not in receipt of an allowance but had a reasonable expectation of being paid one, or had an understanding that an allowance would be payable in the future, have no contractual entitlement to such an allowance unless they can evidence in writing that an allowance was promised and they agreed to take the post on the basis of it attracting such an allowance. Unless such documentation can be provided DVLA has no obligation to pay an allowance on the basis of ‘custom & practice’.

We are aware that there are members who took jobs in the belief that they would get an allowance following completion of qualifying criteria. If any member has evidence then PCS will look at this very closely.

Equal pay

Equal pay can only be claimed when gender discrimination is demonstrated in the payment of or the withdrawal of the allowance.

DVLA's impact assessment shows that there is a mix of men and women across all the allowances, in all grades, and our legal assessment is that we do not believe there is a case on equal pay grounds in respect of withdrawal of the allowance, either to those who are currently in receipt of the allowance, or to those who hoped to receive it.

Meetings to discuss proposals on allowances.

Details of pay meetings will be announced very shortly. There will be separate meetings held for those affected by the withdrawal of allowances. Details of these will be issued early week commencing 12 October and these meetings are scheduled for 15/16 October.