Birmingham City Council to review terms and conditions for all employees
Birmingham City Council has announced plans to review terms and conditions for all employees in the latest stage of its cost-cutting drive. The move could see the introduction of a revised contract of employment at the council.
The local authority issued a section 188 notice to trade unions this week, advising them of its intention to consult on proposed changes.
Chief executive Stephen Hughes said the council needed to reduce its net expenditure by an estimated £330million over the next three to four years. This equates to around a third of its overall net spend.
He added: “The magnitude of this financial pressure is immense. The council needs to radically review its overheads and expenditure and as part of this there is a need to broaden the existing review of employee allowances and terms and conditions of employment which began earlier this year.”
Hughes said the council also had a duty to ensure that any payments it makes to employees are fair and meet the legal requirements of Equal Pay legislation.
In addition to the allowances that were already under review, Birmingham (BCC) intends to consult with unions on:
- “Review of car payments, exploring the termination of the current allowances namely, essential and casual user allowances, review the application of two different mileage rates based on engine size.
- Review the criteria applied for the allocation of car parking spaces for employees
- Review the terms and conditions on which JNC officers are employed
- Replace and or introduce where applicable a revised suite of People Management Policies and Procedures within the Conduct cohort, namely; Disciplinary Procedure, Grievance Procedure, Capability Procedure, Dignity at Work Procedure and Code of Conduct
- Introducing Job Groups as the mechanism for deploying employees within the council as opposed to using job descriptions
- The removal of the Craft Red Book as a recognised set of terms and conditions for BCC employees and the harmonisation of any affected employees onto the Green Book and local NJC terms and conditions
- The introduction of a revised contract of employment for BCC.”
Birmingham’s Hughes said the local authority would keep employees informated of the proposals and the consultation.
He added: “No decisions have been made at this time and every effort will be made to minimise the impact on employees.”
