Cumbria sees 40% of workforce appeal gradings from single status review

Close to 4,000 staff at a county council – or 40% of its workforce – have lodged appeals against their grading following a ‘single status’ review, it has been reported.

The News & Star said the review – intended to avoid equal pay claims – at Cumbria County Council would mean pay rises for some and cuts for others, with the outcome expected in February. The changes cover all council employees except teachers, firefighters and senior officers.

Staff were given a ‘role profile’ and grouped into one of seven ‘job families’, and were able to appeal, the paper said.

A council spokesman told the News & Star: “This figure is in line with other local authorities who have implemented single status and the early indications from the appeals process is that the initial assessments have been robust.”

However, trades unions have criticised the job families as a “one-size-fits-all approach”.

Unison branch secretary Deborah Hamilton said: “The process of evaluating the jobs hasn’t been open and transparent. People don’t understand it. They are using appeals as an opportunity to gain understanding and have a say.”

Cumbria said it was too early to say how many of its employees would get pay rises and how many would lose out. The review is expected to add £6m to its £138m annual salary bill, the paper reported.

The local authority has already paid £39.5m to settle equal-pay claims from female staff, the News & Star said.