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Equality Diversity  >  Strategic Leadership (Equality Diversity)  >  Equlity and Diversity - Equal Pay Statement

Equal Pay Statement

Context

The Council currently employs approximately 11,500 employees across a wide range of services, functions and disciplines. It recognises national collective bargaining for four distinct groups of employees, namely:

• SJC for Local Government Employees 
• Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers
• SJC for Craft Operatives
• JNC for Chief Officials of Local Authorities (Scotland)

In respect of the above four groups there are elements of pay which are subject to local determination and others that are determined nationally. This Equal Pay Statement deals with the issues that the Council can address directly.

Statement

Aberdeen City Council is committed to addressing any differences between the pay of men and women that are related to gender and to meeting our responsibilities for Equal Pay.  This will be done through the introduction of a fair and non discriminatory job evaluation scheme and the adoption of equality proofed terms and conditions of service.

For the majority of staff employed by the Council, that is those employed under the SJC for Local Government Employees, implementation of equality proofed pay arrangements will be delivered once proposals are formally adopted by the Council and agreed with the Trade Unions. The national agreement for the implementation of Equal Pay assumes that it is inextricably linked to modernisation of pay, which includes terms and conditions of employment.
It is hoped that a collective agreement on our new terms and conditions and Job Evaluation package can be reached. The other significant group of staff is Teachers who have a nationally determined job sizing scheme and terms and conditions which are largely determined nationally, with some aspects devolved for local determination.

Within a recent agreement reached on Craft Operatives, pay has been determined by reference to the Nationally recognised job evaluation scheme.
 
It is recognised that genuine intentions alone are not enough to put equal pay into practice. There is a legal framework which imposes certain obligations on employers to prevent discrimination in the workplace and in service delivery. In addition, equality of opportunity is one of the founding principles of Aberdeen City Council.

The introduction of job evaluation, whilst serving as a  tool to prevent discrimination, will also allow us to have a pay system which monitors and controls costs.  In addition, Aberdeen City Council will continue to progress an Equal Pay and Modernisation programme which will provide employees with a pay system and a set of terms and conditions that are reflective of a modern society, subject to a Gender Equality Impact Assessment and full consultation.

Through the Gender Equality Scheme, Aberdeen City Council has set objectives in key priority areas.  Occupational Segregation has been identified as one of these key priorities and we will aim to ensure that women and men are represented at all levels of the workforce and in all areas of work.  Another priority area in the pursuit of eliminating sex bias is to eradicate any unequal employment practices and promote equality in the workplace.  We will work in partnership with employees and Trade Unions to meet and where possible exceed our moral and legal obligations.  This will in turn support the Council’s vision to become recognised within the city and more widely, as being a leading Council in Northern Europe by 2010.

Cause of the Gender Gap

Developing pay systems that are free from gender bias are only part of what an employer can do to close the gender pay gap. The Council continues to be a leading employer in developing and delivering a scheme of terms and conditions which are family friendly and flexible where service requirements permit. The Council has a wide range of flexible working arrangements and we will continue to keep these under review.

• Occupational Segregation - In terms of occupational segregation, the Council will continue to monitor the vertical and horizontal issues. It is recognised that personal choice plays a significant part in the type of jobs people choose to do. In some respects more can be done to seek to break down barriers of women moving into what have been previously viewed as “male” type jobs. Some jobs will continue to attract people with caring responsibilities by virtue of the flexibility they allow. Traditionally, these jobs have attracted women.

Vertical occupational segregation will continue to be monitored to see if “glass ceilings” can be identified and understand the barriers with a view to remove them.

• Recruitment Processes - We will continue to ensure all jobs are as widely advertised as possible and that only the essential criteria identified in the person specification is used as part of the selection process. The Council has developed significant guidance including a full two day course on Recruitment and Selection to assist with ensuring recruitment decision are free from any form of discrimination.
  
• Long-hours Culture – Not only is there overwhelming evidence that long hours can be harmful to employees health and productivity, the concept of “presenteeism” could be viewed as a barrier for women looking for promotion or development. The Council supports flexible working arrangements where customer focus and service delivery is not compromised. The emphasis in this area will be on smarter ways of working
  
• Access to Training – We have comprehensive training and development opportunities for all staff. We will seek to ensure that those in part-time or lower paid occupations have the same opportunities to access training in order to develop their skills and competencies.

Meeting our Objectives

The Equal Opportunities Commission recommend that specific details are provided to demonstrate how we will meet our objectives.

• Equal Pay is specifically identified as part of our Equal Pay and Modernisation Agenda.  Regular discussions have, and continue to be, held with the recognised trade union representatives to ensure that a shared approach is taken to the implementation of the agenda.
• Aberdeen City Council committed to undertake an equal pay review as part of the Single Status Agreement, signed in July 1999.  The Full 13 factor Job Evaluation Scheme has been used in the undertaking of a Job Evaluation Exercise.  Job Evaluations outcomes will impact on new and existing employees within affected categories.
• For those working in Teaching posts the nationally determined job sizing toolkit has been adopted and continues to be applied by the Council.
• Full training has been provided for all involved in the operation of the job evaluation schemes. 
• A corporate communication strategy has been adopted to inform and update all employees at each stage of the Equal Pay timeline.  In addition, information has been sent to every home address.  Training has been undertaken at management level, to ensure all employees can get the advice and support necessary to understanding how Equal pay impacts on them.
• An Appeals Procedure arising from job evaluation is proposed as a key part of the process and any appeals shall be dealt with as expeditiously as possible.
• We will monitor and report on gender pay statistics annually.