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Report to: |
Governance Committee |
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Date of meeting: |
23 January 2024 |
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By: |
Chief Operating Officer |
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Title: |
Annual leave entitlement |
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Purpose: |
To address the current difference in service-related leave for staff on Single Status grades. |
The Governance Committee is recommended to:
1.1 A question has recently been raised around service-related annual leave entitlement for staff on single status grades on Yammer, via the Chief Executive’s Webchat. At present employees on grades Single Status (SS) 1-10 currently do not benefit from any increase in entitlement at 10 years’ service, compared to those on grades SS11-13 who receive an extra day. Please refer to the entitlement table below:
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Terms and conditions |
Grades |
Basic entitlement (excludes 2 extra-statutory days) |
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First 5 years’ service |
After 5 years’ service |
After 10 years’ service |
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|
Single Status |
1-10 |
23 |
26 |
26 |
|
Single Status |
11-13 |
24 |
26 |
27 |
1.2 Employees on grades 1-10 receive 23 days’ basic entitlement, followed by an additional three days after completing five years’ service, equating to 26 days in total. By comparison, employees on grades 11-13 receive 24 days’ basic entitlement, followed by two additional days at five years’ service, and one additional day at ten years’ service, equating to 27 days in total. Therefore, while staff on all SS grades receive the same amount of leave after five years’ service, staff on grade11-13 receive an additional days’ leave at ten years’ service. There is therefore an inconsistency in how ESCC recognises long service for staff on the Single Status pay scale.
1.3 In order to address this inconsistency, it is proposed that the leave entitlement for staff on SS1-10 is increased by one day after ten years’ service.
2.1 The minimum leave entitlement of 23 days is derived from the NJC Green Book, which is the national terms and conditions for local government employees. However this does not prescribe different amounts of service-related leave for staff on different grades. There is also no extant local collective agreement that specifically addresses service-related leave, and therefore no basis for the current differentiation between the Single Status grades.
2.2 HR has carried out a benchmarking exercise to compare ESCC’s leave entitlements with other authorities. While it is difficult to make like-for-like comparisons due to the various pay and grading systems in operation, the leave entitlements for ESCC employees on Single Status grades 1-10 are generally among the lower comparators. A summary of benchmarking data is attached at Appendix 1.
3 Financial implications
3.1 There would generally only be a productivity cost to providing additional leave, as in most instances it would not be necessary to provide cover. However, term-time only employees attract a true cost. Increasing service-related leave provision would mean an overall increase in the ‘cost’ of providing annual leave.
3.2 Estimated costs associated for increase entitlement by one day at 10 years’ service for SS 1-10 staff:
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>10 years’ service at 01/04/2024 |
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Non-Schools |
Schools |
Total |
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SS1-10 productivity cost |
£86,300 |
£7,300 |
£93,600 |
|
SS1-10 term time only true cost |
£4,700 |
£54,200 |
£58,900 |
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Total |
£91,000 |
£61,500 |
£152,500 |
4 Conclusion and recommendations
4.1 There is no clear reason or justification for the current different leave entitlement at 10 years’ service between staff on Single Status grades 1-10 and Single Status grades 11-13. Accordingly, the Governance Committee is recommended to agree to increasing entitlement by one day at 10 years’ service for staff at Single Status grades 1-10 effective 1 April 2024.
Ros Parker
Chief Operating Officer
Contact Officers:
Sarah Mainwaring
Assistant Director, HR&OD
Tel. No: 01273 482060
Sarah.mainwaring@eastsussex.gov.uk
Nicholas Earley
Lead HR Consultant, Policy
Tel No:01273 335061
Nicholas.earley@eastsussex.gov.uk
Appendix 1
Benchmarking comparison table
Comparison table
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Lower grade range for grades SS1-10 (or equivalent)
|
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Local Authority |
<5 years |
>5 years |
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East Sussex County Council |
25 |
28 |
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Brighton & Hove City Council |
25 |
28 |
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Kent County Council |
27 |
29 |
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Lewes and Eastboune District Council |
26 |
30 |
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Rother District Council |
24 |
29 |
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Surrey County Council |
26 |
30 |
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Wealden District Council |
23 |
28 |
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West Sussex County Council |
25 |
28 |
Figures include the 2 extra statutory days (excluded from the table presented in the Annual Leave Policy).
(Surrey County Council and Lewes and Eastbourne District Council do not differentiate by grade therefore the same entitlement applies to higher pay grades).