Local Government Home | Single Status Index

Single Status 2

PART 2 - KEY SCOTTISH PROVISIONS

1. EQUALITIES

1.1 Employees will be afforded equal opportunities in employment irrespective of disability, gender, race, religion, age, sexuality and marital status.

1.2 Councils will ensure that discriminatory practices are identified and removed and non-discriminatory practices introduced in all areas of employment including recruitment, training and promotion. Lawful positive action initiatives should be considered to achieve and maintain a representative workforce.

1.3 All councils will adopt a policy promoting equality of opportunity in employment. (UK Guide or COSLA Guide to be inserted in Part 4.)

1.4 Conditions are equally applicable to all employees irrespective of hours worked.

Index

2. OFFICIAL CONDUCT

2.1 Employees will maintain conduct of the highest standard such that public confidence in their integrity is sustained.

2.2 Local codes of practice will be developed to cover the official conduct and the obligations of employees and employers.

Index

3. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Training and development to meet both the individual needs of employees and the corporate needs of authorities should be placed firmly in the forefront of authorities' service delivery plans. Employers and recognised unions shall co-operate to establish and implement local schemes on training and development. All training and development provision should be planned, delivered and monitored on the basis of equality of access for all, including part-timers. Resources for training and development should be shared equitably across all categories of employee and occupational groups. Employees attending or undertaking approved training/and or development are entitled to payment of normal earnings, all prescribed fees and other relevant expenses arising.

Index

4. HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE

4.1 Councils have a duty to comply with the law governing the health, safety and welfare of employees, including the conditions under which they work and the provision and maintenance of necessary protective clothing.

4.2 Employees have a duty to take care of themselves and others affected by their activity at work and to co-operate with employers' actions taken to meet their duties under the relevant Regulations.

Index

5. PAY AND GRADING

5.1 The pay and grading of jobs must be fair and non-discriminatory, complying with equal pay legislation and associated Codes of Practice and it is recommended that the job evaluation scheme which has been developed for Scottish councils be used.

5.2 The basic pay of each employee will consist of either a point or points on the new Scottish pay spine. If a common system for all employees is not adopted locally, there needs to be objective justification for any distinction between those jobs paid on scales and those which are paid on single pay points.

5.3 Employees dissatisfied with the grading of their job are entitled to appeal for a reconsideration of the grading. Procedures will be agreed locally to deal with such appeals. While there is no general right of appeal to the Scottish Council where there are matters of dispute regarding an individual's rights under the scheme, it is agreed there will be a joint mechanism to deal with this.

5.4 Local arrangements will be agreed with the recognised trade unions to recognise temporary additional duties where employees act up in the absence of more senior employees.

Index

6. WORKING TIME ARRANGEMENTS

6.1 The working time arrangements are as set out in paragraph 15 of the Implementation agreement.

6.2 Employees who are required to work non-standard patterns of work will be compensated in accordance with the provisions of Section 2 of Part 3.

6.3 Variations to the established working week or patterns of work will be reasonable and subject to adequate notice.

6.4 Working arrangements will comply with relevant Health and Safety legislation, including the European working time directive and its associated UK legislation.

Index

7. LEAVE

Public Holidays

7.1 General and public holidays recognised by the council for its employees will be granted as holidays with pay. By local agreement some of these may be added to annual leave.

Annual Leave

7.2 Each council will fix a definite leave year.

7.3 The minimum paid full annual leave entitlement is twenty days. An employee who has at least five years continuous service at the commencement of the leave year qualifies for a further five days annual leave.

7.4 The entitlements to annual leave and public holidays as expressed above applies to five day working patterns. For alternative working patterns equivalent leave entitlements will be calculated.

7.5 The annual leave entitlement of employees leaving or joining a council will be proportionate to their completed service during the leave year.

7.6 Where an employee has been absent through illness for a period exceeding three months the council will have discretion to limit the annual leave to an amount equal to the period of actual service given during the leave year.

7.7 Calculating Leave Entitlement

For the purpose of calculating leave (annual and public holidays) entitlements may where necessary be expressed in hours over the leave year.

7.8 Special Leave

7.8.1 Additional Leave

Additional leave with or without pay may be granted in special circumstances at the discretion of the employing council.

7.8.2 Public Duties

Paid leave of absence will be granted for employees undertaking jury service and paid leave of absence, with the approval of the Council, will be granted to employees serving on public bodies or undertaking public duties. Where an allowance is claimable for loss of earnings the employee should claim and pay the allowance to the employing authority.

7.8.3 Health

Employees will be entitled to take such reasonable time off without loss of pay as is required for the purpose of preventative medical examination.

7.8.4 Maternity Support Leave

Maternity support leave of five days with pay will be granted to the child's father or the partner or nominated carer of an expectant mother at or around the time of birth. The nominated carer is the person nominated by the mother to assist in the care of the child and to provide support to the mother at or around the time of birth.

7.8.5 Child Care and Dependants

Councils should be encouraged to develop policies which recognise the particular requirement of employees with responsibilities for children and dependants.

7.8.6 Adoption Leave

Councils should introduce adoption leave for employees adopting children.

7.9 Definition of Pay

For the purposes of 7.1 to 7.8 above pay includes any regular payment made under the contractual provisions of an employee's terms and conditions of employment.

Index

8. PART TIME EMPLOYEES

8.1 All employees will be treated equally regardless of hours worked including:

(a) training and development - where part time employees should have access equal to that of full time employees and when on training courses outside their contracted daily hours shall be paid on the same basis as full time employees.

(b) the car allowance scheme - which applies to part time employees in full on the same basis as full time employees.

Index

9. TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES

9.1 Temporary employees shall receive pay and conditions of service equivalent to that of permanent employees.

Index

10. SICKNESS PROVISIONS

10.1 Sickness Allowances

10.1.1 The provisions relating to sickness allowances which are payable by the council are set out in sub-clause 10.2.4. These allowances are complementary to the statute based payments which an employee may receive and are subject to a range of conditions, many of which are additional to those applying to the statute based payments.

10.1.2 An employee is not entitled to receive sick pay under the scheme unless:

(i) notification is made immediately to the person identified for this purpose by the council;

(ii) further notification is made as required by the council;

(iii) a doctor's statement is submitted to the council not later than the eighth calendar day of absence;

(iv) subsequent doctor's statements are submitted as necessary.

(v) in cases where the doctor's statement covers a period exceeding fourteen days or where more than one statement is necessary, the employee must, before returning to work submit to the council a final statement as to fitness to resume duties;

(vi) on return to work the employee signs a statement detailing the reasons for absence for all absences up to and including seven days.

10.1.3 Where, for the purpose of qualifying for sick pay under the scheme, a council requires a doctor's statement from an employee, the council will, [with exception of 10.1.2 iii-v above], reimburse the employee the costs of such a statement on the provision of a receipt.

10.1.4 An employee who falls sick during the course of annual leave will be regarded as being on sick leave from the date of a doctor's statement.

10.1.5 Where an employee is receiving sick pay under the Scheme, sick pay will continue if a public or extra statutory holiday falls during such sickness absence. No substitute public or extra statutory holiday will be given. Where an officer has exhausted sickness allowance entitlement, no payment should be made in respect of a public holiday occurring during the period of absence.

10.1.6 Widows and married women exercising their right to be excepted from the payment of full-rate National Insurance contributions shall be deemed to be insured in their own right for all National Insurance benefits.

10.2 Exclusion from Entitlement

10.2.1 There is no entitlement to sickness allowance if an employee:

- has less than 26 weeks continuous service;

- goes sick during a stoppage of work at the place of employment due to a trade dispute, unless the employee has not taken part in the trade dispute and has no direct interest in it;

- on the first day of sickness has already exhausted or subsequently exhausts sickness allowance entitlement (see sub-clause 10.2.4);

- on the first day of sickness is in legal custody or is subsequently taken into legal custody;

- fails to satisfy or to continue to satisfy the notification or certification requirements;

- is absent on maternity leave;

- terminates or has their contract of employment terminated.

Note:

The provisions of this scheme cease to apply to an employee whose contract of employment is terminated in pursuance of the provision of the Superannuation Act applicable to the case, whether by reason of permanent ill health or infirmity of mind or body or by reason of age; this is however without prejudice to the right of an officer whose employment is terminated by reason of permanent ill health or infirmity to receive the period of notice specified in the contract of service where appropriate.

10.2.2 Sick pay may be suspended if an employee abuses the sickness scheme or is absent on account of (i) sickness due or attributable to deliberate conduct prejudicial to recovery; or (ii) the employee's own misconduct or neglect; or (iii) active participation in professional sport; or (iv) injury while working in the employee's own time on their own account for private gain or for another employer. The council will advise the employee of the ground for suspension and the employee will have a right of appeal to the appropriate committee of the council. If the council decides that the grounds were justified then the employee will forfeit the right to any further payment in respect of that period of absence. Repeated abuse of the sickness scheme should be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure.

10.2.3 An employee who is paid any damages as the result of an accident will be required to re-pay any sickness allowance advanced, either in total or the proportion thereof represented in the amount of damages received. Any period of absence in such a case where a refund of the advance is made in full, will not be treated as sickness absence.

10.2.4 Payment and Period of Entitlement

An employee's entitlement to sickness allowance will depend on length of continuous service as follows:

Service at commencement of absence from duty	Full Allowance for	Half Allowance for
Less than 26 weeks	Nil	Nil
26 weeks or more but less than 1 year	5 weeks	5 weeks
1 year but less than 2 years	9 weeks	9 weeks
2 years but less than 3 years	18 weeks	18 weeks
3 years but less than 5 years	22 weeks	22 weeks
5 years and over	26 weeks	26 weeks

In exceptional circumstances there shall be local discretion to extend the period of full allowance or half allowance provided for in this paragraph.

The period during which sick pay will be paid, and the rate of sick pay, in respect of any period of absence will be calculated by deducting from the employee's entitlement on the first day the aggregate of periods of paid absence during the twelve months immediately preceding the first day of absence.

10.3 Calculation of Allowance

10.3.1 In the case of full pay periods sick pay will be an amount which when added to Statutory Sick Pay and Incapacity Benefit receivable will secure the equivalent of normal pay.

10.3.2 In the case of half-pay periods sick pay will be an amount equal to half normal earnings plus an amount equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay and Incapacity benefit receivable, so long as the total sum does not exceed normal pay.

10.3.3 Definition of Normal Pay

Normal pay includes all earnings that would be paid during a period of normal working but excluding any payments not made on a regular basis.

10.3.4 The social security benefits to be taken into account for the calculation of sick pay are those to which an employee is entitled on the basis that the employee has satisfied so far as is possible:

(i) the conditions for the reporting of sickness as required by the council;

(ii) the claiming of benefits;

(iii) the obligation to declare any entitlements to benefits and any subsequent changes in circumstances affecting such entitlement.

10.4 Sickness or Disablement due to an Accident in the Course of Employment

Absence in respect of normal sickness is entirely separate from absence through industrial disease or injury arising out of or in the course of employment with a council. Periods of absence in respect of one will not be offset against the other for the purpose of calculating entitlements under the scheme.

An absence due to an accident will only qualify for payment under this paragraph when an entry in the Accident Book (Form BI 510) approved for the purposes of the Social Security Act 1975 is appropriate and has been completed, and in the subsequent investigation by the council the facts so recorded are found to be accurate.

Note:

Every effort must be made to ensure that all accidents are entered in the Accident Book (Form BI 510) including those where the employee, as a result of the accident, is unable to make the entry personally. In circumstances where no entry is made at the time of the accident, the council should not unreasonably refuse the payment of industrial injury allowance. The council will still need to carry out the required investigation into the accident to establish the facts. If that investigation establishes that an accident took place arising out of or in the course of employment, the employee will nonetheless be entitled to the industrial injury allowance, despite the fact that no entry has been made in the Accident Book.

10.5 Medical Examination

An employee will, if required by the council at any time, submit to a medical examination by a medical practitioner nominated by the council, subject to the provisions of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 where applicable. Any costs associated with the examination will be met by the employing council. Where it is necessary to obtain a second medical opinion, it should be provided by an independent medical referee as nominated by the council.

10.6 Infectious Diseases

An employee who is prevented from attending work because of contact with infectious disease will advise the Head of Department immediately and will be entitled to receive normal pay. The period of absence on this account will not be reckoned against the employee's entitlements under this scheme.

10.7 Absence Management

An integral part of the sickness provisions includes the effective management of sickness absence. To that end Absence Management Guidelines are included in Part 4 of the Scheme.

Index

11. MATERNITY SCHEME

11.1 Application of Scheme

The occupational maternity scheme will apply to all pregnant employees regardless of the number of hours worked per week.

11.2 Initial Obligations on the Employee

An employee will notify their council in writing and at least 21 days before her absence begins or as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(a) that she is pregnant and indicate the expected week of childbirth (EWC) (a council can request the employee to produce a certificate from a registered medical practitioner or a certified midwife stating the expected week of childbirth); and

(b) if requested by the council, of the date of the beginning of her absence; and

(c) if requested by the council, that she intends to return to work with her employer if that is her intention.

11.3 Ante-Natal Care

Any pregnant employee has the right to paid time off to attend for ante-natal care and must produce evidence of appointments if requested to do so by her council.

11.4 Maternity Leave Entitlement

(a) Employees who have less than one year's continuous service at the beginning of the 11th week before the EWC will have an entitlement to remain absent for up to 18 weeks.

At the discretion of the council the employee may be allowed leave without pay in excess of the 18 week period.

(b) Employees who have completed at least one year's continuous service at the beginning of the 11th week before the EWC will have an entitlement to 18 weeks' leave of absence with pay (see para 9.5 below) and to remain absent for up to 29 weeks from the beginning of the week in which childbirth occurs.

(c) Maternity leave will commence no earlier than 11 weeks before the EWC.

11.5 Maternity Pay

(a) Payments for employees who have less than one year's continuous service at the beginning of the 11th week before the EWC will be the employee's entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).

(b) Payments for employees who have completed not less than one year's continuous service at the 11th week before the EWC will be as follows:-

(i) For the first six weeks of absence an employee will be entitled to nine-tenths of a week's pay offset against payments made by way of SMP or Maternity Allowance (MA) where eligible.

(ii) If having declared an intention to return to work then for the subsequent 12 weeks the employee will be paid half a week's pay without deduction except by the extent to which the combined pay and SMP (or MA and any dependants' allowances if the employee is not eligible for SMP) exceeds full pay.

(iii) For employees not intending to return to work payments during the subsequent 12 weeks will be the employee's entitlement to SMP.

(iv) Payments made by the council during maternity leave under (ii) above will be made on the understanding that the employee will return to council employment for a period of at least three months, which may be varied by the council on good cause being shown and, in the event of the employee not doing so, they will refund the monies paid, or such part thereof, if any, as the council may decide. Payments made to the employee by way of SMP are not refundable.

11.6 Right To Return To Work

(a) An employee has the right to return to the job in which she was employed under her original contract of employment and on terms and conditions not less favourable than those which would have been applicable to her if she had not been absent. "Job", for this purpose, means the nature of the work which she is employed to do and the capacity and place in which she is so employed.

(b) However, where it is not practicable by reason of redundancy for the council to permit the employee to return to work in their job as defined in (a) above the employee is entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists, provided that the work to be done in that post is suitable and appropriate to the circumstances, and that the capacity and place of employment and terms and conditions of employment are not substantially less favourable than if the employee had been able to return to the job in which they were employed prior to their absence.

(c) However, suitable alternative employment may also be offered in exceptional circumstances other than redundancy (e.g. a general reorganisation) which would have occurred if the employee had not been absent, and necessitate a change in the job in which they were employed prior to their absence. The work to be done should be suitable to them and appropriate to the circumstances and the capacity and place of employment and the terms and conditions of employment should not be less favourable than if the employee had been able to return to the job in which they were employed prior to their absence.

11.7 Exercise of the Right to Return to Work

(a) Employees who have less than 1 year's continuous service

An employee who qualifies for leave under paragraph 11.4(a) will notify the council in writing if requested, at least seven days before the day on which they propose to return of the date of their intended return if this is before the end of the 18 weeks maternity leave.

(b) Employees who have completed not less than 1 year's continuous service

An employee who qualifies for leave under paragraph 11.4(b) will notify the council in writing if requested, at least 21 days before the day on which they propose to return, of the date of their intended return. The council may postpone their return to work until a date not more than 28 days after the notified date of return. To do this the council's notification shall be conveyed to the employee before the notified date of return and shall give the reasons for postponing their return until the later date.

(c) All employees

(i) An employee may postpone their return after the end of their maternity leave period by submitting a doctor's statement, stating that they will be incapable of work, before the notified date of return or if no date of return has been notified the expiry of the maternity leave period. The sickness scheme shall apply to such absence.

(ii) If because of an interruption of work, (whether due to industrial action or some other reason) it is unreasonable to expect an employee to return on the notified day, they may instead return when work resumes, or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.

(iii) If no date of return has been notified by the employee and there is an interruption of work (whether due to industrial action or some other reason) which makes it unreasonable to expect the employee to return to work before the end of the maternity leave period and in consequence they do notify a date of return, the employee may exercise their right to return by giving at least 7 days written notice to the council that they intend to return at any time before the end of 14 days from the end of the interruption.

11.8 Relationship With Sickness and Annual Leave

(a) As maternity leave is not to be treated as sick leave it will not therefore be offset against other service based entitlements such as sick leave.

(b) Authorised maternity leave will be regarded as continuous service on the employee's return to work.

11.9 Definitions

(a) A Week's Pay

The term "a week's pay" for employees whose remuneration for normal working hours does not vary with the amount of work done in the period, is the amount payable by the council to the employee under the current contract of employment for working their normal hours in a week. Where there are no normal working hours, a week's pay is the average remuneration in the period of 12 weeks preceding the date on which the last complete week ended, excluding any week in which no remuneration was earned.

(b) Childbirth

Childbirth means the live birth of a child, or a still birth after a pregnancy lasting at least 24 weeks.

11.10 Return to Work When Employee Terminates Employment

Where an employee has terminated their employment due to pregnancy or childbirth, but the child does not live, they will be entitled to return to work but without the right to return to the same post at the same grade and salary as applied immediately prior to the termination of employment unless the council determines that this is not practicable.

However, an employee will not be entitled to return to employment with the council in accordance with this paragraph unless:-

- a suitable vacancy exists; and

- they submit in writing a doctor's statement that they are medically fit to return, if such a statement is required by the council; and

- they satisfy the requirements of sub-clauses 11.6 (a) - (c) above in respect of the timing of their return to work.

11.11 Nothing in the above provisions shall be construed as providing rights less favourable than statutory rights.

More - Section 12

Index