- Job Evaluation
- Redundancy Agreements
- Education Sector Website
- Sustainable Workplace Survey
- Trade Unions & the Environment Course for Reps
- Temporary or Agency Workers in Higher Education
- House of Lords Debate: Higher Education and the Economy
- TUC ESOL Update
- Advisory Science Council recommends need for greater competence in applied research
- Managing Slips and Trips in Higher and Further Education – Event in Scotland
Job Evaluation
In many UK institutions job evaluation has been implemented or is reaching its implementation date. As reported last month there is now a significant amount of comparative data on job evaluation deals, draft deals and pay grades available to work place representatives on the Amicus website however this is far from complete. In order to try and collate and formally assess the impact of the job evaluation process Amicus will be launching its third annual job evaluation survey within the next month. All Amicus Higher Education representatives will have access to the comparative data on pay grades, working weeks, holidays and other staff terms. Please make sure that the lead representative working on job evaluation in your institution fills in the survey. To see the previous year’s surveys click here:
Redundancy Agreements
There is now a new Redundancy page on the Education Sector website. This includes advice for members facing redundancy, links to briefings and guides on redundancy and most usefully a list of redundancy agreements and documents that reps have provided from their institutions. To see the page click here.
Please note the redundancy agreements page is only accessible to workplace representatives who must sign in under My Amicus to gain access.
Education Sector Website
There have been some major changes to the structure of the Higher Education website to make it more user-friendly and useful to members, workplace reps and potential members. Some of the changes include dedicated pages on Pay, Pensions, Job Evaluation, Sector wide campaigns and Committee structures. Click here to view the website:
Click here to sign into My Amicus:
We hope to develop these pages further and your input would make a big difference. If you have any ideas of resources that you would like to see up there or any information on work that you have been doing that you would like to share with others then please contact: James Lazou
Sustainable Workplace Survey
Several Amicus Higher Education representatives have contacted us about the potential for training and advice on greening workplace initiatives both in the UK and Ireland. In light of this Amicus has launched a short online survey of workplace representatives on the current status of your university’s environmental practices and also on the kinds of resources that reps would need to engage with the agenda. If you know any one who should take part in the survey please send their email address to James Lazou
Trade Unions & the Environment Course for Reps
There are still a few places left on the Trade Unions & the Environment Course for Reps on Wednesday 11th July 2007 . If you have any colleagues who could be interested, please pass this on to them.
- Date: 11th – 13th July 2007
- Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm
- Venue: South Thames College
This course will help union reps to: – Identify environmental changes affecting the workplace – Research and identify appropriate environmental legislation, policies and information – Identify environmental problems and opportunities for trade union action. For more information please contact Graham Petersen on 020 8918 7378. Download the application form
Temporary or Agency Workers in Higher Education
Amicus is seeking to establish any problems received by Temporary or Agency workers in the course of their employment in Higher Education. If you are aware of any issues such as refusal to consider Temporary or Agency workers for permanent roles, paying below normal HE rates, unfair dismissal, poor working conditions etc please can you contact Vera Titmus or via the Amicus Coventry Office perhaps with specific detailed examples. Amicus is trying to get further legislation to assist Temporary or Agency workers and any examples you can give will go towards Amicus dossier of evidence in support of the need for protective legislation.
House of Lords Debate: Higher Education and the Economy
On the 19th April 2007 the Higher Education was debated in the House of Lords. Click here to read the Hansard record of the debate:
TUC ESOL Update
The Department for Education and Skills (UK) undertook a Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) in relation to the changes to ESOL funding and the findings have now been published. Following the REIA process and campaigning by the TUC, unions and other organisations, a number of changes to the policy have been announced, which are discussed further on the TUC website.
Advisory Science Council recommends need for greater competence in applied research
The Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation has released a report examining the relationship between enterprise and higher education in Ireland and identified key areas which need to be addressed to ensure Ireland remains at the forefront of international trends in research and innovation. The report, Promoting Enterprise-Higher Education Relationships , benchmarks Ireland ‘s performance in collaborative research against comparable countries, in order to understand the driving forces between the relationships and assess what changes are needed in critical areas influencing these relationships. To read more about the report click here:
Managing Slips and Trips in Higher & Further Education – Event in Scotland
This is a free 1 day event (9:00 to 16:30) being run by GSE at Forth Valley College, Grangemouth Road, Falkirk FK2 9AD on how to manage slips and trips in further and higher education establishments. Its aim is to equip delegates with the skills necessary to assess the risks of slipping and tripping and to take action to control them. The event is aimed at facilities or estates managers, health and safety managers, those in charge of cleaning and catering, and trades union health and safety representatives. If you would like to attend the event then contact Valerie Holland on 0131 247 2026.
For more information on the Health and Safety events in Scotland click here:
This e-bulletin has been produced by James Lazou, Research Officer for the Higher Education sector. If you have any news items or stories you would like included in the bulletin please contact James.