Some years ago, the branch agreed a joint process for job evaluation (JE) appeals with Northbrook College which continued following its merger with Brighton City College to become Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (GBMet).
This year the branch supplied expert support to the appeals panel from one of our branch officers. As a result, there have been a number of successful appeals, increasing grades in some cases and restoring people to their original grade following a downgrade in others.
This helped the college to better understand its structures and will hopefully stand them in good stead in the future.
Local UNISON rep Karen Fisher said: “JE is tricky: it’s completely impersonal and based purely on the requirement of the post. It’s very hard for any member negatively affected to not take it personally if their post is downgraded. Who wouldn’t?
“This is why it’s invaluable for members to get UNISON advice if they feel the evaluation outcome is not correct. It’s vital to understand the process when putting together a successful appeal.
“Having an experienced branch officer on the GBMet appeals panel ensured a fair and balanced assessment and helped senior college panel members gain much needed insight.”
This demonstrates why UNISON is the trade union for college support staff and worth joining.
If you work at GBMet, would you help UNISON and your colleagues by becoming a workplace rep? If so, we would love to hear from you.