Annual General Meetings (AGM’s)

Dear Unison colleague

I hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year and that you were able to spend time with the ones you love.

It is that time of year again when we, as a Branch, plan for our AGM’s.  This year we are able to hold face to face meetings again so it will be great to see you.  This year we are holding 2 meetings, one in Preston and one in Manchester (details below) so I hope as many of you will be able to attend as possible.  

Attached to this email is a Nomination Form and a Branch Role Description Form, if any of you would like to take up a role within the Branch Executive Committee, or if you would like to become a steward or workplace contact, this is the form to use. 

Please complete and send back to the Branch as per the instructions and by Wednesday the 16^th of February this will allow us time to collate the nominations and arrange for ballots if necessary.

Details of AGMs (further info to follow)

Manchester – Mechanics Institute – 16^th of March 2022 – 5.30pm start

Preston – Gujarat Centre – 23^rd of March 2022 – 5.30pm start

Food and refreshments provided

Colleagues,

In addition to the the above face to face AGM meetings, we will be offering the opportunity for you to join the planned dates virtually via teams.

If you would like to join the meeting virtually, please reply to unison20085@hotmail.co.uk with your preferred email address and you will be sent a invite link to join the meeting of your choice. The dates are

We look forward to seeing you face to face or via teams.

Branch Secretary

Thanks

Zoe Todd Branch Secretary

Any clarification please email the branch at unison20085@hotmail.co.uk

Skills for Strength 2022: Registration now open

Subject: Skills for Strength 2022: Registration now open

UNISON North West January 2022    Happy New Year Zoe, Our Skills for Strength organising convention takes place this March and registration is now open! Skills for Strength is a convention for UNISON members in the North West, bringing us together with other trade unionists from across our region, country and from across the globe to share ideas, best practice and skills. This is a practical event to help you win in the workplace, build our union and improve people’s working lives. Registration is open to all UNISON North West members who are looking to get more involved. Registration and attendance at the event is free and the 2022 event will take place at the Mechanics Institute, Manchester.  Click here to register for your place at Skills for Strength   A host of exciting speakers will be announced shortly, but for now registration is open to all UNISON North West members who are looking to get more involved. Registration and attendance at the event is free, including lunch and refreshments, but registrants will need to claim any travel expenses incurred from their UNISON branch, with their permission.  A number of accommodation places are available for activists who are travelling a significant distance from Manchester to attend, and you can apply for one of these places as part of the registration process. If you would prefer to register using a paper form, you can download a word format registration form at www.unisonnw.org/organising_convention This event may need to be postponed if not consistent with COVID restrictions or guidance at the time. Those registered will be kept informed of any changes or COVID-related measures for the event.  Click here to register UNISON North West

Potential Backpay for members who left the NPS/Probation Service before 31 December 2021

Any member who left the Probation Service between 1 April 2021 and the end of December 2021 is likely to be entitled to back pay (for basic pay/unsocial hours/overtime etc) if they were due an increment on 1 April 2021, as this has only recently been paid on 31 December 2021.

Members who were Approved Premises Residential Workers on pay band 2 and who left the Probation Service between July 2020 and the end of December 2021 are likely to be entitled to back pay (for basic pay/unsocial hours/overtime etc) for the recent regrading of the APRW role to pay band 3 which was paid on 31 December 2021, but backdated to the date of job evaluation in July 2020.

Leavers who believe that they are eligible for any arrears should contact SSCL by phone or email, they will need to provide their staff number / NI number and will be asked a couple of security questions to confirm identity. This will allow SSCL to validate bank details and current address. SSCL will confirm eligibility with Pay & Reward team before making payment of arrears.

SSCL contact details are:

0345 241 5351

(Option 1)

MoJ-hr-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

Helen RaymondTeam Administrator

Police & Justice Service Group

Essential cover for you at work – Join UNISON today call 0800 171 2193 or go to joinunison.org

If you wish to update your member details and communication preferences please go to http://www.unison.org.uk/my-unison/welcome.

Lighthouse Financial Advice – Summary of Autumn Budget Statement 2021

IMPORTANT PROBATION PAY BALLOT

Please find attached advice and a ballot paper with instructions. If you haven’t received one via an email it is because we do not have one or valid one on your record. You can contact the branch at unison20085@hotmail.co.uk to update your details

CRC/Parent Company/Sub-Contractor Members in Downgraded Probation Service Jobs

Dear Unison member

About 700 CRC, CRC parent company and CRC sub-contractor staff are on pay protection in the Probation Service after transferring into a lower graded substantive role in the Probation Service.

All these staff are eligible for a 6 month post implementation review of the job evaluation outcome of their new Probation Service job.

In order to prepare for this Unison need to start pulling together a list of the downgraded jobs into which members have transferred.

Currently in the North West we have identified the following roles;

Hub Admin Manager – downgraded to Senior Case Admin

Programmes Manager – Down banded from PB5 to PB4

Treatment Manager – Down banded from PB4 to PB3

UPW Manager – Down banded

If you have been down banded/graded on transfer please identify yourself, your role and what has happened to you in terms of role/banding

Please email as a matter of priority and in confidence to unison20085@hotmail.co.uk

The 10th Wigan Diggers’ Festival – Saturday 11th September 2021

Updating your details

Dear Probation Member, it is now more important than ever to check whether your details are correct. This will become apparent very shortly and we need to communicate effectively to you as the membership

If you wish to check and amend any of your details you can log on to My Unison to do so.

The link is https://www.unison.org.uk/my-unison

If you need your membership number or wish to send your details i.e home and work address, preferred email address and contact number please email to the branch at unison20085@hotmail.co.uk

Probation Service Update Newsletter

Probation Service Update

Probation Service Newsletter

FW: UNISON CPD online survey – for English social worker networks

Social Work England (SWE), the regulator for social workers in England, is consulting on proposed
changes to their requirements for social workers carrying out and recording continuing
professional development (CPD). They are proposing to implement these changes from 1
December 2021.
The Service Group has designed an online survey to get members views on SWE’s proposals.
Branches are asked to email the survey link to their social worker members, encouraging them to
complete it. A model branch email to send to members with the survey link is attached.
The deadline for members to complete the survey is Friday 30 July. Member feedback will help
shape UNISON’s response to SWE on behalf of all our social worker members.

Changes proposed by SWE include:
 increasing the CPD requirement from 1 to 2 pieces per year, with a set theme for 1 piece
 including an element of peer review
 merging the unstructured and structured forms into a single form
 making changes to our validation process, including focusing on specific parts of
the sector (as opposed to a random selection)
This consultation is important for members’ careers. Social workers are required to record CPD
with SWE to renew their professional registration. The consultation comes at a time when social
workers are under immense caseload and workload pressure, exacerbated by the pandemic.
Changes to working practices such as home working have reduced opportunities for peer support.
The survey results and UNISON’s response to SWE will be circulated to branches in due course.
Many thanks for your help.
With best wishes
Jon Richards
National Secretary
Local Government, Police and Justice Section

TAKE OUR SURVEY HERE: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90355378/Social-Work-England-CPD
Your feedback will help shape UNISON’s response to SWE on behalf of all our social worker
members
We will share the UNISON consultation response with members.
SWE aim to publish their consultation response and updated policy in autumn 2021. The new
requirements will come into effect from 1 December 2021, after 2021 registration renewal. This
means any changes will not affect this year’s renewal or CPD requirements. The requirement for
registration in 2021 is one piece of CPD.
If you want to view SWE’s full consultation proposal here is the link:
https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/consultations/cpd-consultation/

LFA Money Talk – Financial Newsletter

URGENT – CRC Bulletin -Challenging the Downgrading of Roles in NPS

Interventions Management Down-banding

Citizenship Issue re sharing of NHS data

UNISON have published some information on this and you can read more here https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2021/06/unison-joins-the-fight-over-proper-use-of-health-data/

However please note that the date has now been put back from 1 July to 1 September 2021 as detailed here. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research . This link also gives a bit more information too.

In simple terms if this is of concern to you then you can opt out of the data sharing.

Survey of all Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Probation Staff working for a CRC

CRC Members: Concerns about Role Alignment Process – Submitting an Appeal

The attached bulletin from UNISON and Napo advises members who fall into one of the three categories below to submit an appeal to protect their position going forward.

1.         People aligned to a role that is not banded, both in unpaid work and corporate services.

2.         Staff aligned to jobs that just don’t feel right. e.g. Corporate services admin aligned to case admin. Admin/reception aligned in to HR type admin roles.

3.         Staff where there is a mistake in the letter which is both obvious or not.

NPS Sessional Staff Furlough Payment

Are you a UNISON member who worked as external sessional staff (i.e. not current NPS employees) who lost earnings as a result of covid-related changes to working patterns during 2020?

The civil service guidance on this is attached. Please note that this scheme was time limited in 2020 and is no longer in place.

UNISON can follow up any individual cases with the NPS for members who are external sessional workers and who believe that they suffered a loss in income during the first covid lockdown in 2020.

Please contact the branch if you feel your case warrants investigation at unison20085@hotmail.co.uk

Pay Claim 2021