Here are answers to some questions we have already received from members. If you have more questions, please contact us and we will update this document!
I am on a “spot salary” and have not received any increments since I was appointed – what happens to me?
If you are on a “spot” or “indicative” salary, you will be matched on an individual basis to a new grade and scale point (see paragraph 2.5.5). You should receive appropriate increments since October 2004 (or your appointment date) on a backdated basis. It is essential that you yourself monitor how you had been assimilated and contact the UMAUT if problems arise.
I am on RAIB – why am I not fully assimilated immediately?
There is a National role Profile for Research Level 1 which we might expect RAIBs to match. Since RAIAs should match to National Research Level 2 (corresponding to University of Manchester Grade 6), Level 1 should correspond to Manchester Grade 5. If you DO match to Grade 5 this would represent no change in your pay (well, a small increase as you would move to the next nearest spine point up).
On the other hand, it is built into the Agreement that academic and related posts basically begin at the bottom of Grade 6. So we might expect RAIBs to be in this Grade on this basis.
So we clearly need to do more work with management; in particular, we need to take role analysis data from sample RAIBs and see which of the national Academic Role Profiles is a best fit.
It is also possible that some RAIBs may go to Grade 6 and some to Grade 5. This is partly because we believe that RAIB may be currently being misused: some people on RAIB should be on RAIA (and hence in future on Grade 6); while those for whom RAIB is being used correctly (i.e. basically a training grade) may perhaps transfer to Grade 5.
Meanwhile you will be moved up to the next highest spine point so you will be slightly better off than on the old scales.
I am a member of academic related staff and was appointed to a new role in March 2004. Will any pay increase be backdated to this date?
Yes, definitely. The October 2004 implementation date is a default: but anyone who started a new role earlier than this will have any pay increases backdated to the date on which they took up the new role.
I was appointed after October 2004 – how does the Agreement apply to me?
If you are on a spot salary (which may be the case if you are academic related), see above. Otherwise, each case must again be dealt with individually, depending on the precise dates: but the Memorandum of Understanding and other principles of the Agreement will apply to you. Thus, you may jump increments if necessary to reach the top of the scale in the appropriate number of years.
Are “Contribution points” similar to old “Discretionary points”, and how will they be accessed?
Yes, they are similar. So normal incremental progression will be to the top of the scale (dark grey in Appendix 1); access to contribution points (light grey!) will be on the basis of performance. We are still negotiating the details of how this will be implemented, but have a preliminary agreement with management that contribution points should be easier to access than current discretionary points. At least, there will be a clear and transparent procedure. Meanwhile, all existing discretionary points will be honoured.
Why are there sometimes differences in assimilation between different staff groups currently on the same scale point?
There are some cases of this. For example, an RAIA, currently on scale point 11, assimilates to point 33 on the new spine while a Lecturer A on the same point assimilates to point 35. The reason is that there is a single set of new Grades with common boundaries whereas the old grades overlap each other in many cases. For the case in point, new Grade 6 essentially corresponds both to RAIA and to Lecturer A; but these latter grades were quite different (both in their maxima and minima). This means there are greater benefits for staff at the bottom of RAIA – since the starting salary level is raised - but staff at the top of RAIA receive only a small increase (since the top of Grade 6 has been set to match the top of RAIA). Staff on Lecturer A benefit because the top of Grade 6 is significantly higher than the top of current Lecturer A.
I am on a discretionary point. Why do I not move immediately to the corresponding contribution point on the new scale?
The national Framework Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding do not say much about people currently on discretionary points, except that nobody’s pay should decrease immediately. The Memorandum of Understanding is only about progression up to normal tops of scales, so anything beyond that which we have been able to achieve for people on discretionary points is basically a bonus. In particular, we have obtained agreement that discretionary points will be honoured (so that if you currently have one discretionary point you will eventually be on one "contribution point" above the top of your scale.). But you will not move to this point immediately - which would have meant a considerable pay rise and the University did not agree to carry this cost. Your pay for every year from Oct 2004 will be higher than it would have been on old scales, and by October 2006 you will be on your correct contribution point (and considerably better off than on the old scales).
What’s in the Agreement for Professors?
Professorial (and equivalent) salaries are essentially outside the scope of the National Framework Agreement. However, there is a commitment in our local Agreement to review salaries in Grade 9, and to introduce a fair and transparent process for assigning salaries in this Grade. We welcome your views on the best mechanism for doing this. Also, since the top of Grade 8 has been extended upwards above the national spine, the Professorial minimum salary is increased.
What are the benefits for new/future staff?
Starting salaries are raised. In particular, the minimum starting salary for academic staff (old Lecturer A) is now point 33 (£28009) and the bottom of Grade 7 (Lecturer B) is also raised. Salaries for new research staff are also increased as the minimum of Grade 6, point 29 (£24886) is higher than the old RAIA minimum (£20044). New staff will naturally also eventually benefit from the improvements at tops of scales as well.
Of course this is only a small step towards raising academic and related salaries to match comparable professions - we expect that the next pay settlement (2006) should make a far more significant contribution to remedying the shortfall in our salaries, as top-up fee income comes on stream.