Dear Members,
On the 4th January 2023 we met with the Agency to discuss the updated position on the 2023 process which as we all know is currently delayed by 5 months.
The NCARRB have now finalised their report and recommendations which have been shared on an embargoed basis to facilitate discussion and understanding - it is not subject to negotiation. In due course, the recommendation/s contained within that document will be considered and agreed/rejected either in full or in part, by the Home Secretary and wider government.
Given the fact that the Home Secretary’s position has not yet been established or published, your August 2023 pay award will obviously not be paid next week but, there is now an expectation by all parties that the relevant clearances will be in place to ensure payment by Friday 23rd February. The Agency has worked hard and done all it can behind the scenes but the final part of the process rests beyond the gates of Spring Gardens - for now at least.
Whilst debatable whether a second successive year with a 6 month delay before receiving your annual pay award is good news, payment will at least signal the end of another torturous pay process - a process which many of you are by now pretty tired of.
What is good news is that following very clear messaging by you all through the consistent and highly impactive withdrawal of goodwill, the Agency has been able to secure the 2024/25 remit letter from the Home Secretary. Whilst it is scant on detail (e.g. the civil service pay remit guidance applicable from 2024 is not yet known) its existence at this point in time means that our fears of a ‘missed pay award year’ as a consequence of successive delays have diminished - although not entirely eradicated. There is now nothing to stop the pay process for the period 2024/2025 stepping up a gear at or about the time you receive your delayed 2023 pay award.
There have been many frustrations this year around the 2023/24 pay process which seems to have a set a new low bar for you all as valued members of the UK’s premier law enforcement agency. I share your frustrations.
You will recall my concerns regarding the £1500 payment and whether the NCARRB remit permitted any decision making by them with regards to an ‘non-consolidated’ (non-pensionable) payment. It became even more concerning when, despite early promises to the contrary by the Director General, the Agency subsequently failed to seek any recommendation on this award when finally presenting its delayed pay case to the independent pay review body.
Given the support delivered by you all through the withdrawal of goodwill, your trade union, in response to the wholly unsatisfactory 2023/24 pay process, has recently engaged experienced counsel. This will enable us to decide about the next steps and/or any avenues for legal redress which might be considered in relation to an unfair and unbalanced pay process. A process which I believe is failing you all.
Once I have further information I will update you accordingly. In the meantime, I would encourage you all not to forget why you have withdrawn your goodwill.
Do you care that when it comes to your annual pay award you are being treated so appallingly by your employer (HM Govt)?
We do, so together let’s not leave anybody in any doubt, and continue to withdraw your goodwill in protest at the shabby treatment you continue to receive with regards to pay - which none of you deserve.
Regards
Simon Boon
NCOA General Secretary