single status ‘job families allocation’

Rory  has issued a statement in support of the county’s many Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants affected by Cumbria County Council’s review of job profiles and terms and conditions under the Single Status ‘Job Families Allocation’ review. He has responded to queries from a number of concerned constituents by contacting the Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council, Jill Stannard, to press for an urgent re-assessment of the categorising of assistants in the education sector.

Rory has also asked for clarification on the definition of a full-time 37-hour week, and for information on the annual leave entitlement. Historically, the working week of teaching staff amounts to 32.5 hours, and annual leave entitlement is defined by school holiday times, and so both issues directly affect those whose jobs have been allocated within a new job ‘family’.

Rory said: ” I feel very strongly that if Teaching Assistants are to continue delivering the same high standard of work, they need to be recognised accordingly. I’m gravely concerned about the impact of the Single Status ‘Job Families Allocation’ initiative on those in the education field. I hope that the County Council will address this anomaly as a matter of urgency. The Council states that the standardisation of pay grades and the ‘job families’ approach is a fair and consistent one, however I do not see that this can be the case when Teaching Assistants and Learning Support Assistants are being grouped with other job categories that bear no relation to the very specialised work that they do. Those affected are experiencing feelings of deep uncertainty about where they currently stand; this is quite aside from concerns that we have relating to the Job Profile itself, which inadequately reflects the role of Teaching Assistants, and is the result of a scoring process that has not recognised the very specific responsibilities of these roles. The Special Needs Allowance has also been removed from the Terms and Conditions, which I find particularly worrying. People stand to lose up to one third of their annual salary. This is a disaster, and I would like to urge the council to look at this very, very carefully and listen to the representations being made to them.  All those affected have my full support.”