ACM MEETS HODGE AND HARWOOD
ACM representatives met with Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of State for
Lifelong Learning and Higher Education, at the Department for Education
and Skills in November. John Rockett, John Lowe and Peter Pendle represented
the Association.
The meeting was friendly and the Minister was generally receptive to
the points made by the Association. She accepted the need to improve
funding for the learning and skills sector and also the need to reduce
the number of funding streams and overall levels of bureaucracy. She
also seemed supportive of proposals to extend the pay initiative to
all staff in further education colleges. She said that the department
was keen to receive the draft proposals from the AoC and unions. She
indicated that DfES was lobbying the Treasury for funding from the Comprehensive
Spending Review to address all of these issues but said several times
that things had become much harder since 11 September. Whether this
is actually the case or is just a tactic being adopted by ministers
is as yet unclear.
ACM expressed its desire and commitment to improve leadership and management
professionalism within colleges and agreed to work closely with the
Department on this. A working group has been formed and the first meeting
took place in December. ACM is represented on the working group. The
Minister was given a copy of the “Reflective College Manager”.
The Minister said it was unlikely that education maintenance awards
(EMA) would be introduced nationally. The cost would be over £600m,
which would be funds that might otherwise be allocated to institutions.
EMA’s might be continued in some areas. She was more receptive
to the suggestion that mature students in FE colleges should be eligible
for support in the same way as higher education students and that this
might help achieve the target of 50% of 18-30 year-olds entering HE.
Finally, she confirmed that the previous target of achieving another
700,000 students in further education had been dropped from the latest
DfES Corporate Plan, as it was not an achievable target.
General Secretary Peter Pendle met with Learning & Skills Council
Chief Executive John Harwood and Director of Operations Ken Pascoe at
the end of November. Harwood made it clear that the Council was lobbying
for additional funding from Government as part of the CSR settlement.
He also repeated the commitment given at the AoC Conference to seek
to reduce bureaucracy and the number of funding streams. However, it
should not be assumed that a reduction in funding streams and bidding
would result in an increase in core funding! Other methods may be used
to distribute funds, with the roll of local LSC’s key in the distribution
process. He also made it absolutely clear that the LSC would resist
any reduction in the level or detail of current audit requirements.
Any reduction in the audit burden on colleges would only result from
a reduction in the number of funding streams. Harwood encouraged the
Association and its members to submit evidence to the Sweeney Task Group
on bureaucracy. ACM members are represented on the task group.
Harwood was sympathetic towards calls for a lighter touch for inspection,
although this might have more to do with LSC hidden agendas rather than
the interests of colleges. He also acknowledged the difficulty in developing
links at local level with LSC’s and the real feeling of loss of
autonomy by colleges, with some LSC Executive Directors seeing colleges
as something that they line manage.
ACM Discussion Board for Members
Try out the new members’ discussion page on the Association’s
website. Use the discussion page (known as a discussion board
in software jargon) to air your views, share ideas and information,
or to raise queries and questions with other ACM members.
There are three broad discussion topics (called ‘conferences’
– software jargon again) on the discussion page: education, curriculum
and quality; funding and finance; trade union issues. By clicking on
the topic you are interested in you can read messages left by other
members. You can post new comment (‘post’ button at the top
of the screen), or reply to existing comments (‘reply’ button
at the top of the screen).
You can access the discussion board through the members’ page on
the ACM website.
Try it!
New Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace
The government has published a new Employment Bill that should result
in new rights to paid paternity leave, paid adoption leave, and improvements
to statutory maternity leave and pay. The Bill also proposes to put
disciplinary and grievance procedures on a statutory basis, making them
an implied term in contracts of employment.
The paternity, adoption and maternity proposals won’t be fully
implemented until 2003. However, fathers will be entitled to take two
weeks paternity leave and receive £100 per week. An employee adopting
a child will be entitled to take 26 weeks ordinary leave and if they
quality, up to a further 26 weeks additional adoption leave. Statutory
adoption pay will be £100 per week, payable for 26 weeks. Maternity
leave is being extended, with 26 weeks ordinary leave followed by 26
weeks additional leave. Statutory maternity pay will be available for
26 weeks, and increased in line with adoption pay.
The above provisions will become the statutory minimum, and any contractual
arrangements will continue to apply, so long as they are at least as
good as the statutory schemes.
The proposals on grievance and disciplinary procedures are more than
just cosmetic. If an employer dismisses someone without using a disciplinary
procedure, then the dismissal will automatically be unfair. Tribunals
will also be able to vary compensatory awards by up to 50% where either
the employer or applicant has failed beforehand to use an appropriate
procedure. Indeed, regulations are expected that will prevent some complaints
being presented to tribunals before part or all of the appropriate procedure
has been completed.
The implication for ACM members is that should you wish to pursue a
claim against your employer through an employment tribunal, you will
first have to make use of the grievance procedure, or disciplinary appeals
procedure.
For further advice or support call the ACM helpline on 0116 285 4055
or email us at helpline@acm.uk.com