Local scheme conditions of service

Overview

This content applies to all our employees except for fire employees on grey and gold book terms and conditions.

Provision

This Local Scheme of Conditions of Service is effective from 1 April 1999 as amended by the Collective Agreements of:

1 April 2007
1 October 2011
1 April 2015
2022 NJC pay award for annual leave entitlements

Where local conditions have not been agreed, the National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service section within the National Joint Council for Local Government Services will apply.

Scope

As indicated in terms and conditions documents, employees are appointed subject to:

the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service (referred to as the Green Book)
the local Collective Agreement of 1 April 2007 implementing the pay and grading review
our local scheme conditions of service
any other arrangements which have been negotiated locally

Local agreements are subject to review between us and our recognised trade unions.

These conditions of service have been agreed with those trade unions recognised for the NJC for local government services’ employees:

Unison
GMB
Unite - T&GWU

It replaces conditions of service of the former:

NJC for APT&C services
NJC for manual workers
local scheme of conditions of service for APT&C staff
local conditions of service for chief officers and the chief executive

Notes:

‘Employee’ means any full time and part time employee who has a contract of employment with the council.
Governing bodies in schools with delegated budgets are responsible for discipline, dismissal and grievance procedures in addition to equal opportunities. We are responsible for equal pay across community schools.
The conditions of service relating to these matters will be given to new appointees or are available from the headteacher.
Where terms and conditions of service for some other employment groups are silent, this local scheme applies.

Review

This local scheme will be reviewed as part of a wider review of the local agreement on single status.

Equality, learning and development

Equality and diversity

We are an equal opportunities employer. We have policies to ensure that no employee or job applicant is:

discriminated against, or
disadvantaged by requirements that cannot be shown to be justifiable

Learning and development

The learning and development policy reflects our belief in developing all permanent and temporary employees. This applies whether employed on a full-time or part-time basis. It will enable employees to:

do their job effectively
develop their potential and their performance
provide quality, value for money, services

Performance, appraisal and probation

Performance and development appraisal

This policy does not apply to non-teaching staff in schools.

All employees have annual performance and development appraisals, with regular one to one discussions.

At the end of the appraisal year, all appraisal reviews will include a discussion of the employee's performance.

Probationary periods

All new employees are subject to a six-month probationary period before an appointment is confirmed. This may be ended earlier or extended following discussion with the manager and employee concerned. The following staff follow a different timeframe:

newly qualified social workers
qualified practitioners in children's services and adult care

All new employees will be set objectives in their initial performance and development appraisal. Managers will monitor these objectives over the first six months through the probation policy.

Increments will only be payable to new starters once they have had:

at least six months in post
a successful probation or performance and development appraisal review

To terminate employment during the probationary period, we or the employee must give one month’s notice in writing.

The appointing one point below guidance shows probation arrangements for employees appointed under this policy.

Health and safety

General statement of health and safety policy

We recognise that good health and safety management supports the delivery of our services.

We are committed to providing and maintaining a healthy and safe working environment for all our employees. We ensure that their work does not adversely affect the health and safety of other people such as service users, visitors and contractors.

To achieve this aim, we have the following key objectives:

as a minimum, to comply with requirements of relevant legislation
to identify hazards (the potential for harm), assess risks (the likelihood of that harm being realised) and manage those risks
to ensure that employees (and others as appropriate) are adequately informed of the identified risks. Where appropriate, they will receive instruction, training and supervision
to consult with employees’ representatives on health and safety matters
to provide and maintain safe and healthy premises and work equipment
to ensure that employees are competent to do their tasks. We will provide training where necessary
to ensure that contractors are competent to manage the health and safety aspects of their work
to maintain appropriate health and safety management systems and arrangements
to monitor and review the effectiveness of the safety management systems and arrangements. Where appropriate, we will implement improvements

Protective clothing

We will provide and maintain protective clothing where it is necessary to comply with health and safety legislation. For more details, read our health and safety hazards guidance.

Lone worker devices

As part of a lone worker risk assessment, employees may be issued with a lone worker device. The device is worn by the employee and can:

monitor the employee's location
record and monitor confrontational situation
raise the alarm in the event of an emergency

See our working alone guidance.

The devices use GPS and the employee's location can be tracked. This is not the primary purpose of the device and routine monitoring of employees will not take place. Only in certain circumstances may this information be accessed, for example, as part of a complaint or disciplinary investigation.

Medical clearance

All appointments are subject to us being satisfied that the employee is medically suitable for the job offered.

First aiders

The number of trained first aiders or emergency first aiders will be assessed by the manager of the work location. This will be in accordance with our guidelines. Appropriate training and regular updating will be provided.

An annual allowance will be paid to designated first aiders. For further details, see the allowances and payments section.

Where there is a requirement of the post to hold a first aid qualification, this allowance does not apply. The evaluation of the post already includes these duties.

Pay and grading

Pay

We have a locally negotiated pay spine. Any nationally agreed pay bill increases will be honoured. We and relevant trade unions are committed to exploring local flexibility in the distribution of such increases.

Payment of salaries

Salaries for all new appointments will be paid each calendar month. The payment date will be not later than the 23rd day of the month.

Payment will be by bank credit direct into a bank account.

Trade union subscriptions are, with employees’ agreement, deducted monthly from their salary.

Total reward

We allow employees to:

purchase additional annual leave up to a maximum 37 hours (five days) pro rata for part-time employees
purchase of flexible benefits as part of their overall package

We have a corporate reward package funded by savings generated from the purchase of annual leave.

Pay progression

(Not applicable to non-teaching staff in schools)

Incremental pay progression will apply to employees appointed on an incremental grade. The means of progression will be:

as stated the employee's contract of employment, and
as contained in our green book employees pay and conditions policy

To incrementally progress, the employee should not have:

received a disciplinary sanction of withholding an increment, or
been in capability action within the previous year as per the current policy

Employees appointed to a single spine column point as a spot salary will:

not receive incremental progression
be subject to the capability policy or other relevant policies
have performance and development appraisals

Employees who do not achieve their objectives could be subject to the capability policy or other relevant policies.

Details of the pay progression scheme are shown in the pay and allowances section of the green book. For further information see part 4.9, paragraph 18.5 of the green book.

Where an employee is appointed under the appointing one point below policy, they may move onto the grade’s first point when they have reached the post’s required standard. This may be at any time within the first 12 months on the recommendation of their manager. They will still be required to have performance and development appraisals.

Job evaluation

All posts will be evaluated in accordance with the job evaluation scheme.

Appeals

Employees may appeal against a grading decision through the appeals procedure for GLPC job evaluation scheme.

Salary protection

Salary protection applies to an employee who accepts a post on a lower grade as a result of restructuring or change in the workforce.

Salary protection will apply:

for a maximum period of two years
with a limit on the maximum protection available of £3,000 (pro rata for part-time staff)
the existing salary is immediately frozen. We will not pay increments or pay awards until or unless the substantive grade maximum exceeds the protected salary
after two years, we will adjust the salary paid to that payable at the maximum of the substantive grade

Personal to job holder protection

The job evaluation convention changed on 1 April 2015. If job description points are adversely impacted due to these changes the employee will:

remain on their current grade
retain their annual leave entitlement

These arrangements are 'personal to job holder'. This status will cease when the employee:

leaves current post
has their job description legitimately reviewed due to job changes. The salary pay protection would apply if appropriate
is appointed to a new post within the council

Allowances, payments and mobility clause

Working at a higher level - acting up

Employees may temporarily work in a job which is normally graded on a higher level. They should be paid at an appropriate level for the duties they are asked to perform.

Honoraria

An honorarium payment may be made for exceptional or special work undertaken. This is usually on a short-term basis for up to six months. Refer to the green book employee pay and conditions policy for further details.

Meals provided

Free meals will be provided where employees are required to take meals with clients in performance of their duties. See entertainment of visitors.

Payment of subscriptions

We pay approved subscription costs for memberships of a national, regional or area professional organisation providing:

there is a direct benefit to the work of the council
the objectives of the organisation do not include improvement of the pay, status or conditions of employment of its members

Employees should submit invoices from their professional association to their line manager. We will then pay directly up front.

Mobility clause

Employees may be required to work at another location. This will be:

at a location we may specify
within a reasonable distance (we will determine what is reasonable)
as the needs of the business reasonably requires
either temporary or permanent

An employee’s usual place of work may be changed on reasonable notice.

Disturbance payments

Where there is a change or disturbance of work base our relocation policy will apply.

A disturbance sum will be paid in complete recompense where:

the disturbance requires additional home to work travel, and
a single journey is increased by more than 10 miles

The sum will be payable in monthly instalments over a one-year period.

The total sum payable is calculated on the appropriate HMRC AMAP rate (taking into account annual mileage) multiplied by (the journey excess x 2) multiplied by 225 journeys. This rate will apply to all employees.

The amount paid is pro rata for employees who work fewer than five days per week.

We will review any payment should the additional travelling requirement cease.

Sometimes there is a temporary need (up to six months) to move an employee or team to a different location. Additional mileage incurred can be paid under the travel and expenses policy.

First aid allowance

We pay employees who are designated first aiders for specific work locations an annual allowance of £104 per annum.

First aiders must hold a current recognised certificate in accordance with health and safety legislation.

Employees who are designated emergency first aiders or appointed persons must have:

attended an emergency first aid course
hold a recognised first aid certificate

We pay emergency first aiders an annual allowance of 50% of the first aiders allowance.

Two-way radios and mobile phones in private cars

We pay employees £50 if they have a two-way radio or work mobile phone installed in their private car. We also pay for the cost of installation and removal of the devices.

Homeworking

We may provide equipment to employees who are authorised to work from home. Such equipment is only to be used for business purposes. IT must be returned on leaving the post or the council.

Homeworkers must:

comply with the health and safety and IT security policies
ensure that proper insurance cover is provided

An office allowance may be payable if:

there are additional costs of homeworking
the employee is contractually required to use their home as a work base

Read the flexible working policy for further information.

Injury award scheme

This scheme provides employees and relief employees a financial award should they:

die as a result of anything they were required to do whilst carrying out their work
or, sustain an injury as a result of carrying out their work, resulting in a permanent disability

The formal reporting and investigation procedures must be followed in all cases. For details of the injury award scheme see our injury awards policy.

Site allowances

Employees in the Place director area may be required to be temporarily based on site. A site allowance may be paid due to an exceptional burden in terms of:

hours worked
endurance of all-weather conditions

Any site allowance paid is in place of normal overtime arrangements.

Scales of payment

Additional hours worked per week	Allowance
3½-7	4 percent of salary
7½-9	10 percent of salary
9½-11	16 percent of salary
11½-14½	24 percent of salary
15-18½	34 percent of salary
over 18½	44 percent of salary

Notes:

Extra time of less than half an hour on any day will be discounted.

Only complete half hours will be counted for payment.

The director of place may recommend remuneration on the basis of planned overtime instead of a site allowance where:

it is likely that work will exceed 18½ additional hours per week, and
over a sustained period of four weeks or more

Reimbursements

Travelling

Before undertaking any journey employees must assess the necessity of travel.

It is expected that employees will use the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly mode of transport.

We reimburse all car, van and motorcycle business mileage at HMRC rates. For the rates see reimbursement of expenses in the travel and expenses policy.

Employees who travel more than 8,000 business miles per financial year are expected to join the lease car scheme. Anyone who does not wish to join the scheme will have their mileage reimbursed at the HMRC rates.

We pay an additional mileage rate for the carriage of necessary passengers.

Other travel rates

These are set out in travel and subsistence rates.

Meals and overnight stays

Meal costs, as a general rule, are the responsibility of the employee. We will reimburse additional expenditure if an employee:

has to spend more than usual due to work demands
has prior line manager approval
submits receipts

Sometimes an overnight stay is required. Employees must agree in advance with their line manager for:

costs of accommodation and meals
any further out-of-pocket expenses

Entertainment of visitors

Employees may be reimbursed the actual costs of entertaining visitors on council business. Line manager approval is required in advance.

Interview expenditure

We will pay reasonable interview expenses after the appointment has commenced for:

mileage at the HMRC AMAP rate
cost of public transport

Telephone costs

Some employees, due to the nature of their work, may need to be:

contacted out of normal hours
often away from the workplace

We may supply such employees with a mobile telephone or with a telephone line at their home which is for council business purposes only. We will reimburse the cost of the line rental and business calls.

Training costs

Reimbursement of appropriate fees and expenses will be given in approved cases.

Employees may be required to repay a proportion of expenses incurred if they leave the council within two years after completing training. Details of when this may be required will be made clear before the employee commits to the training. For further details, see the learning and development policy.

Residential accommodation

All rents and charges for residential accommodation and services are assessed by our valuer and deducted from salary. The assessment is based on:

type of property
size and location
standard
access to facilities
services provided (such as heating, lighting, laundry)

Fees

Employees must notify HR if they receive any fees for:

press, radio, television interviews
writing books or articles
giving lectures concerned with an employee’s work

We may make an appropriate deduction from the employee’s salary unless annual leave has been taken to carry out this work.

Long service award

Employees who have completed 20, 30 and 40 years continuous service with the council and its predecessor authorities will receive a long service award.

(Note: Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue have a separate scheme for their employees).

Working arrangements

The following covers all working arrangements which apply from the National Agreement Part 3 Section 2 and any collective and local agreements.

(The locally agreed elements are shown in brackets).

Working week

The standard working week for all full time employees is 37 hours (locally agreed - except nursery and related employees contracted to a 32.5 hour week). The hours are to be arranged to meet service needs taking into account our flexible working policy.

Overtime is defined as being hours worked beyond the 37 hour working week. Part-time employees who work additional hours up to 37 hours will be paid at plain time for those hours.

The relevant premium rate for payment for additional hours will be paid for those hours worked above 37 hours.

(Locally agreed - subject to conditions in local agreements and terms and conditions, overtime is payable for employees on Grade 8 and below of the council pay spine.

Employees on Grade 9 and above on the council pay spine are not eligible to receive overtime payments.)

Employees are entitled to compensation if their basic pay is at or below Grade 8 and are required to work:

beyond the full time equivalent hours for the week in question
on Saturday or Sunday
at night
on public holidays
sleeping in duty, or
other non-standard working arrangements

Employees in receipt of basic pay at or above Grade 9 are not entitled to compensation except in the case of night work (waking nights). For night work (waking nights), employees up to and including Grade 16 will receive compensation.

(a) Additional hours

Employees who are required to work additional hours beyond their working week are entitled to receive enhancements hours payment on the following basis:

Date	Time
Monday to Saturday	Time and a half
Sundays and public and extra statutory holidays	Double time - minimum two hours

(b) Enhanced pay for Saturday and Sunday working

Employees who are required to work on a Saturday, Sunday or both days as part of their normal working week will not be entitled to enhanced hours payments.

(c) Night work or waking nights

Employees who work at night as part of their normal working week will receive an enhancement of time and one third for all hours worked between 10pm and 6am.

Where a regular number of hours are worked at night each month, a percentage payment is payable. The percentage payment is calculated based on an additional third paid for the average number of hours worked between 10pm and 6am over the year. This does not include periods of annual leave. The payment is added to the annual salary and paid monthly.

(d) Public and extra statutory holidays

Sometimes employees are required to work on a public or extra statutory holiday. In addition to their normal pay for that day, the employee will receive:

pay at plain time rate for all hours worked within their normal working hours
at a later date, time off with pay as follows:
- time worked less than half the normal working hours - half day
- time worked more than half the normal working hours - full day

(e) Sleeping-in duty

We will pay an allowance to all employees required to sleep in on the premises. The amount is stated in our pay policy statement. This covers the requirement to sleep in and up to 30 minutes call out per night, after which the additional hours’ provisions will apply.

Other non-standard working patterns

Where employees are engaged in non-standard patterns of work other than those covered by (a) to (e), the following compensations apply:

shift working – no compensation applies
free and rest day working
unavoidable split shift or split duty working – no compensation applies
irregular hours working – no compensation applies
lettings – current arrangements apply as defined by client services or as agreed in the educational establishment

Sutton Bridge keepers

Where free days and rest days are allocated and hours are worked over 37, the following overtime rates apply:

overtime worked on a free day is paid at time and a half
overtime worked on a rest day is paid at double time
evening working – no compensation applies

Standby duty (on call)

(Locally agreed - the following arrangements apply for employees at or below Grade 16:

Employees may be allocated standby or on-call shifts. This is where they are required to remain at home on standby duty after normal working hours and at weekends to deal with emergencies. We shall pay these employees on a sessional basis:

nationally agreed standby rate (for social workers) for standby shifts for GLPC grades
standby payment to cover up to one hour of occupied time
appropriate overtime rate to apply where occupied time is greater than one hour in accordance with paragraph 2.6(a))

Leave and time off

Leave year

The leave year normally runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Annual leave

Role	From 1 April 2023 (less than five years' continuous local government service)	From 1 April 2023 (five years' or more continuous local government service)
Grades 1 to 7	25 (185 hours)	30 (222 hours)
Grades 8 to 16	28 (207.2 hours)	33 (244.2 hours)
Senior leadership roles	31 (229.4 hours)	36 (266.4 hours)
Executive directors	31 (229.4 hours)	36 (266.4 hours)
Chief executive	33 (244.2 hours)	38 (281.2 hours)

In addition, in a standard year there are eight bank or public holidays (59.2 hours).

Extract from JNC for chief officers

Annual leave and holiday arrangements are at the discretion of the local authority subject to a minimum entitlement of 30 working days, including annual and long service leave, extra statutory and local holidays.

Notes

The timing of all leave is subject to the approval of the manager.

The figures quoted assume a five-day working week. This is pro rata for employees working more or less than five days each week.

Employees may carry forward to the following year or bring up to five days (37 hours) leave into a current year. This is pro rata for employees working more or less than five days each week.

Additional days may be transferred with the approval of the manager.

The leave entitlement includes the three concessionary and extra statutory days (22.2 hours) previously provided for each year. These were usually the Tuesdays following the Easter, Spring and Autumn bank holidays.

There will be no protection arrangements.

We reserve the right to designate up to two days (14.8 hours) annual leave in any leave year. Employees must take annual leave from their allocated allowance. This only happens when we consider it is economically beneficial to do so.

All employees are entitled to a minimum of 28 days (207.2 hours) leave. This is made up of annual leave entitlement and worked bank holidays. Leave entitlement is pro rata for part-time staff.

Employees whose working pattern in any leave year does not total 28 days (or pro rata equivalent) will have their entitlement made up to 28 days.

Employees receive the additional annual leave entitlement from the fifth anniversary of working for us.

Leave at Bank and Public holidays

Paid leave will be granted on nationally declared Bank and Public holidays. This will be subject to the needs of the service. These are currently:

New Year's Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
May Day Holiday
Spring Bank Holiday
Summer Bank Holiday
Christmas Day
Boxing Day

Other leave

Discretionary leave

We may approve leave with pay if an employee needs time off for family or personal reasons. This supplements the employee’s statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off from work for dependants. See the leave and time off policy - discretionary leave.

Ordinary parental leave

Employees are entitled to take a total of 18 weeks unpaid ordinary parental leave if they:

are parents of a child
have adopted a child under 18 years

For further details, see the family leave policy.

Shared parental leave

Employees can choose how to share the care of their child during the first year of birth or adoption. For further details, see the shared parental leave in the family leave policy.

Adoption leave

Adoptive parents are entitled to up to 52 weeks adoption leave. This will be subject to qualifying conditions. For further details see adoption leave in the family leave policy.

Maternity support leave

We offer five days with pay to the partner or nominated carer of an expectant mother. This will be taken at or around the time of birth. A nominated carer is the person nominated by the mother to:

assist in the care of the child, and
to provide support to the mother at or around the time of the birth

Five days with pay also applies in cases of adoption where these criteria are met. Details are in the maternity leave section of the family leave policy.

Paternity leave

Paternity leave is a statutory right, subject to qualifying conditions. One or two consecutive weeks leave are offered within 56 days of the birth to:

the father of the baby
adoptive father
the mother’s husband or partner

Additional paternity leave of up to six months is available for qualifying employees. Details are contained within the paternity leave section of the family leave policy.

Maternity scheme

The maternity leave and pay provisions are detailed in the maternity section of the family leave policy.

Leave for public duties

We may grant employees reasonable time off with pay to enable them to carry out public duties. This could be as a member of the following public bodies as defined in legislation:

a local authority
a statutory tribunal, public committee or similar body when appointed or nominated by:
- a Minister of State
- the council
- an association of which we are a member
- a police authority
- a board of prison visitors or a prison visiting committee
- a relevant health body
- a relevant education body
- the Environment Agency
- Justice of the Peace
- chairman of a local authority or Mayor

Or when employees are requested to give their services voluntarily for activities where they have specific:

knowledge
skills
experience
judgement

These attributes must be of particular value to the country, community or organisation concerned.

Employees wishing to take leave to undertake public duties must obtain prior approval from their manager. They should agree on the amount of leave allowed in any one year.

Managers will approve leave subject to the needs of the service. Employees who work flexible or annualised hours should use these arrangements where possible. If the employee can claim salary reimbursement from any other source, the leave will be without pay.

Election duties

We regard election duties as a public duty and, as such, allow employees the day off with full pay. Employees may also receive an allowance and expenses for carrying out these duties, which they can keep.

Employees who undertake an election count during a normal working day can take that day off with full pay. If a count is undertaken at night, there is no entitlement to have the day following as additional leave. Employees should arrange to request this as annual leave.

Leave for Trade Union duties

We have a collective agreement which sets out:

the provisions on trade union facilities and
time off for trade union duties

Details are available in the trade union recognition and facilities agreement.

Jury service

Any employee called to jury service must notify their manager as soon as possible. Their manager will approve leave of absence unless an exemption is secured from the court.

We will pay employees their normal pay on days the court requires them for jury service. This is unless the court advises us that they must make a loss of earnings claim. When this happens, the employee should inform their manager. We will make a deduction from the employee’s pay of the amount equal to the allowance they receive.

The employee may retain any out-of-pocket expenses the court pays. They should not be included in the figure notified.

For further information, see the leave and time off policy.

Attendance at court

If an employee is summoned to attend court following a subpoena or as a witness, we do not pay leave. Employees can claim loss of earnings for cases brought by the Crown Prosecution Service or as part of costs claimed against the losing party in civil cases. The employee must notify People Services of the amount as soon as possible.

If the employee attends court on our behalf, it will be treated as a part of their normal duties. Leave is not appropriate.

Military reservists

Volunteer members of the reserve forces who attend annual camp will be granted two weeks’ paid leave in addition to their normal entitlement. In addition, managers may grant a paid leave of absence to volunteer reservists. See the reservists and volunteers section of the leave and time off policy for further information.

Accompanying a fellow worker

Employees are entitled to reasonable paid time off during working hours to accompany a fellow worker at a disciplinary or grievance hearing. We will also allow no more than a half day of paid time off to discuss and prepare the case with the worker beforehand.

Time off for training or study

We will give time off for training and study leave in approved cases. When on training courses outside their contracted daily hours, part-time employees shall be:

paid on the same basis as full time employees or
given time off in lieu

For further details, see the learning and development policy.

Time off to attend interviews

We will grant time off with pay for interviews within the council. Interviews outside the council are to be taken as annual leave.

If an employee has been given formal notice of redundancy and has two years’ service, we will give reasonable time off work during the notice period to:

look for work
make arrangements for training

Time off for medical screening

We will give paid time off to employees for health screening.

Hospital, doctors and dental appointments

Employees should arrange doctors, dentists or opticians visits outside core hours. Flexi time should be used if the appointment is within core time.

When unavoidable, managers may allow employees time off inside work time. Requests will be considered on an individual basis.

Hospital appointments are considered an authorised absence, and we will pay for the time off. Employees should provide their manager with proof of their appointment (for example, an appointment card or letter).

Time off to accompany dependants should normally be taken as annual leave or flexi time. If there are exceptional circumstances, paid time off may be appropriate.

Prayer or religious observance

Employees should seek to undertake prayer or religious observances outside core time. Flexi time should be used if prayer or religious observance is within core time.

Provisions for retained employees

School crossing patrol attendants and catering staff in schools

Annual leave will usually be taken during the school holidays. Payments for annual leave will be pro rata to comparable full-time employees. Alternative arrangements may be agreed upon locally.

In addition to the provisions set out in the agreement on annual leave, public and extra-statutory holidays, there is an entitlement to:

full pay for days when the school is closed during the term, such as for elections or emergencies
for school meals employees only, not more than three additional days each year for school closures during term time. For employees required to work any such additional day, we will:
- pay employees at their full rate
- give time off in lieu at a later date. If this is not practicable, payment shall be at double time rates.

For the remaining periods of the year when the school is closed, employees are not entitled to receive a retainer payment. The existing contract provisions for pro rata annual leave shall remain unchanged. Annual leave will be calculated and paid over 12 months of the year in equal amounts.

Employees who are unable to work due to sickness absence will be treated under the sickness provisions. Their entitlement to sick pay is set out in the NJC National Agreement. It will be based on their normal equated salary.

Teaching assistants

Teaching assistants in community schools, or a foundation or aided school who have adopted the Lincolnshire County Council Collective Agreement of 1 April 2007, receive a salary in accordance with this agreement.

The terms and conditions for this group of employees are contained within the Lincolnshire County Council Teaching Assistant Collective Agreement 2003 as amended. It will apply to schools that have not adopted the Lincolnshire County Council Collective Agreement of 1 April 2007.

The Local Scheme Collective Agreement of 2011 changes the application of the Teaching Assistants Collective Agreement in Community Schools in respect of:

annual leave entitlement
overtime threshold at full time hours such as 32.5 hours for teaching assistants

Nursery employees and ancillary assistants

There are nursery employees and ancillary assistants in foundation or aided schools where the Lincolnshire County Council Teaching Assistant Collective Agreement or Collective Agreement of 1 April 2007 has not been adopted.

Nursery employees include nurses and assistants working in nursery classes and nursery schools:

nursery employees are to be regarded as full-time employees if:
- regularly employed for ten sessions or more per week (including lunch breaks where worked) during the school term or,
- where a sessional basis is inappropriate, for 32.5 hours (including lunch breaks where worked)
the right of the employer to require further work outside normal school hours is subject to payment at:
- plain time rate (based on 1/32.5 of weekly pay) or,
- overtime rate of 1.5/32.5 for hours worked beyond the standard working week
nursery employees employed full time should be available to work for 195 days in any year. Pupil contact is required for 190 of those days.

These conditions also apply to:

ancillary assistants working with statements of special educational needs of working in a special school, and
ancillary assistants working in classrooms up to the age of seven

A protected allowance under the National Agreement (as varied by the Lincolnshire County Council Collective Agreement of 1 April 2007) will be paid to teaching assistants who work:

with children with statements of special educational needs, or
in special schools who were appointed before 1 September 1998

Sickness

Employees unable to work due to sickness must inform their nominated manager as quickly as possible. They should indicate the:

first day of illness
nature of the illness
likely date of return to work

The director area or school’s own arrangements for sickness absence must be complied with at all times.

Entitlement to sick pay is as set out in the 2015 Pay and Reward Collective Agreement as:

Length of service	Sick pay
During first year of service	One month's full pay After completing four months' service two months' half pay
During second year of service	Two months' full pay and two months' half pay
During third year of service	Three months' full pay and three months' half pay
During fourth year of service	Four months' full pay and four months' half pay
After five years	Five months' full pay and five months' half pay

Managers have the discretion to extend the period of sick pay in exceptional cases. This is in line with the Extension to Sick Pay Process. HR will provide support to ensure all decisions on extensions to sick pay are fair and consistent.

‘Qualifying days’ for the Statutory Sick Pay Scheme are all seven days of the week.

Employees must notify their manager and complete the First Notification of Loss Form (formerly the PO3 form) if they consider their illness is:

due to an accident at work
a disease associated with their work

Further details are available on our intranet.

We will pay claims for sick pay entitlement provided that:

notification is made at the earliest possible time to the person we identify for this purpose
further notification is made
we receive a doctor’s statement no later than the eighth calendar day of absence
subsequent doctor’s statements are submitted as necessary
the employee must, before returning to work, send us a final statement as to fitness to resume duties if:
- the doctor’s statement covers a period exceeding fourteen days or
- more than one statement is necessary
on return to work, the employee signs a statement detailing the reasons for all absences up to and including seven days

If we require a medical examination of an employee, they will be examined by our nominated medical practitioner. This will be subject to the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, where applicable.

We will meet any costs associated with the examination of an employee. Where it is necessary to obtain a second medical opinion, it should be provided by an independent medical referee.

For an employee to qualify for sick pay, we may require a doctor’s statement. We will reimburse the employee the cost on the provision of a receipt.

If an employee falls sick whilst on annual leave, they shall be regarded as being on sick leave from the date of a doctor’s statement.

If an employee is receiving sick pay under the scheme, sick pay will continue if a public or extra statutory holiday falls during such sickness absence. We do not give a substitute public or extra statutory holiday.

Widows and married women exercising their right to be exempted from the payment of full rate national insurance contributions are deemed insured in their own right for all national insurance benefits.

An employee off work due to an accident is not entitled to sick pay if damages may be receivable from a third party. We may advance the allowance, provided the employee agrees to refund the amount from any damages awarded.

Termination of employment

Notice periods

The notice period given by either us or an employee to terminate employment is:

grades 1 to 8 - not less than one calendar month
grades 9 to 12 - not less than two calendar months
grade 13 and above - not less than three calendar months
during a probationary period - one month

There may be separate provisions in an employee’s terms and conditions document.

The minimum statutory provisions will always be applied.

Ill health

We will only terminate an employee’s contract on the grounds of incapability arising from ill health following:

proper consideration of medical advice
alternative employment options
any reasonable adjustments which can be made

Termination of employment may occur before an employee has exhausted their occupational sick pay.

Retirement

We do not have a compulsory retirement age for our employees. For further information, see the retirement policy.

Separate arrangements apply for operational firefighters by local agreement.

Severance pay

We will make redundancy payments and any enhancement to pension provision in accordance with:

the statutory provisions
discretionary provisions we have adopted

Death in service

We will make an immediate payment of £200 to the surviving spouse, civil partner or partner of full-time and part-time employees, except for uniformed fire officers.

The deceased employee must have been:

in the local government pension scheme, or the teachers’ pension scheme
continuously employed by us since 1 April 1987 or have served with another local authority. If it is continuous, it will be considered when determining eligibility.

We will also consider a payment to any other dependent relative of a deceased employee. The amount will not exceed £200 and is paid where there is no spouse, civil partner or partner. Eligibility is subject to the same provisos.

A partner is defined as a person living with the employee for at least six months before the death.

The death gratuity is a taxable benefit.

Conduct

Our code of conduct applies to all employees. Employees in schools may have additional requirements adopted by the governing body.

Disciplinary procedure

We have adopted disciplinary rules to help employees know the standards expected of them. All employees should familiarise themselves with these. See the disciplinary policy and procedure.

Employees in schools will be given copies of the disciplinary procedure adopted by the governing body.

Grievance procedure

Employees who have a grievance arising from their employment should first raise it with their immediate manager.

The grievance policy and procedure and harassment and bullying policy cover issues of:

harassment
race
colour
nationality
ethnic or national origins
gender
gender reassignment
sexual orientation
marital status
civil partnership status
disability
age discrimination

Employees in schools will be given copies of the grievance procedure adopted by the governing body.