FELA Ballot - FAQ

Q1. What is the offer?

The offer provides:

• a £400 unconsolidated payment for all lecturing staff (1st April 2017 - 31st March 2019); and
• a £1,500 consolidated pay uplift on all unpromoted and promoted lecturer scale points (1st April 2019 - 31st August 2020)

Q2. What does the offer mean for unpromoted lecturers?

• The £400 unconsolidated payment is a single one-off payment. This payment will not affect the values of either the interim or the National Pay Scale (‘NPS’) for unpromoted lecturers.
• A flat rated £1,500 consolidated uplift will be made to all points in the NSP for unpromoted lecturers.
• The new scale will be as follows:

Q3. What does the offer mean for promoted lecturers?

• The £400 unconsolidated payment is a single one-off payment. This payment will not affect the values of either the interim or the National Pay Scale (‘NPS’) for promoted lecturers.
• A flat rated £1,500 consolidated uplift will be made to the three fixed points of the NPS for promoted lecturers.
• The new fixed point scale will be as follows:

Q4. Why does the offer refer to 31st August 2020?

The settlement date for cost of living pay rises is currently 1st April, with agreed awards being applied at that date.  One of the outcomes from this offer would be an agreement to change the settlement date to 1st September, with effect from 1st September 2020.  The values of the individual pay points in the NSP would remain as stated in questions 2 and 3 until that date.

The cost of living pay award which will be negotiated for 2020/21 would take effect on 1st September 2020 and would be applied to the pay scales referred to in questions 2 and 3.

Q5. I left my employment as a lecturer in the college sector in 2017 or 2018. Am I entitled to receive the £400 unconsolidated payment?

Staff who left employment part way through this period will be entitled to receive a pro rata payment for this element of the pay award.  Contact should be made directly with the college to make the arrangements for payment.

Q6. I started employment as a lecturer in the college sector in 2017 or 2018. Am I entitled to receive the £400 unconsolidated payment?

Staff who started employment part way through this period will be entitled to receive a pro rata payment for this element of the pay award. 

Q7. Why is this offer better than what was previously on offer?

Previous offers from Colleges Scotland amounted to a 2% increase for the majority of our members, with a small bridging payment to reach the new settlement date of 1st September 2020. 

This means that the consolidated element of this offer has increased significantly from around £800 at the top of the unpromoted lecturers’ pay scale to £1,500 on each scale point. 

This offer has a consolidated front-loaded element which is applied to all points on the NPS.  This means that the annual pay points on the national pay scales will increase by £1,500, bringing the top of the unpromoted lecturers’ scale to £41, 526.  As this is a front-loaded offer, whilst the annual pay point goes up £1,500 in total, over the 17 months members will receive £2,125. 

This meaningful increase has been achieved as a direct result of the sustained campaign of industrial action which members have delivered. In the view of the Executive no significant improvement in the offer would be possible without a fresh mandate for sustained strike action in the new term, starting in August.

Q8. Why is Colleges Scotland referring to pay and terms and conditions together?

Management has repeatedly sought to link pay with ratification of the National Working Practices Agreement (‘NWPA’).  For political reasons, the employers have sought to make this link.  This is their aim, rather than an output of the NJNC.

Negotiations on pay and terms and conditions have been conducted separately and through parallel discussions at the NJNC.  The EIS has repeatedly refused to conflate pay and terms and conditions.

The two processes are distinct and this is evident from the fact that the FELA Executive chose to consult with members through the separate ballot processes – one on the ratification of the NWPA and the current ballot on pay. 

The NWPA received a unanimous endorsement from members in the recent ballot, with 92% of members who voted, voting in favour of acceptance.  This document brings into effect a long-term policy objective of EIS-FELA, delivering national terms and conditions for college lecturers across Scotland and concluding a workstream which has been in progress for a number of years.

The document has been ratified by EIS-FELA.  Colleges Scotland Employers' Association will meet on Wednesday, 5th June to consider whether it will ratify the Agreement.  If ratified, the Agreement will come into effect on 1st August 2019.

Q9. When does the ballot open and when will it close?

The ballot opened on Friday, 31st May and will close at 12 noon on Monday, 10th June.