13 January 2015
Dear Members
In response to queries from a couple of our members with regard to the change of the salary payment date, the UNISON branch Executive agreed to speak with the Head of HR to clarify how the change came about.
A couple of years ago the University had agreed to alter the January pay date following requests from a number of YSJ UNISON members who were finding it very difficult to manage their finances over the December/January period.
In early 2014 the idea of a set pay date was floated at senior leadership level and discussed with the HR and Finance departments who had no objections. In the meantime, a number of members contacted the branch asking for the possibility of a set date which was forwarded to HR. In addition, at feedback meetings from the staff survey, two groups of staff spoke to the Head of HR in favour of a set date. The matter was discussed further at a Staff Joint Consultative Committee liaison meeting where both UNISON and UCU were represented. UNISON agreed that some of its members had approached branch officers requesting the change.
Please note that the amount we get paid is a part of our contract of employment but the date on which we get paid is not and would not normally be up for consultation, although some consultation did take place. We believe that the majority of members think that the change is a positive move, particularly for those on lower incomes who have struggled to manage finances over a 5 week period. We understand that HR confirmed the 22nd of each month with payroll which is in line with the date that most companies pay staff (between 19th and 23rd of the month).
The decision to start the change in February was to alleviate the problem of another five week period.
Please contact the branch at Unison@yorksj.ac.uk or Jo Thompson from HR if you need advice on changing your direct debits or have other financial issues due to the changed salary date.
Best wishes and Happy New Year
YSJ UNISON Branch Executive