UNISON is at the forefront of work on exciting new legislation for school support staff in England. We’re working with the government to create a new negotiating body which will decide pay, terms and conditions for school support staff, as well as taking a new approach to staff training and development.
What is the new deal?
Labour have committed to restoring the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). At the moment, the majority of school support staff are covered by the same negotiating body as council workers (the National Joint Council or NJC). The SSSNB will be a negotiating body that only talks about school support staff, which means that we can focus on issues that really affect staff working in schools.
The new negotiating body will cover pay, terms and conditions, and access to training for school support staff.
Will my school be included?
The SSSNB will include all types of state-funded schools, including academies and schools within multi academy trusts. This means that all school support staff will benefit from the same pay and conditions; academies will no longer be able to opt-out of paying nationally negotiated rates of pay.
How is UNISON involved?
UNISON is working with the Department for Education to set up the legislation. We are involved in discussions about who should be included and what should be covered. When the negotiating body is formed, UNISON will sit on the trade union side and so will bring the views of UNISON members to the table.
Which trade unions are involved?
There are only three recognised trade unions for school support staff: UNISON, GMB and Unite. These will be the only three unions that sit on the new negotiating body. Please note that the NEU are not part of this process and are not able to negotiate pay for school support staff.
I work for an academy and I’ve heard that the SSSNB will mean my pay is cut. Is this true?
No, this is not true. UNISON has been a key campaigner in making the SSSNB part of the current government’s policy, and we would never advocate for any policy that would lead to some people being paid less or seeing a cut to their rights at work.
The SSSNB will give support staff a voice and will be a vehicle to increase fairness in pay and conditions for support staff across the board. In our talks with ministers and government officials, we are making it clear that we want to see national contracts that offer a base level of terms and conditions for all staff, on top of which multi-academy trusts can offer more if they choose.
Get involved
The Department for Education have now launched a public consultation which will gather views on exactly who should be covered by the new negotiating body, and evidence on current pay and conditions. While UNISON will submit a national response on behalf of all our members, it is vital that as many school support staff as possible take part in the consultation, to make sure that the final negotiating body reflects what you, the people most affected by the SSSNB, want and need.
Winning the best possible new deal will need a strong collective voice for all school support staff.
UNISON is building a network of school support staff champions across all schools to:
- Receive new deal updates from UNISON to share with colleagues
- Encourage colleagues to support UNISON activity for a new deal
- Remain in contact with your UNISON branch on school support staff issues
If you’re not already a member, join UNISON now to be part of the new deal for school support staff!
