Nursery World - At a loss (4)

Changes in hours and contracts are turning the single status agreement into a bad deal for early years staff employed by local councils. Simon Vevers reports It sounded like a great idea back in 1997 as it would mean equal pay for work of equal value for council employees. Local authority staff were told that there would mainly be winners and 'no one would lose'. So, why, nearly a decade on, is local implementation of the single status agreement penalising some of the lowest-paid staff - the very people it was supposed to help - many of them women and many of them teaching assistants and nursery nurses?

It sounded like a great idea back in 1997 as it would mean equal pay for work of equal value for council employees. Local authority staff were told that there would mainly be winners and 'no one would lose'. So, why, nearly a decade on, is local implementation of the single status agreement penalising some of the lowest-paid staff - the very people it was supposed to help - many of them women and many of them teaching assistants and nursery nurses?

When the deal was hatched at national level, it was supposed to lead to local deals being struck between councils and unions and to avoid expensive equal pay claims being lodged by workers who could argue that they were being treated unfairly compared with others.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included