Harmonisation ballot outcome

The trade unions have announced the outcome of the ballot on harmonisation to their members.

The result was 2 yes votes and a no vote which means it has not been possible to reach a collective agreement to implement the proposals which were put to the vote.

Both sides have agreed the proposals which were put to members in the recent ballot were the best achievable by negotiation and there is no intention to re-open talks to amend these in any respect.

In light of this we have agreed with the trade unions that we will run an individual opt in exercise for staff in scope to be harmonised.

This opt-in opportunity will be:

• One-off (not to be repeated)
• Time-limited (subject to a deadline)
• An opt-in to exactly the same harmonisation proposals which were put to trade union members in the recent ballots.

Neither we nor the trade unions wish to see staff who stand to gain from the harmonisation proposals lose out, or have to wait much longer to get the benefits many of you voted for.

Colleagues who choose not to opt-in will remain on their ex-CRC, Parent Organisation or Supply Chain terms and conditions. This choice will have implications for future pay and conditions, including pay awards and EVR.

We have more work to do to confirm the timetable for running the opt in. We will run this process as quickly as possible but to ensure you have all of the information necessary to decide whether to opt in, we will need to generate individual letters. As a result, we know it will not be possible to conclude this process in time for payments to be made in November payroll. We will communicate the timetable for this work as soon as possible.

Any queries to the FMB please at HandSTenquiries@justice.gov.uk