Harmonisation negotiations begin
Many staff who transferred to the Probation Service in June may have heard about harmonisation.
Harmonisation is the process by which colleagues who remain on their former employers’ contractual terms and conditions are aligned to Probation Service terms and conditions and pay scales. Those formal negotiations began this week and will carry on into January, February and March 2022.
Almost all former Parent Organisation and Supply Chain staff remain on their existing pay, terms and conditions and were not covered by the National Agreement at the point of transfer. In addition, a small group of former CRC staff who were assigned to corporate roles in either HMPPS or MoJ also remained on their legacy pay which will need to be assimilated via secondary transfer.
All other former CRC staff transferred under the National Agreement and moved to Probation Service pay, terms and conditions straight away meaning that for them, harmonisation is not required.
Moving to Probation Service terms, conditions and pay scales is subject to Trade Union negotiations and member agreement via staff ballots. Over the coming months we will be negotiating with our recognised Trade Unions on the harmonisation of Parent Organisation and Supply Chain staff through a process called ‘collective bargaining’.
Although difficult to predict, and dependent on negotiations, we anticipate that members’ ballots will be held early in Spring 2022 with the implementation of the outcome taking place over the summer.
Harmonisation is complex and has different implications and journeys for different groups of transferring staff. Staff impacted by any aspect of harmonisation will be contacted directly to explain what it means for them, their own journey and what happens next.
How we will keep you informed
For the most up to date information, we will soon be launching a harmonisation and secondary page on the Probation Hub and information will also be posted on the HMPPS intranet. If your question isn’t answered then any generic questions can be submitted to HandSTenquiries@justice.gov.uk. Please note due to Trade Union sensitivities we cannot respond to questions on actual terms, pay or individual situations or circumstances. These are best discussed with your chosen Trade Union representative.