Memorandum of understanding between AUT and UCEA
Framework agreement for the modernisation of pay structures
1. The AUT negotiators will recommend their Strategic Planning Committee, Executive and Council to ratify the Framework Agreement negotiated in July 2003, subject to agreement of the following Memorandum of Understanding between the AUT and UCEA:
Transition to the new pay spine: progression protection
The AUT and UCEA agree that the proposed Framework for the modernisation of pay structures should provide a platform for the long term improvement of salaries across higher education to address the problem of historical decline in the relative value of earnings. To this end, it is important to address the AUTÕs concern about potential applications of the new single pay spine for academic and related staff in pre-1992 HE institutions.
Pre-1992 universities and colleges have therefore agreed that the detail of the new pay arrangements which they adopt under the terms of the Framework Agreement will be designed with the intention - as far as practicable and foreseeable - of avoiding detriment to the present pay progression expectations of academic and related staff, except where: staff agree to such as part of a package of changes to pay arrangements which overall they consider to be acceptable; staff are 'red-circled' following job evaluation exercises and their pay is protected in accordance with the provisions in Appendix F of the Framework Agreement; or staff would, exceptionally, have been denied incremental progression under established procedures for dealing with performance problems.
As prescribed in the Framework Agreement, new pay arrangements incorporating this commitment will need to be developed by HE institutions in partnership with their recognised unions, negotiating to reach agreement on a timely basis.
In particular, subject to the above exceptions, institutions shall have regard to the following guiding principles:
•	that contribution thresholds in the pay scales for these staff should be set no lower than the present non-discretionary maxima for equivalent grades;
•	that these staff will have a normal expectation of annual progression to the contribution threshold for their grade;
•	that this incremental progression to the contribution threshold will take no longer than under current equivalent arrangements.
Grading for academic-related staff
To address the AUT's concern about grading arrangements for academic-related staff, it is
•	emphasised that the requirements in the Framework Agreement about common grading across staff groups will embrace both academic and senior administrative, library and computing staff;
•	noted that a number of pre-1992 universities and colleges have already been engaged with AUT, or have indicated willingness to engage with AUT, in developing role profiles for academic-related staff; and
•	agreed that any institution which has undertaken work of this sort should be invited to contribute such profiles to a library database, maintained nationally by UCEA. These profiles for senior administrative, library and computing staff, suitably indexed with reference to grade and function, would be published to assist HE institutions and their partner unions in the process of negotiating and implementing new grading arrangements on a timely basis.
3. The UCEA negotiators will recommend the same Memorandum of Understanding to their Board and pre-1992 university and college subscribers.
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
4. The AUT negotiators will recommend their Strategic Planning Committee, Executive and Council to end the present industrial action, to encourage AUT members to return to normal working as rapidly as possible, and in particular to seek to minimise the impact on students (especially those due to graduate this year) by working with HE institutions to reschedule outstanding assessment processes so that these can be completed without undue delay.
5. UCEA recognises that restoring good industrial relations with the AUT and its members is a priority. The UCEA negotiators will therefore recommend their subscribers not to victimise or unfairly penalise any AUT members who have taken strike action or action short of a strike, and not to impose unreasonable deadlines as part of the necessary rescheduling of assessment processes.
PAY INCREASES
6. Once ratification of the Framework Agreement and the ending of industrial action have been agreed on the above basis, UCEA will recommend its subscribers to implement as soon as practicable the pay increases set out in the Framework Agreement.
JNCHES GUIDANCE
7. UCEA have acknowledged that there are a number of agreements reached in JNCHES on 16 December 2003 and 4 March 2004 to which the AUT is not currently a party, and there will be further contact on these issues.
16 March 2004