Moving from NJC Payscale to School Academy Payscale

[MrsWombat]

I started working in a school shortly after they were taken over by an academy chain and was put on the existing NJC payscale for the local council. Eventually, the chain combined HR and recruitment processes and created a new pay scale for new employees which is a bit different.

We've just been invited to join it, and I was wondering if there was anything I need to look out for and ask about? (Pension is still LGPS) My main concern is that it hasn't been negotiated by the unions, although it is apparently based on the council one which is.

I'm currently at the top of my NJC payscale and can't progress anymore. The new gradepoint I'll be moving over to for the current year is 5p an hour more than my current one, but more importantly next year I would move up another gradepoint which is 2% (plus inflation) more again. They also have the freedom to move us up to the next payscale which has a further 5 gradepoints each with a 2% (plus inflation) pay increase. (I need to double-check if we would automatically get moved up to the next payscale if we passed our performance assessment)

Hope that makes sense. Any thoughts? I'm quite happy to forgo the 5p payrise if there are good reasons to keep on NJC.

Check the contract carefully as you may find changes to other benefits.

I would want to know whether there was a guaranteed inflation factor in line with NJC agreements and how roles and responsibilities would be benchmarked to determine the grade, particularly if you're looking at an upcoming regrade yourself.

I'd be contacting my union rep to get their take and understand whether they would recognise the agreement in the event of a dispute. Many academies have moved away from NJC now but unions should have participated in developing a local agreement.

A couple of things to check - is your continuous service protected, and will there still be a death in service grant?

LGPS has tiered contribution rates, so check whether the pay increase would put you into a higher contribution tier (which may then wipe out the pay gain).