Council apologises in staff salary mix-up

9:50am Thursday 1st May 2008

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COUNCIL chiefs have apologised to hundreds of employees, after they were accidentally given false information about their new salary.

Thousands of council workers have had their wages changed by City of York Council as part of a massive job evaluation and pay review. Many face severe cuts, some by thousands of pounds.

But The Press has now learned that many staff were given the wrong information, and told they were being put on a pay-grade one lower than was actually the case. The council today could not say how many were affected, except that it was "less than a thousand".

In an email to staff, the council's deputy chief executive Simon Wiles said: "I want to apologise to anyone who has been incorrectly notified due to the issues above and assure you that we are doing all we can to send corrected letters out."

A council spokeswoman said today: "The council's project analysts are urgently investigating which individuals are affected and they will be sending revised and corrected letters out within the next week."

She said the mistake was due to two computer systems not working in the same way in some cases.

Meanwhile, a special council helpline took almost 1,000 calls from anxious, concerned and aggrieved employees within two days of staff being informed of the changes. A further 500 emails were received.

Many of those affected have contacted The Press about the changes.

One, who asked not to be named, said he had lost £4,000 from his pay as a result of the changes.

Another said: "I'm not sure how the union ballot will go, but I think the whole issue could end up affecting public services in a less obvious way than a staff walkout."

All councils across the country have had to review their pay structures under the Single Status Agreement 1997.

York's agreement is subject to agreement by union members in a ballot, which is due to be held in late May or early June.