The deal follows 18 months of talks between education personnel at Nottinghamshire County Council and the Nottinghamshire branch of Unison. At present the current pay scale for qualified and unqualified staff in the county ranges between 9,531 and 12,444, but under the new system qualified staff could earn up to 18,417.
Unison branch organiser Mike Scott last week described the deal as 'groundbreaking' and 'a breakthrough'. He said, 'For the first time there will be an overlap between nursery nurse scales and teacher scales, so there could be nursery nurses earning more than teachers. This is a significant change.'
Under the new package, grades will be based on the current 32.5-hour week and a 52-week pay year, with overtime paid at time and a half. The basic hours worked will be by agreement and may be flexible. Unison and Nottinghamshire council are also looking at ways to help unqualified staff to achieve qualified status through various options, including day-release training.
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