Audience: Foundation or VA schools that have opted out of MRS, please disregard.

In October, the MRS team sent over 20,000 letters notifying employees of their MRS outcomes. This letter is to notify you of the next stages of MRS job matching and the contribution we would like you to make.

Thank you for your previous input into the MRS job matching and quality checking the data for non-teaching staff in your school. This led to us sending over 12000 letters to staff in schools notifying them of their MRS outcomes. Over the past four weeks we have been busy responding to queries and providing information to help employees participate in the feedback period. Now that the majority of the queries are resolved we can begin the next stage of MRS.

As you are aware, the letters were based on an employee's position at 30 June 2008. Our focus for the next two months is on processing what we are calling 'the backlog'. This applies to all employees that commenced with the County Council or have changed jobs since June 2008. We also realise that people will be anxious to understand how their old job was evaluated and whether any compensation payment may be appropriate if the grade of the job has increased. We will, therefore, also write to all employees who held a different job during the period 01 April 2007 to 31 May 2008.

What we are asking you to do 1. Employee home address check Please ask employees to check the address on their November 2008 payslip. If this is not up to date please request an amendment from the Employee Services Centre by 19 December 2008. Please continue to advise the Employee Services Centre of any subsequent address changes. 2. New job matching The original matching was undertaken based on the position in your school at 01 April 2007. We have been tracking staffing changes that have occurred since April 2007 on a monthly basis and have already completed the matching for the period 01 April 2007 to 30 June 2008. We now need to speak to you to confirm the matches for any new staff since July 2008 and agree a new match for staff who have changed jobs during the period July to October 2008. (Also for November 2008 once they become available). Prior to contact from the MRS team You will have received a revised copy of the job matching guidance. Please read through this matching guidance then await a telephone call from the MRS team. There is no need to take any action in the meantime.

Process for job matching We will undertake an initial matching exercise using the outcomes of the spring 2008 matching exercise. We will automatically match MSAs, Cleaners and any other jobs where it is clear what the match should be. For example, if your current Teaching Assistants are paid Scale 3 and are matched to the Template T8 (JE9008) Teaching Assistant - level 1, we will match any new Teaching Assistants being paid Scale 3 to this same job.We will then contact you by telephone over the period 19 November to 12 December to discuss and agree an outcome for any cases that we have been unable to automatically match.

Process for jobs that cannot be matched For jobs that do not fit an existing template job description or existing job analysis questionnaire, you will be asked to send an up to date Job Description, Person Specification and school structure chart to your MRS team contact, who will advise you on how to proceed.

What Happens Next?
Once we have completed the matches for this 'backlog' period, we will put these into a data file ready for producing the next batch of letters to employees.

At the start of the new term, you will receive a data model of all support staff for your school, similar to the 'consolidated model 19' you received in October, although we will make improvements to the layout. You will be given the opportunity to check this information over a two-week period and feed back any amendments or queries. This time we have planned in more time for you to check the data. If errors are identified during this check, (eg an incorrect match), the letter will be held until your feedback is actioned. So the letter will be sent approximately three weeks after the main mailout, which we aim to send by the end of January 2009.

Further details on the data checking exercise will follow as soon as possible.

Re-evaluation and appeals process
Once the proposal is agreed, we can begin the re-evaluation and appeals process. Further information, as well as the process itself, can be found on the MRS website www.norfolk.gov.uk/mrs

We realise that employees who feel they have grounds to appeal are anxious to get more information on how the job evaluation score was reached and on other jobs that they consider as comparators. We are planning to release this information in a consistent manner once the proposal is agreed and when support is available to help employees through this next stage.

Further into the future.. The MRS team are in the early stages of a piece of work that will ultimately enable you to 'match' a new starter at the time of appointment and give this information directly to the Employee Services Centre. Once this work is complete these monthly matches will no longer need to happen. This will streamline the process significantly.

Until the necessary information is loaded into the payroll system, the Employee Services Centre are unable to advise on or be involved in the job matching process, so the MRS team will continue to match with you.

The importance of consistent grades
As always, it is worth reiterating the importance of consistency in grades across the County Council. Any differences in grades should be based on real differences in job size, and those size differences are what the job evaluation scheme has confirmed. Employees can complain to Employment Tribunals if they are paid less than others doing similar jobs, even if those others work in other Community schools or work in other areas of the Authority. While schools have powers under local management, those powers need to be exercised fairly if such claims are not to be successfully pursued.

Grading process for new jobs/jobs that have changed in content since the original evaluation
We have a revised process for grading any newly created jobs or jobs that have changed since we undertook the original MRS evaluation. If you wish to create a new job you will need to discuss how to grade this with your HR Consultant.

Denise Ginns, Dave Nugent or Sally Albrow, MRS team job evaluators, can provide general information about the process.

Please remember that we now have a central bank of information on all jobs in schools and their MRS grade, in addition to the workforce remodelling job description templates. If you are creating a new job we may save you time by giving you a job description and grade if a similar job is held in another school.

Please do not grade or recruit to any new jobs without discussing the appropriate grade with your HR consultant or the MRS team. This will enable us to assist you to maintain consistency and avoid being vulnerable to claims against you.

An update on school budgets - four key messages:
Treatment of Budget Provision
For most schools, the current budget provision (i.e. 2008/09) includes an uplift of 3% on all the non-teaching staff lines, automatically generated by the budget planning software. Additionally, for most schools, budget line E03 Education Support Staff includes a credit figure brought forward from the previous financial year equivalent to 5% of the total of the previous year's non-teaching staff budgets.

As it is unlikely that the MRS revised pay rates will be implemented until after the beginning of the new financial year, Children's Services Finance Support will again undertake to action creditor provision for a total of the 5% brought forward from 2007/08 and the 3% in-year uplift for 2008/09, on the same basis as last year i.e. for community schools unless requested not to action, and for VA and foundation schools only if requested to. Children's Services Finance Support will write individually to Heads nearer the end of the financial year, with further details, actual figures and a consent form.

Detailed MRS Costings
Children's Services Finance Support will shortly be issuing a spreadsheet to all affected schools that will show variances in budget requirements based on the MRS impact for individual staff members. It will also show the amount of budgeted uplift and creditor provision to compare against the proposed variance in cost. This will enable Headteachers and school managers to ascertain if there is a shortfall or a surplus between budgeted provision and projected actual costs.

Budget Planning 2009/10
The budget planning software for 2009/10 onwards is due to be released to schools in February 2009. This software will include the new pay scales for all non-teaching staff, and should therefore be used in the preparation of staff costing sheets for future budget plans.

In the meantime, it is recommended that schools maintain the current level of budget provision: that is that non-teaching staff costs remain inflated by 3%, and the 5% creditor provision is retained. Further advice may be obtained from your Finance Support Officer.

Compensation Payments
Where an employee has moved schools in the period 01 April 2007 to the MRS implementation date and the grade of their previous job has increased, it has previously been agreed that any compensation payment due would be costed to their current employing school.

A special message for VA and Foundation Schools
VA and Foundation Schools have been given the option to participate in the MRS project and those that have asked to be included will receive the same information and will need to take the same action as community schools.

A special note regarding School Reorganisations
We are aware that some schools reorganised in September 2008 and when we contact the schools affected, we can discuss any specific job matching or job evaluation issues.

Further contact details
You will be contacted by a member of the MRS team in the next 2-3 weeks and need not take any action in the meantime. If you wish to speak to a member of the team in the meantime please contact us by email - mrs@norfolk.gov.uk. We will call you back as soon as possible.

Information about the Modern Reward project, including our ever-growing 'frequently asked questions' section is available on the Norfolk Schools web site at the following link: www.norfolk.gov.uk/schoolsmrs or on our tailor made MRS website www.norfolk.gov.uk/mrs.

We look forward to working closely with you on this next stage of the MRS project - your help is as always, greatly appreciated.

Sally Albrow
HR Project Officer- MRS Team
Phone: 01603 222172
Email: mrs@norfolk.gov.uk