The Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee convened to discuss bringing forward the offer of Nottingham City Council (NCC) terms and conditions to housing staff currently under Nottingham City Homes (NCH) TUPE¹-protected contracts, and to note the appointment of Councillor Helen Kalsi to the committee. The committee approved the recommendation to offer these staff the opportunity to voluntarily accept standard NCC pay rates, terms and conditions, backdated to 1 April 2025, with an annual window for acceptance over the next three years. The committee also confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 3 July 2025.

NCC Terms and Conditions for Former NCH Staff

The committee addressed the proposal to offer Nottingham City Council (NCC) terms and conditions to housing staff who had transferred from Nottingham City Homes (NCH) under TUPE regulations. The recommendation to offer housing service staff on NCH TUPE terms the opportunity to voluntarily accept standard NCC pay rates, terms and conditions was approved. This offer will be backdated to 1 April 2025, and staff who do not initially accept will have an annual opportunity to do so for the following three years.

The report of Nicki Jenkins, Corporate Director of Growth and City Development, highlighted that since the transfer of NCH back into Nottingham City Council (NCC) on 1 April 2022, new staff have been employed under NCC's pay and grading structure. However, a significant number of staff remained on legacy NCH contracts, with 450 cases seeing less favourable pay compared to new recruits. This disparity has led to dissatisfaction, prompting requests from staff and unions for the option to move to NCC contracts.

The most significant example of this is with the plumbers and electricians, where existing staff on NCH scales earn considerably less than newly qualified apprentices on NCC terms. The report notes:

The existing long term serving staff on NCH Scale: NH-G6-2019 Salary: is £36,363 pa (Top spine point). The Multi Skilled equivalent on NCC terms a newly qualified apprentice would start on the NCC Scale H Starting on £40,777 pa. After 4 years they would be paid £44,075 pa. An initial difference of £4,414 rising to over £8,000 pa after 4 years. this difference affects over 70 staff. While this is the extreme, differences of £1,500 to £2,000 are not untypical for other staff.

The proposal aims to address staff morale and retention issues, reduce operational complexities, and mitigate potential equal pay concerns. The financial implications include an estimated maximum cost of £586,745.50 for the first year, assuming full acceptance by all eligible staff, and a further £1,191,660.55 over the following three years for incremental pay scale increases. These costs will be managed through the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). The Housing Revenue Account² (HRA) has already set aside a provision for this change.

Other options considered, such as maintaining the current arrangement of rolling out terms and conditions as vacancies arise, were rejected due to risks of declining staff morale, recruitment inefficiencies, retention risks, operational disruption, and increased risk of grievances.

Committee Membership

The committee noted that Councillor Helen Kalsi has been appointed as a member, replacing Councillor Linda Woodings.