Introduction
Under clause 58 of the current MB EBA, the ASU and MB are obligated to review the classification descriptors and classification structure contained in Appendix A and B of the Agreement.
A Classification Descriptors Review Committee was established in August 2018 comprised of MB managers, ASU officials and delegates to re-write the current descriptors in Appendix A. This was a complex and laborious task undertaken by the Committee, which completed its review in October 2019.
Meanwhile, under the auspices of the EBA negotiations Committee a Classification Structure(Mapping) sub-committee was established, again comprised of MB managers, ASU officials and delegates, to look at classification structures(mapping), pay bands and grades and how best to tackle the gender pay gap. While this work continues, MB and the ASU can at this point release for employee consideration the new classification descriptors and mapping. Employees will be able to provide feedback on these documents to the EBA Committee.(See below for feedback Timelines).
Documents to be considered by employees
Classification descriptors and mapping have been prepared for Legal Support, Legal Qualified and Non-Qualified, and Shared Services. You will receive the document relevant to your classification to review and provide any feedback on. However, there is a link to all the relevant documents if you want to look at all the Descriptors.
The EBA Committee would welcome any feedback on what employees may see as mistakes or errors in the classification mapping or if they feel they have been wrongly classified etc. However, the Committee is less inclined to consider wording changes in how a Descriptor is described, for example, preferring the word “supports” as opposed to “assists”. The Classification Descriptors Committee spent 14 months on getting the wording right, while some 280 employees were consulted on the Descriptors during this period. Members would appreciate that it is very difficult to re-negotiate thousands of words contained in the documents with hundreds of employees. That is why clause 58 of the EBA established the Committee to undertake this task.
Next steps
Once any feedback is received, the EBA Committee will consider the feedback and make appropriate changes to the documents. When the documents are finalised, the ASU will hold member’s meetings to consider and ratify the documents. This meets the obligations of clause 58 of the EBA where the ASU needs to agree to the new classification structure and that no employees will be worse off as a result of the new classification structure. Members will be advised of these meetings.
Timeline
The timelines for this exercise are as follows:
- Monday 4 November - MB sends email to employees with their proposed classification(those on parental or long term leave will also be sent a letter). Employees will have 2 weeks to provide feedback.
- Friday 15 November - Employee feedback due.
- Between Monday 18 November and Friday 29 November(2 weeks) - the Classifications Mapping Committee will meet as required to consider employee feedback.
- By Monday 2 December - MB responds to employees who have provided feedback.
Want more information?
If you have a question, don’t hesitate to contact ASU organisers or delegates. Download the full bulletin here 
Maurice Blackburn EBA Bulletin # 5