Scottish Labour MSP Pauline McNeill has pressed the Scottish Government to review the pay, pensions and working conditions of judicial office holders in the Scottish Tribunals, highlighting wide gaps with their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.
The Glasgow MSP lodged five linked written questions on Friday 23 October, covering daily fees, holiday pay, pensions, guaranteed sitting days, travel and subsistence, and unpaid preparation work.
Fee gaps of up to £213 a day
One question asks what assessment ministers have made of reported differences in daily fee rates of between £80 and £213 compared with equivalent tribunals elsewhere in the UK, and of holiday pay calculated at 12.07 per cent against around 15 per cent elsewhere - particularly where members of devolved and reserved tribunals work alongside one another in Scotland.
Another raises concerns from GMB Scotland that tribunal members in Scotland do not have the same pension arrangements as colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including retrospective entitlements dating back to 2000 for legal members and 2012 for non-legal members, and asks what discussions ministers have had with the UK Government on parity.
Guaranteed sitting days
Pauline McNeill also asked ministers to consider guaranteed minimum sitting days and salaried appointments, particularly for chamber presidents and in-house legal members, pointing out that tribunal members must make themselves available for a minimum number of days without any guarantee of work.
Her final question highlights reports that travel and subsistence allowances have not been revised for several years, and that substantial pre-hearing preparation and decision writing is regularly carried out without extra pay. She has also asked whether ministers will commit to a comprehensive review of the arrangements and engage directly with GMB Scotland on improving morale, recruitment and retention.
Answers are expected by 20 November.
