MHO dispute settled

Members of The Highland Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee have been advised that a dispute involving social workers and social work managers who are Mental Health Officers has been resolved after ACAS intervened at the request of the Council.

Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chairman of Housing and Social Work, advised the committee that the work to rule was ended on the evening of Friday 14th September when members of Unison and Unite trades unions accepted the Council’s offer of a one-off payment to all 41 employees who hold this status, in full and final settlement of their claim for a responsibility payment.

She said: “Over the last nine weeks the Council has been fully committed to resolving the dispute, and has worked in partnership with other agencies to minimise the impact on service users.  Key agencies (NHS, Mental Welfare Commission and Scottish Executive) have been informed that the dispute has been resolved and that outstanding work is being dealt with as a quickly as possible.”

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