Dear all,

I confess I have never previously heard of St George’s school and know nothing of their archive collections but here are the benefits which I think they were assuming someone would be attracted to.

“an exciting archival project, with exceptional, unexplored archival material” –

A good solid start, yes, but as someone else said in no way different to any other archive collections. Anywhere. At all.

So what are they offering to suggest we apply?

The school does not appear to offer regular public access to collections at present so there would be every opportunity to get to grips with a collection which sounds as if it has not been properly organised before. The basis of the offer seems to be that the accommodation is a benefit. Is it? A few seconds on a well known search engine led me to www.home.co.uk who say the average current rental in Weybridge for a 1 bedroom property is 922 pcm. Multiply by 12 months = 11064 per year. So that is where one could point to the 11000 figure. It took me 30 seconds but I am sure the school worked it out in detail.

It is also described as an apartment which implies it is larger than a bedsit. Therefore someone would have guaranteed rent free accommodation in a traditionally expensive area and free from the uncertainties of the private sector rental market: such as notice, deposits, rent increases etc. Utilities and council tax may be included or subsidised and insurance is likely to be different (I don’t know).

As accommodation is onsite, there will be no additional commuting costs and the lack of public access hours implies there would be flexibility on hours worked and when. Equally the school is only a few minutes walk from a station so you can get away if you wish meaning you probably wouldn’t need a car (although parking is free if you do have one).

Other benefits? Private healthcare: Par for the course in the private sector I believe. Plus a free lunch if you want it: they charge the pupils 315 pounds a term for that so you could look at that as saving the best part of a grand over 36 weeks a year. If you don’t want to eat it, that’s fine.

Was it reasonable of them to think someone would be attracted to this post? Yes, I think it is likely to think that there is someone among the 5000+ people who read this list whose personal circumstances (career, family etc) are such that this would be an attractive proposition at this time for the reasons suggested.

That is what I think they thought they were offering.

So, why has it attracted such a debate here?

Obviously the salary is eye-wateringly low and is offered the same to qualified and non qualified.

but, as suggested above, they are arguing that this is offset by the value of the accommodation.

However, as others have pointed out, this would prevent the majority of candidates applying. It would be more realistic to offer two salaries: one with the accommodation and one without.

By emphasising the accommodation it would appear they are excluding a significant of potential applicants whose circumstances would not suit relocating to onsite accommodation.

The advert appears to be a standard one with very little about the job: does it say how long the ‘Project’ is intended to last?

Looking at their jobs page, subsidised accommodation seems to be something offered to relocating teachers for their first year. The advert should have clarified the position.

There is no mention of pension but a quick search for other JDs for this school indicate there is a contributory pension scheme.

Finally, if they have sought the advice of ARA (and the phrase ‘members of the ARA’ suggests that the approach was possibly informal, why not take detailed advice on the offer as a whole rather than just the pounds, shillings and pence.

These are my own opinions written in my own time following my long train commute and having not eaten since lunchtime (which I paid for myself.....) etc etc

Chris Bennett

County Archivist

Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS)

Libraries and Heritage Services

Hertfordshire County Council

Postal Point CHR002 County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8EJ

Tel 01992 555109 HALS Enquiries 0300 123 4049 Comnet/internal: 25109;

Follow Herts Archives on Twitter Find Herts Libraries on Facebook

On Thu, Nov 22, 2018 at 5:47 PM +0000, "Teresa Doherty" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear All

They sent me the same response, I agree with Wendy that many of the benefits are not dissimilar to many private sector employers, except the accommodation. My initial concerns are:

·        By offering a one bedroom accommodation they are assuming it is a single person applying. This may discriminate against those who are older, for example those living with a partner or those with children.   Indeed they actually state that ‘The job is an excellent opportunity for a young archivist with some experience’. We know a significant proportion of newly qualified professionals are ‘mature’ students. Also they do not indicate whether the accommodation is accessible to those with disabilities. The salary is insufficient to fund an existing home, some potential applicants would have to ‘choose’ to run two households.

·        By offering benefits rather than salary there may be a significant impact on pension. Is the pension paid at the £28K rate? And is the salary sufficient enough for someone to pay into a private pension at the same rate?

·        I personally object to organisations that use benefits rather than salary to tie people to jobs. The salary is not sufficient that the benefits are indeed benefits. It’s a bit like cafes that use tips to make up peoples wages. It’s often used to reduce taxation for the employer.

·        This may be particularly detrimental to new professionals. There is pressure to find a job, but equally they are coming out with unprecedented amount of debt. I am not sure that this sort of ‘opportunity’ really helps. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about paying back student loans to comment in full.

·        Using benefits instead of salary take choice away from the individual. Someone may choose (not) to spend their salary on private healthcare. Or they may choose to save money by bringing a packed lunch.

I probably wouldn’t be quite so angry if the salary was in the right ball park, but it’s so significantly under market rate.

I’ll see if I can find a friendly employment relations colleague to chat to over lunch tomorrow.

Teresa

From: Archivists, conservators and records managers. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wendy Russell
Sent: 22 November 2018 15:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fwd: Project Archivist vacancy

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Dear all,

I have just received a reply from St George's School. I'll be responding tonight. Any feedback you would like to give I am happy to include in my response. For a start the advertisement doesn't say free accommodation, and other than the lunches the 'benefits' are no different from many other organisations!

Wendy

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Human Resources SGW <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2018 at 15:18
Subject: Project Archivist vacancy
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>

Dear Wendy,

Many thanks for contacting the College and expressing your concerns. Like you, we care about archival work and we are keen to find the right candidate for this exciting opportunity.

Prior to advertising, you need to be aware that we did take extensive professional advice from members of the ARA. We came to the conclusion that the job, with accommodation in a one bedroom apartment, five weeks holiday, and benefits such as free lunches (not to mention other staff benefits such as Benenden health care) provides an effective salary in the region of £28,000-30,000 pa, and that pre or post qualification is not an unreasonable expectation in return for these benefits, quite apart from the opportunity to work on an exciting archival project, with exceptional, unexplored archival material, in a prestigious and vibrant school environment. The job is an excellent opportunity for a young archivist with some experience, providing the opportunity to interface with professional marketing and development staff, adding new skills to her/his CV.

We have been made aware of the recently published salary guidelines which suggests a starting salary of £27,000 for a qualified archivist. As made clear above with the added benefits our salary offer is closer to this than at first appearance from the advertised £16,000 pa. This position was created as we value our archive and would not only like to gain the benefit of a professional archivist’s help in caring for this and ensuring its preservation, but also wish to provide this exciting opportunity to someone seeking new experience. We do value the professional role of an archivist and are prepared to review this offer in due course with the right candidate.

We hope that this email clarifies not only something of the process we have been through, but also our desire to ensure that someone is rewarded for their work with our archive.

Once again, many thanks for contacting us.

Kind regards,

Human Resources

St George’s Weybridge

01932 839 300 Ext: 3786 | www.stgeorgesweybridge.com

P Please consider the environment - only print this email if absolutely necessary

From: Wendy Russell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 November 2018 12:33
To: Christian Kendall-Daw (CKD) <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Fwd: Project Archivist vacancy

Are you an enthusiastic and committed professional with excellent organisational, operational and interpersonal skills?

St George’s is an outstanding school, opened in 1869 by the Catholic Josephites, with the aim of providing a perfectly balanced education for boys and girls.

We are seeking a Project Archivist to assist with the identification of material for the forthcoming anniversary of St George’s College. The ideal candidate will have at least 3 years’ experience in archiving procedures and project management skills. A formal qualification in this area is desirable. With a high level of attention to detail, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of team with minimal day to day supervision.

As well as the beautiful surroundings and excellent facilities we also offer:

§ Free freshly prepared lunches

§ Onsite accommodation at subsidised rents

§ Employee Assistance Programme and Benenden Membership

§ Childcare vouchers and holidays camps discounts

§ Discounts with local retailers

§ Employee social events

§ Onsite parking

For an application pack please contact the Human Resources team on 01932 839300 ext 3785 or by email [log in to unmask]. The deadline for completed application forms is midday on Monday 3 December 2018, interviews will be held on w/c 10 December 2018.

For further details or to arrange an informal visit to the College, please contact Christian Kendall-Daw, Deputy Head Staff, on 01932 839300 ext 3311 or by email [log in to unmask]

St George’s Weybridge is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. St George’s Weybridge is an Equal Opportunities Employer and a registered Educational Charity no. 1017853 as well as a data controller and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as required under current data protection legislation. Further information about how we use personal data is available in our Privacy Notice.

Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra

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Communications via email are not secure and cannot be guaranteed to be delivered on time nor be error or virus free. St George's, Weybridge accepts no responsibility for errors, omissions or inaccuracies in information transmitted electronically, nor the unintentional transmission of viruses. The views and opinions expressed in this communication are personal to the author and not necessarily those of St George's, Weybridge. Replies to this email may be subject to interception or monitoring for operational reasons or for lawful business purposes. St George's, Weybridge. A company (2789023) limited by guarantee in England. Registered office: Weybridge Road, Addlestone, Surrey. KT15 2QS.

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