§ Mr. Hefferasked the Secretary of State for Employment when those on incremental scales of pay who were affected by the £8,500 cut-off in stage 1 of the pay policy can be restored to their proper position.
§ Mr. BoothThose entitled to an increase on an incremental pay scale which was withheld in stage 1 solely because of the £8,500 cut-off and who consequently remained one step behind in stage 2, may, consistently with pay policy, be restored to the point on the scale that they would otherwise have occupied with effect from 1st August 1977, if need be retrospectively to that date. This advice supersedes earlier advice which was given in some cases to the effect that the appropriate date for the restoration should not be earlier than the stage 3 settlement for the group concerned. Any net cost, which is likely to be very small for most groups, should be offset within the 10 per cent. limit for the stage 3 settlement.
Where this would give rise to undue difficulty, for example, because a firm settlement has already been reached on the basis of the earlier advice, the cost should be taken into account at the next main settlement for the group concerned.