Preamble
The following paper sets out
policy guidelines on additional payments made to staff as
Responsibility Allowances or Upgradings. It does not deal with
overtime, shift or other contractual payments. It was written to
prevent further cases of open-ended, undocumented, or otherwise
loosely based allowances which then cause difficulties with the
consistent treatment of others or when payments are withdrawn. It
is based upon four principles:
- Amendments to the terms and conditions of
permanent members of staff must be channelled through the HR
function, which has responsibility for maintaining consistency,
adequate records, and probity with regard to audit requirements. It
follows that no discussions which commit the University to
additional payments should take place without prior clearance from
HR.
- We do not wish to encourage staff to take
a narrow view of their responsibilities at work, or to expect some
monetary reward for any which are not rigidly defined in their job
description.
- Excepting those staff who are covered by a
formal system of Merit or Performance-Related Pay, the University's
remuneration policy is based upon the grading system and the
concept of the appropriate rate for the duties and responsibilities
required in the job.
- Additional payments over schedule salary
must be supported by defensible reasons covering both amounts and
timescale.
Use of Grades
In order to maintain the
integrity of any job grading system, it is essential that the core
ongoing duties and responsibilities of any job are reflected in the
grade applied to the job.
This requires that job
descriptions (where they exist) should not be written or
interpreted without some flexibility. They should be written in
broad terms and incorporate for example a requirement 'to carry out
other duties within their competence as determined by the Unit Head
from time to time'. Job holders should also be expected routinely
to cover for their supervisors or colleagues during short-term
temporary absence, annual leave, or short-term sick leave without
additional payment.
If the range and level of duties
and responsibilities have significantly expanded above the level at
which the job was graded, either the job holder or their supervisor
should be able to seek a review of the grade using the good offices
of the HR Department to maintain consistency.
Only if the core ongoing duties
of the post have altered sufficiently to justify regrading (ie
regardless of who fills the post) should a substantive regrading of
the post take place. This would have to be supported by an agreed
revised job description and evidence of comparable jobs at the
higher grade.
Note: This is a
time-consuming process and should not be instituted until the
changes in responsibility have reached a steady state. If these
have been brought about as a result of reorganisation, all the jobs
affected should be examined in parallel to avoid anomalies and
inconsistencies. Line Managers have a responsibility to ensure that
their subordinates perform their jobs effectively and do not
encroach upon the accountabilities of others. Individuals should
not be allowed to review their jobs in their own self-interest. The
widespread use of personal gradings leads to grade drift and the
breakdown of the grading system.
Temporary Upgrading
There may be circumstances when a
job holder is required to take on the responsibilities of a higher
graded post for a significant period, eg during maternity leave,
whilst the post is vacant, or during a long-term sickness absence
or secondment. In such cases, temporary upgrading may be
appropriate.
Assuming that the job holder is
taking on all the responsibilities of the higher graded post, a
payment calculated according to the difference between their salary
and the minimum of the higher grade (or 2 increments if greater)
should apply for the duration of the absence or vacancy only. If
the additional responsibilities are being shared, some pro-rata
responsibility payment should be calculated. Proposals for any such
payments must be submitted to HR for approval. HR will formally
notify the job holder and payroll of the nature, level and duration
of the responsibility payment or temporary upgrading. Temporary
upgrading payments are not superannuable.
Market Rate Supplements
From time to time there may be
circumstances where the application of the existing grade for a
vacant post may result in a salary range which is insufficiently
competitive because of short-term pressures in the recruitment
market for particular skills. As it would be undesirable to distort
the internal equity between grades because of short-term external
considerations, it has been the practice to add supplementary
Allowances (under the guise of Responsibility Payments) to schedule
salary when advertising such posts. This practice should only take
place when the HR function agrees that there is hard evidence (eg a
previous unsuccessful campaign) that a Market supplement is
essential. In such cases, it should be personal to the employee and
protected on a cash-value basis, ie not automatically
indexed.
Specific arrangements will need
to be made if these payments are to be treated as
superannuable.
Additional Payments for Exceptional
Circumstances
There may be exceptional
circumstances other than any of those covered above where a member
of staff has shouldered responsibilities well in excess of those
which would normally be expected of someone in their position, in
order to cope with come emergency or short-term project. Whilst
professionally graded or senior staff might be expected to take a
sufficiently wide view of their role to include such circumstances,
Managers may wish to offer some tangible reward to clerical or
support staff who have been particularly helpful. It is important
that such rewards are seen as a token of thanks rather than as
specific recompense. A single ex-gratia payment at the end of a
particular task may be offered, subject to the approval of HR.
The amounts should be moderate, say no more than £500, and rounded
to the nearest £50.