Requesting a grading review

A review of an existing job may only be considered where:

• the responsibilities have changed significantly to meet the requirements of the Department since the job was last evaluated
• there is a concern about the relativity of a job and the consistency of its grading with that of comparable jobs
• budget is available to pay for the increased costs of the regrade

Jobs can evolve over time owing to factors such as the impact of technology, changing organisation structures and staff turnover. While individual jobholders can also shape jobs, grading review can only focus on the requirements of the job and not the performance of the individual jobholder. Where it is apparent that a grading review has been requested due to the high performance of the jobholder, the HR Business Partner or HR Advisor will discuss with the line manager the option of nominating the jobholder for an award under the Contribution Pay Scheme.

Where a review is requested the following documents must be completed and submitted to the appropriate HR Business Partner or HR Advisor.

Job evaluation and grading review request form

Evidence will be required of a significant permanent change in duties and responsibilities before a re-evaluation will be considered.

Job description

This should be an annotated version of the original job description showing clearly the proposed changes to the job.

Job Evaluation questionnaire

This must be completed by the current role holder and verified by the line manager.

Organisation chart

Showing the location of the job under review.

It is the line manager’s responsibility to ensure that all documents are complete in final form prior to making a request for job grading review. In certain cases we may also require copies of job descriptions for jobs within the same work team as the job under review.

Job grading review panel

This panel will meet on a regular basis to consider grading reviews of existing jobs. The membership of this panel will be the same as for new or vacant jobs.

Evaluation process

The evaluation process will be the same as for new or vacant jobs.

Outcomes

The relevant HR Business Partner or HR Advisor will notify the Head of Department or Service and line manager of the outcome of the grading review. The HR Business Partner or HR Advisor will confirm the outcome of the grading review to the current job holder in writing within five working days of the panel meeting.

A grading review may or may not lead to an increase in HERA points or grade. In some cases, a review could lead to a decrease in points in non-changed elements due to continued consistency checking. The possible outcomes from a grading review are:

a) Increase in points but still within same grade. There is no change to grade or salary and increment date stays the same.

b) Increase in points leading to higher grade. The job holder’s salary will move to the new grade minimum spinal point with effect from the first day of the month following the submission of the paperwork to the HR Business Partner or HR Advisor. In exceptional cases where there is an overwhelming reason why another date should be used, the Director of Human Resources may consider authorising a different effective date of change. Where the job holder’s current salary is at or above the new grade minimum, their salary will increase to the next increment point above their current salary.

c) Decrease in points but still within same grade. There is no change to grade or salary and increment date stays the same.

d) Decrease in points leading to lower grade. Where, however, the decrease in points means the job now falls within the points boundary for a lower grade, this outcome will be communicated by the HR Business Partner or HR Advisor to the relevant Head of Department in the first instance.

If the current pay of the job holder is higher than the grade maximum point of the new lower grade, the job holder will have their salary protected under the University’s pay protection arrangements.

The member of staff will have their current salary protected for one year from the date of re-evaluation, or until the salary of the new grade for the job matches the current salary – whichever is earlier.

Protected salaries are on a ‘mark time’ basis: this means that the member of staff will not be eligible for cost of living rises, normal progression increments or contribution increments or merit awards during this period.

At the end of the protection period the member of staff’s salary will reduce to the grade maximum of the grade of their job. Pay protection will cease if the member of staff is successful in their application to another job.