Archived decisions
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority Committee Item 7 21 April 2004 Job Evaluation of Grey Book Posts Report of the Chief Fire Officer |
Contact: Jennifer McNeill, Head of Human Resources Tel: 023 8064 4000 Ext 2348 |
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1 |
Summary | |||
1.1 |
This report outlines the background to the national requirement that Fire Authorities carry out a Job Evaluation (JE) process of their posts which fall under the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades Scheme of Conditions of Service (Grey Book). It identifies the process which Hampshire intends to follow and makes proposals regarding the most efficient way for this to be implemented in accordance with the Integrated Personal Development System (IPDS). | |||
1.2 |
There are currently 1,418 posts which will be reviewed as part of this exercise. The aim is to arrive at a fair and equitable pay and grading structure that accurately reflects the responsibilities of posts and minimises the risk of claims from our employees that their job is less well remunerated than others which have comparable size. | |||
This report seeks approval on one issue. | ||||
2 |
Background | |||
2.1 |
The Joint Secretaries' Position Statement on 20 October 2003 on the implementation of the Fire Service Pay and Conditions Agreement required the NJC to conclude negotiations on guidance on the pay issues relating to (i) the assessment of competence for each role within the IPDS structure and (ii) the assessment of job size for some of the roles. | |||
2.2 |
The incorporation of the Fire and Rescue Service Role Maps into the Grey Book have been agreed, as has the definition of competence for each role. In HFRS, the assimilation process from rank to role for pay purposes (Stage 2 Pay Award) was completed in February 2004 and the resulting pay increase of 3.5% matched against the relevant role pay point was reflected in the February 2004 salaries, backdated to 7 November 2003. | |||
2.3 |
The next stage in this transitional process is to carry out a process of job evaluation of all Grey Book posts. This excludes Control Room posts as a national job evaluation process has been completed, producing a differential of 95% between Control and operational posts at each role. | |||
2.4 |
We are currently awaiting national guidance regarding how the job evaluation process is to be conducted. The Joint Secretaries' Report on Issues Connected to the Implementation of the IPDS, March 2004, defines this as a system of role classification based on the following principles: | |||
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The process of role classification will be based on a prose description drawn from the agreed role maps. | |||
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The prose will be a general description of the functions and responsibilities that may be applicable to the range of jobs within each of the roles. | |||
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The functions and responsibilities of a proposed or existing job will be compared with the resultant prose descriptions to determine appropriate level and pay range. | |||
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The prose descriptions will be agreed by the NJC. | |||
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A framework for appeals will be agreed by the NJC. | |||
2.5 |
Guidance on job size regarding whether a post in a particular role between Watch Manager and Area Manager is aligned to Competent A or Competent B part of that pay band. The main determinant of the differential is likely to be the extent of responsibility for people. |
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3 |
Implementing the Process | |||
3.1 |
At present, alignment of posts to roles are for assimilation and pay purposes only and are not necessarily indicative of the final outcome. It is intended that a full review will be carried out of the roles and responsibilities of posts, taking account of: | |||
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required levels of fire cover as part of the Service's Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) | |||
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the proposed structure of functions, including career progression opportunities (including Green and Grey Book posts) | |||
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the requirement for specialist and technical expertise in particular areas (including Green and Grey Book posts) | |||
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the justification for posts to be operational | |||
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any planned revisions to the duty systems and working patterns arising from our IRMP | |||
3.2 |
Job evaluation for Grey Book posts is one of the key tasks for the Human Resources (HR) function in 2004/05 and this will be facilitated by the Head of HR on behalf of the Service, working closely with the remaining function heads and principal officers. In preparing for this, we are keen to draw upon the experiences gained and lessons learned from the recent Green Book job evaluation process undertaken by the Service, as the principles and outcomes are broadly similar. |
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3.3 |
A core team from the HR function has been identified to manage this process and they are currently updating their own knowledge of the legal and good employment practice issues. As this process has far-reaching implications regarding final pay outcomes, issues of equality and fairness, being open to scrutiny by Audit and other external agencies, external training and HR consultancies are being contacted with a view to us using their services to provide objective advice, support and expertise. | |||
3.4 |
We are keen that this process is open and transparent from the outset and a partnership approach to this with our employee representatives is key to achieving this. Initial contact has already been made with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), including the Officers Section, the Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) and the Fire Officers Association (FOA). They have all been asked to discuss this with their membership and provide members to become our steering group. To assist this, a briefing session will be held to which representatives of these unions will be invited. Unison and GMB have agreed to attend to share their experiences from a trade union perspective from the previous Green Book job evaluation exercise. The role of the unions as part of the JE team will not be to advocate on behalf of their members, or merely to observe, but to be knowledgeable about the process, take part in the training process, ensure they are satisfied all stages are being conducted fairly and to take an active role in contributing to the final outcome. A trained representative will also be an active member of the appeal panel at the final stage. The advocacy on behalf of individuals, or a collective group, will need to be provided separately by that union using other representatives outside the JE process. | |||
3.5 |
The JE will be conducted using Prince II project planning methodology. A Project Initiation Document (PID) is being drawn up and will form the basis of our future communications regarding progress once further national guidance is received and we are in a position to action this. | |||
4 |
Financial Implications | |||
4.1 |
As part of the growth proposals agreed by the Fire Authority at its meeting on 11 February 2004, £15,000 was included in the budget to cover the anticipated cost of external consultancy support for assimilation process (Item 7 Appendix 7 (5.2)) . | |||
4.2 |
The impact of pay increases cannot be meaningfully assessed at this stage, but it is anticipated that this will be provided for within the budget set for salaries for Grey Book employees within the Fire Service Pay and Conditions Agreement 2003, Stage 2 (wef 7/11/03) and Stage 3 (wef 1/7/04). | |||
5 |
European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 | |||
5.1 |
The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 and considered in the light of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. | |||
Recommendations | ||||
1 |
That the Committee notes and endorses the approach taken so far in preparing for the process of Job Evaluation. | |||
2 |
That the Committee appoint a small group of members to endorse the final outcome of the new grading structure and job evaluation process. | |||
Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Papers The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report. The Joint Secretaries' Position Statement on 20 October 2003 Note: The list excludes: (1) Published works (2) Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act | ||||
cemC/H/HFRA Personnel 21 04 04 Job Eval of Grey Book 13/4/2004 | ||||