CHSS/P&R/38/1a
Recognising and Rewarding
Academic Leadership and Management Roles
1. Introduction
1.1 This paper has been developed following: (i) the circulation of a discussion
paper to HHRs, the Director of HR and the Senior Vice-Principal, (ii) meetings
of the Academic Working Group, (iii) discussions with 2 of the HoCs, and (iv)
two consultative meetings (2nd and 6th of July), to which College HHRs and
others were invited to discuss an appropriate method of recognising and
rewarding non-clinical academic staff undertaking academic leadership and
management (AL&M) roles, where staff on the University framework grades
have a substantive grade below Grade 101.
1.2
The meetings considered the discussion paper, and comments received from
some of those who did not attend the meetings. The meetings concluded that:
1.2.1 For discrete AL&M roles it is possible to identify the amount of time
normally required for the effective performance of the role, and to
construct a job description that can be used, amongst other things, for
grading purposes. For example, a role as Director of Teaching would
normally be identified as a discrete AL&M role. By ensuring that the role
is able to be defined as a free-standing one, we can defend a claim of
unequal treatment by someone whose duties within one whole role may
spread across more than one grade, where their grading is justifiably
based on looking at the whole job, not splitting it in to separate parts. A
discrete role will normally be capable of some limited form of open
competition.
1.2.2 For an AL&M role to be seen as a role in its own right, it would need to
occupy at least one day per week (0.2 FTE). Where a job is, for all
intents and purposes, full-time (likely to be greater than 0.8 FTE) then
appointment/secondment
to
the
role
will
be
full-time.
Appointment/secondment to the post would also need to be for a
substantial period, normally of at least a year and usually longer.
1.2.3 Discrete AL&M roles should be offered as part-time or full-time
appointments, which may be secondments, with an equal reduction in
FTE of the underlying substantive appointment.
1.2.4 Posts that could be a potentially higher grade should normally be
subject to open competition although it may be appropriate to approach
staff to encourage them to consider the role.
1.2.5 The allocation of time to the discrete AL&M role should be added in to
each staff member’s entry in the School’s academic workload model
(where a School currently has one). This would help ensure there were
no major issues with over-burdening staff and also deal with the
principles of openness and transparency. This would be especially
important where the AL&M role is as the same grade as the substantive
grade of the staff member.
2. Scheme for Grade 8 and 9 staff
2.1 In the light of the discussions held, it is proposed that in future, for all AL&M
roles of 0.2 FTE or greater, staff on Grades 8 and 9 would be eligible to receive
an additional payment only where the grade of the discrete AL&M role is higher
1
Any proposals affecting staff who have a substantive appointment at Grade 10 must be
approved by the Court Remuneration Committee.
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than their substantive role. In order to achieve this position, the following will
need to be actioned:
2.1.1
All discrete AL&M roles will be identified. Attributes of the role to be
gathered are:
2.1.1.1 Full job description of the role (in the standard JD format)
2.1.1.2 FTE of the role
2.1.1.3 Name and substantive grade of role-holder
2.1.1.4 Grade for the role (if it has been graded as part of the P&RM
project).
2.1.1.5 Details of rationale and amount of additional payment to role
holder, based on the grade and FTE
2.1.1.6 Date the current role holder was appointed/seconded to the
role and date he/she is due to demit this role.
2.1.2
Existing discrete AL&M roles where the post-holder has a substantive
underlying appointment at Grade 8 or 9 and any new AL&M roles will be
graded through the standard grading process (i.e. by job matching, or, if
necessary, by job evaluation).
2.1.3
All vacancies to discrete AL&M roles will follow the University’s agreed
processes for recruitment advertising, and will be limited to internal
applicants only. The selection criteria for the post will determine who is
able to make a valid application.
An employee who has a substantive underlying appointment at Grade 8
or 9 and is appointed to an AL&M role will receive a contract for that
appointment, which may be as a secondment2. The contract will specify
the FTE and the salary for the AL&M role: the salary for that FTE will be
on the grade for the AL&M role If the AL&M role is part-time, the FTE
for the underlying job will be reduced accordingly and the employee will
continue to be paid at the salary for the underlying job for that part of
their time3.
Staff whose substantive grade is the same as the grade of their
seconded role will be eligible to receive contribution pay should their
performance in the seconded role deserve it. This would be the normal
method of recognising and rewarding this type of contribution.
All existing allowances will continue until the end of the current
contractual commitment or for three years i.e. 31st July 2010, whichever
is earlier, in line with our pay protection policy). Staff who stay in their
roles after this point in time will only receive an additional payment if
they meet the criteria in paragraph 2.1.4
2.1.4
2.1.5
2.1.6
3. Consultation and Decision Making Processes
3.1 This paper was agreed for implementation by the CJCNC on 26 September
2007, subject to approval by the CMG Pay and Reward Modernisation Project
Board which was given on 7 November 2007. Any further proposed changes
will be reported to the CJCNC.
With reference to the University’s Policy on Secondments
(www.humanresources.ed.ac.uk/policies/sams/Sam312.htm)
3 In practice, the difference in salary due to the AL& M role having a higher grade will be
administered as an ‘allowance’ due to current system constraints (i.e. inability to hold multiple
assignments for a single employee).
2
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3.2
Separate discussions will be held to consider the issue of recognising the
responsibilities that may be taken on by staff who hold a substantive
appointment on Grade 10.
November 2007
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