I n t h e W o r k p l a c e
JOBSWORTH! D
uring our survey on remuneration issues, we noticed that many respondents felt aggrieved at the pay
their particular rank or trade was receiving in comparison to others (chefs versus technicians came in for particular comment!). We therefore felt that some explanation might be of interest. What follows is a brief overview of the work of the Joint Services Job Evaluation Team (JSJET)
The JSJET includes representatives of all 3 Services and their role is to assess the relative job weight of each trade, at each rank, using a process called Job Evaluation (JE). The team interview jobholders to analyse their job in depth, based on a detailed job description provided by the Head of Service responsible for the trade. This information is then taken to a tri-Service JE judging panel who assigns a job weight to each rank for the trade under review. The job weight scores are used to determine how the trade will be paid at each rank.
Pay Range Allocation – Other Ranks For pay purposes, all Regular and Reserve Forces non-commissioned military trades, including non-commissioned aircrew are assigned to a pay spine. For Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) purposes there are two pay spines for Other Ranks (ORs), each divided into ranges, a series of pay levels designed to provide incremental progression in a given rank.
Job Evaluation
JE is a well-established system used in both the private and public sectors as an objective means of assessing the weight of jobs. In the system used for military posts, each criteria or ‘factor’ is assigned a numerical value, denoting its importance in relation to a given post. For ORs, a Whole Trade Score is calculated and allows comparison to be made between job sizes within in the three Services and against those in civilian life. The AFPRB use this information to compare civilian salaries with Service salaries when making recommendations for annual pay awards. The 6 factors assessed independently. They are:
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
Knowledge, Skills and Experience: required to operate successfully in the post. Complexity and Mental Challenge: reflects the difficulty of the problems facing the job holder and the degree they must think for themselves.
Judgement and Decision: required of the job holder and the impact on the success of the organisation. Use of Resources: in terms of people, budgets, equipment and property and influence on the development and operation of the organisation. Communication: the level at which the job holder must communicate both within the organisation and outside and the significance to the organisation. Working Conditions: the degree to which the job holders ability to perform is affected by location, environment or constraints on methods of working.
JE is concerned with the job, not the job holder, so does not take account of the abilities of the individual, except to assume a satisfactory performance. Personal qualities such as integrity, initiative and honesty and whether or not the individual possesses them is irrelevant; the job remains the same. JE does not measure job loading either, this is a management issue and should be reflected in the annual appraisal.
Allocation of Trades to Ranges All new /reorganised trades are referred to JSJET for ratification and published annually.
Pay Profile
It is possible for the pay range allocation to vary between ranks in the same trade. This explains why some people move on promotion from a higher to a lower pay range and vice versa.
Change of Pay Range Following a JE assessment of a trade it is possible for the pay range allocation for a rank within a trade to be changed because the Whole Trade Score has altered. For example:
Up-ranging (popular!). This is the movement of personnel from a lower pay range to the corresponding higher pay range on the
same pay Increment Level. On 1 April of the year following promulgation, personnel transfer. (eg. a corporal on IL 3 in the lower pay range will transfer to IL 3 in the higher pay range.
Down-ranging (unpopular!) This is the movement of personnel from the higher pay range to the corresponding lower pay range on the same IL. In this instance, on 1 April of the year following promulgation, personnel will be awarded reserved rights to their existing pay range profile for 3 years. This will be known as a Reserved Rights Rate of Pay. At the end of this period of reserved rights, personnel will retain the rate of pay on a mark time basis until it is overtaken by the appropriate rate of pay in the lower pay range.
We hope this has provided some useful insight. If you still feel that your rank or trade is paid unfairly in comparison with others, we recommend you take this up with your chain of command and the relevant Trade Sponsor in the first instance. They can advise when your Trade is next due for JE and you may be able to provide evidence to support your case.
Summer 2009 29
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