1. Introduction

It is the policy of North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service that all non-uniformed jobs are evaluated to ensure that a systematic, consistent and equitable measurement of job value forms the basis of the Services pay and grading system.

The policy applies to all employees within the scope of the NJC for Local Government Services.

The Service will use the Local Government (NJC) Job Evaluation Scheme to provide a framework for consistent judgements to identify and measure differences between jobs.

This procedure sets out the process to be followed to initiate a job evaluation for the purposes of re-evaluating an existing job or to grade a new job.  It also describes the job evaluation appeals process.

A request for a job evaluation is appropriate in the following circumstances:

1. 1. A job holder (with the support of their manager) can justify that there have been significant changes to their duties and responsibilities since the original evaluation was undertaken;
   2. Management identify changes to an existing post which require a re-evaluation;
   3. A new post is created which requires grading;
   4. People Services led re-evaluation

Any job holder who is dissatisfied with the result of the evaluation will have the right to appeal the decision using the Job Evaluation Appeal Procedure, provided that they can demonstrate an error or omission in the evaluation process.

2.  Grounds For Job Evaluation And Re-Evaluation

Job holders may request a re-evaluation (once in post for six months or more) on the following grounds:

• Where they consider their job role has changed significantly. A significant change to a job will include, for example, a significant change in budgetary, line management or levels of responsibility. Job holders should speak to  their line manager who should then consult with People Services for further advice.
• Where there is evidence that an equivalent job within NYFRS is more highly graded and paid, job holders should raise this with their line manger who should then consult with People Services for further advice. It will be the job holder’s responsibility to provide evidence of the comparison between the factors of their post and that of an equivalent post and for ensuring that the relevant documentation is completed and returned to People Services for consideration.

Management request for Job Evaluation:

When a line manager has evidence that a post has changed significantly, they should consult with People Services about re-evaluating the post.  When re-evaluations proceed, line managers are responsible for completing and returning the relevant documentation in conjunction with the appropriate Section Head.  Relevant documentation for these purposes may be a revised role profile.

People Services request for Job Evaluation:

The Head of People Services is responsible for maintaining the relevance and integrity of the Job Evaluation scheme.  From time to time it may be necessary to re-visit certain posts for on-going quality assurance purposes, for example, if there is evidence of a change that has not been highlighted by either the job holder or line manager, or if the re-evaluation of a post in another area will have implications for other roles.

3.     Process and Criteria For Job Evaluation

NYFRS will use the nationally agreed National Joint Council (NJC) job evaluation scheme to ensure fairness, transparency and consistency and to comply with equal pay legislation.  As a joint process, UNISON will be involved at each stage of the evaluation procedure including job evaluation and appeal.  There is a clear process set out below for job evaluation and NYFRS will only consider a request for a job evaluation if the following criteria are met:

• It must not be within twelve months of any previous request or appeal (unless the job has changed significantly since the previous evaluation),
• A job holder must have been employed in the post for six months or more before a request for re-evaluation can be made,
• All documentation must be completed in full.

The process can be summarised as:

Stage One – Justification that significant changes have been made to the duties and responsibilities of a role, or creation of a new role, and relevant documentation is completed;

Stage Two – Determination of the score and resultant grade for the post through job evaluation panel

Stage Three – Option to appeal against the new job evaluation score.

As a result of the evaluation process a grade for each role will be established.  All outcomes will be subject to a final review and analysis, in consultation with People Services and UNISON, before a final grade for a post is determined.  There are three possible outcomes as a result of a job evaluation.

• The grade for the role will go up,
• The grade for the role will go down,
• The grade for the role will not be changed.

Each stage is described in more detail below.

Before the formal procedure is begins, all requests for job evaluation should be discussed with a member of People Services responsible for job evaluation, prior to any evaluation taking place.

Stage One – determination of the requirement for an evaluation

Requests for a job evaluation can be made by either a job holder or a manager.

Employee requests – to proceed with an employee-led request for re-evaluation the Job Description Questionnaire (JDQ) must be completed in full.  The employee’s line manager must support the request and assist in the completion of the JDQ.

Management requests – in order to proceed with a management-led evaluation or re-evaluation the role profile must be updated to reflect the changes.

Managers wishing to make a change to the agreed Establishment regarding the nature of a position must follow the Policy and Procedure for Changes to the Agreed Establishment prior to seeking a re-grading of an existing role.

 Stage Two – determination of the score and resultant grade for the post through job evaluation

f it is a new role, or if the case for re-evaluation is instigated by NYFRS, the role may be evaluated by the People Operations Manager, supported by one other trained evaluator and the line manager, using the revised role profile.  It is important that one of the people involved in the evaluation is a member of UNISON.

Re-evaluations that have been requested by the employee should be discussed by a job evaluation panel using the completed JDQ and will include a review of each of the thirteen factors.

Panels will be held on an as needs basis and will consist of a minimum of three trained evaluators. As far as is reasonably practicable panels will maintain a gender balance

All panels will include a trained member from UNISON.

Stage Three – Option to appeal against the job evaluation score

All job holders will be given a 15 working day right to appeal the outcome of the job evaluation.   The process is described in more detail below.

4. Process And Criteria For An Appeal Against The Job Evaluation

An employee who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the job evaluation panel and wishes to appeal against the grading of their job must submit, within 15 working days of notification of the result of the evaluation, their written claim to People Services. The claim should set out the grounds for the appeal and specify which factors are being appealed against.

An appeal meeting will be held with the employee, their line manager and the job evaluation panel to review the information.  The meeting will take place as soon as possible after the appeal is received.

At the appeal meeting the job holder will be asked to present their evidence of an inaccuracy or omission in the job evaluation for each factor they are appealing against.  The job evaluation panel will review the evidence presented to them and consider if the level should be changed.  There are three possible outcomes as a result of a job evaluation appeal:

• The grade will go up
• The grade will go down
• The grade will not be changed.

The decision of the job evaluation appeal panel will be final and there will be no further right of appeal either internally or externally.  This does not preclude a subsequent application for a re-evaluation for increased duties and responsibilities.

5. Evaluation Outcomes

When a role is to be upgraded the job holder will be placed on the lowest Spinal Colum

When an existing role is to be downgraded the job holder’s pay will be red circled for three years after which they will revert to the relevant salary for that role.

All evaluation outcomes will be effective from the date of the meeting of the Job Evaluation Panel.

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Published on this website on 21 June 2024