Agenda item

To receive a new Career Grade Policy and Procedure to enable managers to implement career grade structures within their teams.

Amanda George, Head of Strategic HR, introduced the report and presented a new Career Grade Policy and Procedure to enable managers to implement career grade structures within their team.

Officers noted that the new policy aimed to create consistency across the Council while also supporting recruitment and retention of staff, effective service delivery, succession planning, and career development of employees by providing a defined career pathway within application service areas. However, it was clarified that although it was a new policy, it was formalising arrangements that were already in place.

It was explained that a career grade structure was a hierarchy of roles within the same professional area with increasing levels of job demands, responsibilities, knowledge, and skills. Those roles were then linked by a structured programme of development which would provide an opportunity for progression with a team and clear distinctions between the levels of work. As such, it would be expected to see at least one grade difference between a role and the next role within the structure. Furthermore, a career grade structure must be established either within or alongside the role descriptions and must set out all competencies and criteria required to progress to each level within the career grade. Therefore, managers would need to work alongside Finance and Strategic HR Business Partners to agree the scheme and funding before any career grade structure could be confirmed.

It was also highlighted that progression in a career grade structure was not automatically based solely on the achievement of a qualification and/or new skills or time served in a role; there must also be the need for the higher level of work within the team and a funded vacancy must be available. Thus, ensuring that the structure and progression within it reflected service delivery requirements and could be fully funded from within the existing establishment. Finally, it was explained that progression opportunities within a career grade structure would be ringfenced to employees who are part of the structure and must be via a successful competitive selection exercise.

During the discussion, points included:

• Members commended the policy and queried if it could also be applied to smaller teams within the Council dedicated to specialised areas and where recruitment was more difficult. In response, officers noted that conversations were being undertaken between the Corporate Leadership Team and Heads of Service to focus on succession planning and identifying and supporting talent within their directorates.
• Officers agreed to include further details under Paragraph 31 of the policy to provide further clarity for ease of understanding on how funding would sit within the career grade structure.
• It was clarified that all of the salaries aligned with the spine points on the National Joint Council pay scales.
• Finally, it was explained that the career grade structures were already in place for a number of service areas, but that officers were continuing to seek further opportunities to introduce the scheme within different directorates. 

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was then:

Resolved:

The Committee approved the introduction of a Career Grade Policy and Procedure.