Policy overview
We have arrangements for dealing with appeals against Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) evaluations to ensure:
- a fair and transparent process
- non-discriminatory and effective arrangements
- we treat all employees in a fair, consistent manner
This procedure does not apply to:
- fire employees on grey and gold book terms and conditions
- employees on teachers' terms and conditions
- employees on Soulbury terms and conditions
Appeals procedure
Employees dissatisfied with the grading of their job can appeal. They should discuss the grade with their manager. The outcome could be:
- revised job description (JD)
- job description questionnaire (JDQ)
- appeal
The JD and JDQ will be evaluated via the normal process.
In schools, governors determine pay. This procedure will apply in schools that have adopted the GLPC scheme.
Headteachers or governors will manage the process. Advice is available from the school HR advisor or HR service provider.
We will not undertake appeals during the first six months of a new post.
Procedure
All requests must go through the line manager.
The line manager will review and agree the JD and JDQ with the employee. In the event that the manager and employee cannot agree, the next level line manager will resolve.
If most aspects of the JD and JDQ are the same, this appeal procedure will apply. If there are significant changes, the appeal procedure will not apply. The JD and JDQ will be evaluated in the usual way.
For an appeal, the employee must consider their post has been incorrectly scored. Employees will need to provide evidence as to why they are appealing. They should give examples of one or more factors they feel have been scored incorrectly.
The employee must complete the GLPC appeal form.
They should send the completed form and any supporting documents to their line manager before submitting the appeal. The line manager will add their comments and may, or may not, support the appeal. After the appeal is submitted, no additional documents will be accepted.
In schools, governors or headteachers will forward appeal forms for hearings to their senior HR advisor.
Appeal hearing
An appeal is a complete review of the post. The panel will review all factors.
We will hear appeals within six weeks of receiving the appeal form. Both the employee and the manager must attend the appeal.
Appeals are heard by a senior moderation panel.
A trade union representative may accompany the employee.
The employee and manager will present their case to the panel, who may ask questions.
The chair is responsible for ensuring all attendees have the chance to comment. Any disputes may result in postponing the appeal hearing.
Generic and multi-occupancy posts
The manager must:
- inform all postholders in multi-occupancy posts that the appeal is being submitted
- submit only one appeal for one job description
- liaise with managers in other services who may be using the same job description
Two employees may represent the views of the staff group. They should only submit one appeal form. For large multi-occupancy posts of 100 or more, three employees may attend. One trade union representative may attend.
The outcome of an appeal will apply to all employees covered by the generic job description.
If the jobholder is part of a multiple occupancy group, and they feel that the generic JD does not represent their role, they should discuss this with the line manager. If the manager agrees, they may write a new JD and submit for evaluation using the normal process.
If the line manager disagrees, the employee may raise the issue with the next level line manager for resolution.
Job families
Appeals for posts which are part of a job family, for example, engineer, senior engineer and principal engineer, will be heard together. Managers must submit appeals for posts in a job family at the same time.
Job families and similar posts across the council are taken into account for evaluations and appeals.
Appeal decision
Outcomes may be:
- factor levels may change. The grade may therefore increase, stay the same, or reduce
- the JD or JDQ needs amending to consider evidence submitted and agreed through the appeal process
If the grade increases, we will backdate it to the date the appeal was registered.
We will notify the employee, manager or headteacher of the outcome of an appeal within one week of the hearing. The panel chair will be available to answer queries from managers or headteachers. We will update the job evaluation system and job description library and issue revised factor levels and scores.
In schools, the outcome will require governor approval. They should also notify us of the outcome.
The manager, headteacher or governor will complete an amend position form to update the job reference number (JRN) and the total job evaluation points.
The decision of the appeal panel is final.
If an appeal reduces the post grade, salary protection will apply from the date of registering the appeal. For more details on salary protection read the redeployment policy.
Associated terms and conditions of employment, which are grade dependent, will apply:
- from the date of registration of appeal (upgrades)
- end of protection (downgrades)
- in the case of overtime, overpayments may be offset if an employee is upgraded to grade nine or above
