Joint Communication –
National Framework Agreement
and Job Evaluation

March 2006

From:    Philip Dewe, Vice Master
              Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, President AUT Birkbeck

Job Evaluation of Research Roles – Consultation Process

Introduction

Since the National Framework Agreement and Job Evaluation October Update was issued, there has been ongoing consultation between the College and the trade unions: AUT, Unison and Amicus as part of the Framework Negotiation Group (FNG).  Discussions have centred on the mechanics of the implementation of the National Framework Agreement.

Following meetings of the FNG, and with the Heads of Schools employing the majority of research staff, the job evaluation process for research staff has been finalised. It has been agreed that four generic job descriptions documents (JDDs) will be presented for Hay job evaluation, which will cover the four current levels of research staff, as outlined in the table below:

For research staff, the JDD comprises the job description and person specification.

We would welcome your observations and comments on these JDDs and are therefore inviting you to participate in the consultation process outlined below.  Academic staff as line managers of researchers are also welcome to participate in this process.  Please note that participation in the consultation process is voluntary.

Consultation Period

The consultation period commences on Friday 17 March 2006 and will close on Wednesday 5 April 2006.

Consultation Process

1. The 4 JDDs can be viewed here. The documents are based on the national Academic Research Role Profiles as agreed by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES). These profiles have been placed into the standard Birkbeck Job Description Document template, which is being used for all other job evaluations across the College. The JDDs have been written to cover the general span of duties that a researcher at each level may undertake. They do not, therefore, give details of the work of specific disciplines, etc. The original Academic Research Role Profiles can be downloaded from the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) website www.ucea.ac.uk.
2. As part of the consultation process, you are invited to comment on the JDDs you feel are relevant to you and your current job.  Academic staff are also welcome to comment on the JDDs.
3. A consultation form has been developed to provide the format for your feedback. The form and further instructions on its completion can be found here.
4. The FNG will consider any feedback from the consultation, and amend the JDDs as appropriate.
5. The finalised JDDs, as ratified by the FNG, will be uploaded to the intranet such that you will be able to see the documents to be presented to a Hay Job Evaluation panel.
6. The JDDs will then be evaluated twice by separate Hay job evaluation panels.
7. The next stage of the process for assimilating research staff to the new pay structure is currently being agreed and will be communicated once finalised.

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The latest information on the NFA and job evaluation project can be found at http://www.bbk.ac.uk/hr/jobevaluation.  Further information can also be found on the Birkbeck AUT web site www.bbk.ac.uk/aut.

If you have any queries regarding this process, or the project in general, please do not hesitate to contact the project team:

• Email: jobevaluation@bbk.ac.uk
• Roland Baskeyfield, Projects Officer, extension 0734
• Vicky Booker, Human Resources Policy Adviser, extension 0712

Or for AUT:

• Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, President AUT Birkbeck, extension 6777 or email r.gumbrell-mccormick@bbk.ac.uk

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