New Proposed Receptionist Job Description/Phasing out of Pay Band 1

E05-2021

Dear Colleagues

Please find attached a new draft job description (JD) and job description questionnaire (JDQ) for the Probation Service Receptionist role. These were drawn up by a focus group of ex-CRC and ex-NPS receptionist staff. The JD and JDQ are the documents which will be job evaluated to determine the pay band for the revised duties described.

The JD and JDQ have been drafted to deliver on the promise from the 2020 NPS pay award that the NPS would phase out all existing pay band 1 jobs with effect from 1 April 2021 and offer staff in these roles the opportunity to become pay band 2 staff. Although this has yet to happen, in the interim the NPS has stopped recruiting to pay band 1 jobs, and no CRC receptionist staff were transferred into pay band 1 jobs when they joined the new Probation Service from 26 June last year.  This is because at the time of the transfer of CRC staff to the new Probation Service last June, no CRCs were employing receptionists on pay band 1 – they were all on pay band 2.

The work to phase out all existing ex-NPS pay band 1 receptionist roles, and offer all ex-NPS pay band 1 staff the chance to move onto pay band 2 roles, was delayed for a number of reasons, but now is back on track. The intention is to offer this move by means of a new receptionist job description which, via job evaluation, it is anticipated might meet the threshold of a pay band 2 job.

Branches are therefore asked to send this e-mail and the attached JD and JDQ to all receptionist members (both ex-NPS and ex-CRC) as a matter of urgency to ask for any comments on the proposed JD and JDQ.

Please send any comments back to me by Friday 25 March  b.priestley@unison.co.uk with any tracked changes and/or comments they wish to make on the attached documents and UNISON will review, respond and then get these submitted to Job Evaluation Team so that we can get a job evaluation panel decision of the true grade for the receptionist role which the Service needs doing going forward.

Any questions, please let me know.

Otherwise I look forward to hearing from you.

This e-mail has been sent to all branches with probation members and members of UNISON’s Probation Service Committee.

Regards

Ben Priestley

National Officer