Higher Education- job regrading

MaudeLebowski

Hi all 
I work in Higher Education and for the last year or so I’ve been performing duties completely out with my current job spec. A regrading application went in, citing the “new” job spec that I’ve been working to for the last year - a colleague in the team currently works to this job spec and is a grade higher. 

Today I got feedback that the job spec on the application doesn’t meet the higher grade criteria?! Makes no sense to me. If my colleague has the exact same spec, surely the grade should be the same? 

Anyone know where I stand here? I can (and will) appeal the decision but wondered if equal pay applies (even though the compatible party is also a woman). 

Dox

Equal pay for equal work only applies if a difference in pay can be demonstrated to be based on some 'protected' characteristic such as age, gender, ethnic origin etc. Even if your colleague had been male, it wouldn't be unfair unless gender is shown to be the basis for the different rates of pay.

Otherwise it is lawful, however unfair and infuriating you may find it. Certainly worth appealing on the grounds that you have a colleague who has the same JD and is a grade higher, but you may find other factors come into play. Does your colleague have more experience, better qualifications or anything which your employer might claim enables them to do a 'better' job than you can?

tacpot12

Dox said:

.... but you may find other factors come into play. Does your colleague have more experience, better qualifications or anything which your employer might claim enables them to do a 'better' job than you can?

Anything that the colleague has that the OP does not have should not affect the job grading. The job is the job. The OP might actually be paid less to do the same grade job than a colleague due to differences in their experience, performance etc. but it would be normal for there to be a baseline payscale for a job grade and then differences between the job holders reflected as plus or minus an amount relative to the baseline. The OP should complain that the job grade is the same, but the employer has not assessed it as such and as a result they are being unfairly disadvantaged.

MaudeLebowski

Thanks both. As @tacpot12 mentions, we do have a baseline payscale as I work for a Higher Education institute. The colleague could very well be on a higher spinal point in that grade than I would be; highly qualified new starts often come in at a spinal point higher than the bottom of the scale; but the Grade remains the same. 
I'll have a chat with HR about the disparity. Thanks!

StaffieTerrier

I've been through HE regrading a couple of times and it can be a bit of a lottery. When you put the application in did you use the generic job descriptions as a basis and ensure the key words from it were included in the application? I'm in a technical role and the applications are scored by HR managers with little knowledge or understanding of the role, so I had to make sure key phrases and buzz words were used to ensure the person score would see them and score them appropriately.

It's worth considering appealing, if you haven't already. Do you have the support of your line manger? That can make the world of difference. My line manager wrote supporting evidence as part of my regrading, where I know other managers just write 'I agree with the above'.

MaudeLebowski

Thanks @StaffieTerrier. It's a daft process! The JD on the application was that of a colleague employed via an external vacancy about 6 months ago....I (stupidly) assumed that because that JD had already been graded, that using it would be fine - apparently not. 
I had great support from not only my Line Manager but our Exec Director (who actually sits on regrading panels on a regular basis) - they both contributed and reviewed my application before submission. 
Fingers crossed the appeal goes better! 

Undervalued

As others have pointed out there are little in the way of legal requirement you can rely on. Broadly, if an employer chooses to pay two people different amounts for doing the same job they can do so. Internal policies and procedures can always be varied.

Sometimes how easy or difficult it is to recruit can be the reason (although there doesn't have to be a reason). If you need a second person a few years on, suitably qualified people may be hard to find and you have to offer a premium. That doesn't in itself give the person already employed the right to a pay rise. Obviously it may cause other difficulties but that is another matter.

Certainly the large University I worked for part time at one point had a system of special consideration allowances. These could in some circumstances be very considerable and were a way of attracting the right person without putting them on a higher grade than their colleagues. At one point I earned considerably more, pro rata, than my "boss" despite them being one grade higher.!

StaffieTerrier

@MaudeLebowski The key piece of advice I was given was to write the application and job description as if they were recruiting, i.e. if you left what would they need to replace you? My last application was complex because a manager left and I stepped up into a modified role. The manager who left was a grade higher than my final grading but if you compare the applications (he also regraded) there's very little between them, other than a few phrases.

A colleague of mine is going through regrading at the moment and was looking at job matching with someone else doing the same job but it was decided that HR might down grade the higher role to match the lower one, as they're doing the same. It's a complex situation in HE.