Bar is raised for civil servants' pay rises

CIVIL SERVANTS will in future have to secure a higher rating in their official performance assessments to qualify for an incremental pay increase, under a deal reached with trade unions.

In future, staff will need to be awarded a grade of at least three on a five-point scale to get an increment. Up to now, staff have only had to receive a rating of two to qualify for an incremental increase.

Under the changes announced by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin, a revised ratings scale with improved descriptions of performance levels, including competency evaluation, will be used.

Starting next year, a system of grade-based competencies will be introduced to ensure that people who are paid the same salary will be assessed against a common set of behaviours and will be expected to reach a similar standard of performance.

Performance ratings will be decided by performance calibration review, introduced on a phased basis, starting with grades of assistant secretary, principal and assistant principal officers. The system will later be extended to all Civil Service grades. There will also be an independent external review of ratings.

However, proposals to introduce a system of quotas for the number of staff to be awarded different ratings – known as forced distribution – have been dropped. This measure was strongly opposed by trade unions.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said calibration created “a more honest appraisal of an employee’s work” and was a process used frequently in the private sector.

“In the calibration process, multiple managers come together to discuss employees’ performance ratings, thus ensuring an objective assessment is made based on past performance and in relation to other employees with similar job descriptions . . . [This] provides an opportunity for managers to learn to use the same language and share an understanding of the core competencies and expectations of employee behaviour.”

It said this represented a significant departure from the current performance management assessment system “where ratings are given to individuals by their managers and there is little if any review of whether the rating awarded is genuinely justified”.

Mr Howlin said the changes, agreed under the Croke Park deal, meant managers in the Civil Service “will have a more effective tool to manage performance”.