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Contribution Reward

The following principles were agreed by the Combined JCNC at its meeting on 29June 2006 as the basis for Contribution Reward in the University. This was noted bythe Task Force at its meeting on 21 July 2006, where it was also agreed that

development of the more detailed policies for rewarding contribution would be a highpriority in the year from 1 August 2006 and should be progressed alongside MarketSupplements by a TF Sub-Group, aiming to develop relevant policies by 31December 2006.

The CJCNC approved these principles and this approach to this topic at its meetingon 28 July 2006.

Principles for Rewarding Contribution

The following principles are important for creating contribution reward processes that

will be in the long-term interests of the University and its staff.

a) Access to contribution pay should extend to all employees, although the meansmay vary.

b) Contribution pay processes should be demonstrably consistent and equitable

c) Processes should be as simple and practical as possible, within clearly specifiedparameters, while still capable of delivering visible consistency and equity.

d) Pan-University quality checks will be required to ensure consistency for all staff inall parts of the University; data, including statistical data, will be important in this.

e) It should be recognised that contribution-related reward is not easy. It will be achallenge to design processes which meet everyones aspirations and to managethe expectations of both managers and staff.

f) Appraisal should be semi-detached from reward. It should not be directly linkedas the focus of the appraisal process should be on performance for the institutionand development for the individual, but not on pay. However, it is important tobuild an indirect link to ensure that pay decisions, while not based on appraisaloutputs, are not inconsistent with them.

g) Appraisal, as a way of developing staff and also as a means of reviewingaccountability, is extremely important and more work on improving our appraisalprocesses is a high priority in the medium term.

h) Contribution pay processes should include some means of ensuring that allmembers of staff are considered. They should not be predominantly based onapplication by the individual, for equality reasons and also for reasons relating toexpectation management.

i) Contribution pay should be separate from pay/reward for extra duties.

j) Contribution pay should reward quality improvement, innovation, productivityimprovement (but not scale or volume per se) and achievements which impactdirectly on the Universitys reputation and achievement of strategic objectives.

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k) Some means of rewarding team contribution is desirable and should be explored.However, it should be recognised that this is one of the particularly difficultaspects.

l) Contribution-related reward should be part of the pay and reward cycle, but thereshould also be more immediate rewards, which could be financial. Thoseelements of contribution pay that are part of the cycle should include bothconsolidated and non-consolidated pay.

m) In relation to unsatisfactory contribution, it is essential to avoid mixed messagesin order to be fair to the colleagues of individuals as well as the individualsthemselves and to avoid equal pay and discrimination problems. Whilst there isa reluctance to hold back pay, it is felt that this is necessary, for equity, in somelimited circumstances.

n) Effective management of contribution pay and reward is a long-term issue andaccount has to be taken of the ability of management to manage a process whichhas more visible accountability. Given the challenges for management and theintrinsic difficulty of designing and implementing contribution pay effectively,phased introduction of some aspects should be considered if thought to bedesirable to the safe delivery of the project overall.

It was agreed that the degree of devolution of the processes should be discussed aspart of the development of the more detailed policies and that all of the principlesoutlined should be addressed in partnership between the University and therecognised unions.

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