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The process for paying an allowance or honorarium if someone will undertake higher duties for more than 6 weeks.
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Acting Up Policy
1. Where a member of staff undertakes the full duties of a higher graded post (other than to cover annual leave or short term sickness absence) for more than six consecutive weeks, they will be considered for an 'acting up allowance' to cover the period concerned.
2. The acting up responsibility should be for a limited period and it is recommended that the period of acting up does not normally exceed 12 months. If the period is likely to be longer than 12 months it is advised that this is discussed with your HR Business Partner.
Process
3. The Head of Department/Division should complete a ‘Request Form for Acting Up’ stating the circumstances and the period for which it is requested. The completed form should then be submitted via MyHR Departmental Transactions (MyHR), where the team will approve and process the request. Requests received in HR by the 1st of the month will be processed in that month’s payroll.
Allowance Calculation
4. An 'acting up allowance' will usually be paid at the lowest spinal point of the higher grade excluding London Allowance. If the employees’ current salary is above the lowest point of the higher grade the role holder will normally receive an allowance to the next highest point on the scale.
5. Apart from any nationally agreed pay awards which should be applied, the allowance should remain fixed as the substantive post increments.
6. Once basic salary has reached the top of the automatic incremental zone of the grade, the acting up allowance should increase in line with increments on the role the employee is acting into. The increase in allowance should reflect the progression which would have occurred if the employee had transferred into the role. Worked examples are shown below.
Example: Grade 6 employee, point 24 basic salary of £25,759, starts acting up to a grade 7 role 1 December 2013.
Date | 1st Dec 2013 | 1st August 2014 | 1st August 2015 |
Spine Point | 24 | 25 | 26 |
Basic Salary | £25,759 | £27,057 | £28,143 |
Acting Up | £4,078 | £4,160 | £4,202 |
Total/ Point | £29,837 (29) | £31,217 | £32,345 |
Example: Grade 6 employee, point 26 basic salary of £27,318, starts acting up to a grade 7 role on 1st December 2013.
Date | 1st Dec 2013 | 1st August 2014 | 1st August 2015 |
Spine Point | 26 | 27 | 27 |
Basic Salary | £27,318 | £28,695 | £28,982 |
Acting Up | £2,519 | £2,569 | £3,608 |
Total/ Point | £29,837 (29) | £31,264 | £32,600 (31) |
Example: Grade 6 employee, point 29 (contribution zone) basic salary of £29,837, starts acting up to a grade 7 role on 1 April 2014.
Date | 1st April 2014 | 1st August 2014 | 1st August 2015 |
Spine Point | 29 | 29 | 29 |
Basic Salary | £29,837 | £30,434 | £30,738 |
Acting Up | £891 | £1,843 | £2,836 |
Total/ Point | £30,728 (30) | £32,277 (31) | £33,574 (32) |
Grade 10
7. Apart from any nationally agreed pay awards which should be applied, where an employee is acting into a grade 10 role their total salary should remain fixed- i.e. the acting allowance should reduce as incremental progression on the grade 9 role occurs. All grade 10 staff are employed on spot salaries and any increase in salary is agreed on the basis of exceptional performance.
Honoraria for all groups of staff
8. Where a member of staff does not cover the full duties of a higher graded post but is nevertheless asked to undertake a significant number of additional duties that do not fall within the expectations of their grade (for a period in excess of six consecutive weeks), they may be paid an honorarium. In such circumstances a request for an honorarium should be submitted via MyHR Departmental Transactions (MyHR) as an additional payment, following the completion of the additional work. The appropriate sum will be agreed between the line manager and the HR Division in light of the circumstances of each case.