Working for Health and Social Care

The Isle of Man Government policy is that the best available candidate should be appointed to fill each vacant post by ensuring that the recruitment and selection procedures operate fairly and without discrimination. It is only by adopting this professional approach that employment authorities will have the ability to fulfil their statutory obligations and deliver services to the public with economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

The process

• All external candidates will be required to complete an application form and to give the names of at least 2 referees who may be contacted for a confidential reference. One of which should be a present or recent employer who can comment on the person's ability to do the job.
• Applicants will be short-listed depending on their qualifications and experience.
• For those who are short-listed, an interview with the employing authority will be used as a selection method.
• Successful applicants will receive a letter of offer from the employment authority setting out the main terms and conditions and any special provisions.

The Department aims to provide new employees with an early understanding of the organisation’s customer commitment in order to build the foundations for a positive working environment.

New employee process: On appointment, employees will receive a statement of the terms and conditions of service which contains the main details of employment. This document is supported by a set of policies and procedures made available in their place of work. More information will also be available from other sources such as the Government Intranet.

Induction programme evaluation: The induction programme evaluation has four elements: a bi-monthly induction day (half day), staff portfolio, local induction programmes and post induction evaluation. These provide a comprehensive introduction aimed at team spirit, developing a sense of corporate identity and ensuring understanding of the Department’s vision, aims and objectives.

ID Card and key card: The Departments' new employees will be issued with a Government photographic identification as a proof of employment. They must be carried at all times and presented when asked for. These cards are issued by the Office of Human Resources upon commencement of your employment with us.

Uniform: The Department wants to present a professional image to visitors and so requires a standard of dress which suits the nature of their work should be maintained. Their appearance should be clean, tidy and acceptable to all the people who they come into contact with. Health service staff will have a compulsory dress code, which will be outlined in the terms and conditions of employment. Although there is no specific uniform for other employees, they are advised to dress in smart office-wear, for example, tailored suits. It is in the best interests of staff and their divisions that they create a good impression at all times and set a good example to colleagues, both senior and junior. It is also important that their dress conforms with safety requirements particularly where machinery is being operated.

Professional registration: Every healthcare professional should be registered with a professional body e.g. the Nursing & Midwifery Council or General Medical Council. They have to pay their annual membership and ensure they stay up to date with developments, updates and training. They must provide valid registration documentation and confirmation of renewals to the appointing officer.

Protection of children and vulnerable adults: Employees who are working with or have access to children or vulnerable adults need to have a criminal record check.

Immigration: Immigration legislation on the Isle of Man is similar to that in the United Kingdom and applies to nearly everyone who is not a British Citizen or who does not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom, although Irish citizens and EEA citizens exercising Treaty rights are exempt from many provisions. Non-British citizens should contact your nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate, who will be able to establish immigration status and advise individuals on the procedure they will need to adopt to enter the Island.

Work permit: The Isle of Man Control of Employment Act requires any newcomer who is not an 'Isle of Man worker' to have a work permit before starting employment in the Island (Work Permits are not necessary for a limited number of occupations such as doctors and dentists). Qualification as an 'Isle of Man worker' includes being born on the Island, resident for at least five years, married to an 'Isle of Man Worker', having received full-time education during residence (and having remained on the Island thereafter) or having a Manx-born parent who spent the first five years of their life on the Island. The Department of Ecomonic Development web page has full details.

Health screening: New health care employees need to have health screening, which may include having a medical examination, to ensure they are fit to work.

The Health and Social Care aims to make communication between managers, staff and the public as efficient, easy and safe as possible.

Computing facilities and data systems: After being set up with a network account, new computer users will be required to participate in security awareness training before they can be provided with electronic mail and Internet services. Employees must not connect unauthorised equipment to any Departments of Health and Social Care computer or equipment or download, install or use and unauthorised software on the network.

Email and internet: Access will be available to most staff, however those without immediate access will be able to log on to the two computers next to the staff restaurant at Noble's hospital. The Government Intranet includes Health and Social Care pages and it lets staff browse documents of interest. The Health and Social Care website provides more information about the different divisions. It will be the responsibility of each user to ensure the technology is used in a manner consistent with the email and Internet policies and procedures. The email and Internet access is for conducting business, however, local departmental policies might allow for occasional and reasonable personal use. Certain sites are not available on Government computers, such as social networking, eBay or other auction sites.

Copyright: It is a concern of the IOM Government that the network is being adversely affected by the trend for staff to store large volumes of personal pictures, music and other material, much of which may be unauthorised, copyrighted material. According to the Copyright Policy: employees should not make, store, transmit or make available unauthorised copies of copyrighted material or parts of it; they should not download, upload, store or make available unauthorised copies of copyrighted material or parts of it via the Internet using IOM Government systems, equipment or storage media.

Help desk: Most Department sites have a nominated Computer Liasion Officer to be the first point of contact for problems with hardware, software or telephone equipment. If there are any problems with hardware, software or telecommunication equipment, or if employees wish to make enquiries, they will contact their Computer Liaison Officer (CLO) who is present on most sites.

Telephone: The telephones are intended for conducting business and not for personal use. Departments of Health and Social Care telephones operate a blocking system which limits the type of calls some can make, for example local, national or international. When answering calls, employees should answer quickly, responding in a helpful, courteous and polite manner. They should greet the caller with Good Morning or Good Afternoon and then identify themselves and the division they work in. The Code of Practice for the Delivery of Services to Customers includes more detailed information and can be found in poster and leaflet format in places of work.

Staff newsletter: Staff will be able to submit articles and ideas to InTouch, the informative and creative bi-monthly in-house staff newsletter, and to Update, the magazine published four times a year by The Civil Service.

Staff suggestion scheme: The Brainwaves suggestion scheme aims to give all staff the opportunity to influence the way the Departments of Health works.

Training and development are important in providing skilled, flexible, well motivated employees to deliver a wide range of high quality public services which meet the current and future need of the Island's population. Employees are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning by identifying their own training needs, participating in training opportunities and putting acquired skills and knowledge into practice in the workplace.

Education, training and development opportunities: Many forms of education, training and development are carried out in and for the Department. Providers include professional staff as part of their management role, full-time educators, public service training, Isle of Man College, Isle of Man International Business School, off-Island education institutions and private companies.

Education and Training Centre: A purpose built Education and Training Centre (Keyll Daree) is located opposite Noble's Hospital. A wide range of multi-disciplinary, specialist and generic training and education is offered. Courses are available to all staff that have the appropriate academic entry requirements. Keyll Darree produce a comprehensive prospectus. The Public Service Training Section of the Office of Human Resources produce a training prospectus each year, which details what courses are on offer and what they entail.

Further education: Civil Service staff may be granted financial assistance towards further education if they wish to take distance learning courses or other courses to obtain a qualification, a University Degree or qualifying for promotion.

The Qualifications and Credit framework (QCF): Formerly known as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ), this is the new UK Government framework for recognising achievement through the award of credit for units and qualifications. All employees are given the opportunity to complete appropriate awards with suitable support and encouragement.

Study leave: This is the period of time agreed with the employee’s line manager when the employee would have paid leave to undertake agreed education, training and development activities in connection with their work for the Department.

Job vacancies: Existing employees can also apply for jobs within the Department, some of which will be for internal applicants only. They will have to inform their line manager before applying for another Department of Health and Social Care job.

The Department is as committed to ensuring the highest standards of occupational health and safety as it is to other key aspects of its service activities. The following are ways in which the Department aims to protect its employees' wellbeing.

Wellbeing plan: The Department has a Wellbeing plan entitled 'Working for Better Health' which sets out priorities for improving the health of employees, developing a wellbeing culture in the workplace and supporting staff who are unable to work because of ill health.

Health and Safety Policy: All employees will have a duty to adhere the Department of Health and Social Care, Health and Safety Policy. Employees are expected to identify and report or deal with unsafe or unhealthy practices and work as a team to prevent them occurring in the first place.

Occupational Health and Safety Service: The Occupational Health and Safety Service (OHSS) provides advice on the health safety and wellbeing of all employees of the Department. The services provided include pre-employment health screening, health surveillance, medical and workplace assessment, plus advice and support for staff who have health problems impacting on their work. The service also provides occupational immunisation for staff.

Advice from Occupational Health is confidential, independent and impartial. Referrals to the service are from managers or employees can also self refer for work related health problems. The service is based at Garaghyn Glass, Strang, Braddan, Isle of Man, IM4 4RJ and is open from 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30am to 4:30pm on Fridays. Most Clinics are held at Garaghyn Glass, with twice monthly clinics at Ramsey District Cottage Hospital on Tuesday afternoons. Appointments can be arranged by telephoning + 44 1624 642150. The Service is also responsible for developing and monitoring the Department of Health Occupational Health and Safety Management Plan which outlines the Department's health and safety priorities and targets. The Plan, Department Health and Safety Policy and OHSS guidance and policies are all available on the Service intranet site.

Emergency evacuation: On appointment, employees will be shown and asked to familiarise themselves with fire exits and specific fire evacuation procedures for their place of work.

Drug and Alcohol Strategy: The Drug and Alcohol Policy in the workplace is designed to encourage and promote health, welfare and safety of all employees. It is mainly concerned with substance use which interferes with the staffs' ability to perform tasks for which they are employed.

Smoking policy: The Smokefree Policy ensures that all Departments of Health and Social Care buildings and vehicles are smoke-free. It also protects staff from exposure to second hand smoke while working outside the office, for example during home visits. On appointment, staff should be given details of arrangements regarding smoking outside. Support will be offered to any employee who wishes to give up smoking. Counselling, assistance and literature will be available from the Occupational Health and the Stop Smoking Advisors at the stop smoking service, Quit4You. More information can be found on the Quit4You website.

Staff welfare: The Staff Welfare Service is based in St George's Court, Upper Church Street, Douglas. It will provide confidential information, advice, support and counselling services on work and personal issues in order to protect the staff’s health and wellbeing. The Welfare Officers aim to help employees remain as effective as possible at work, offering professional and specialist advice and support services.

Stress: Employees whose personal and work commitments are in conflict are likely to suffer from stress. The Department aims to help its staff achieve a 'Work Life Balance' to ensure less stress and higher performance.

Removal and relocation scheme: The Isle of Man Government has a scheme which allows for relocation expenses to be paid to assist successful candidates in relocating to the Island. Where a vacancy is to be advertised off Island, financial assistance can be offered to a successful candidate who resides outside of the Isle of Man. The scheme is made up of 3 parts: a relocation grant, an interest free advance of salary and housing assistance. Relocation expenses are intended as a recruitment incentive and to enable off-Island appointees to take up an appointment as quickly as possible.

Health Service staff residential accommodation: Most Health service staff will have to find their own accommodation, but certain categories of staff (and their immediate family) will be entitled to residential accommodation. The Department of Health and Social Care is obliged to provide housing for some employees, which include students, locums, interview candidates, official visitors/guests and, in exceptional circumstances, employees with accommodation difficulties.

Payroll: Generally, the Departments salaries are at very competitive rates. The annual salaries of full-time employees who are paid monthly shall be apportioned as follows: for each calendar month, 1/12 of the annual salary; for a part month, the monthly sum divided by the number of days worked in that particular month. Wages are paid monthly directly into the employees' bank accounts using the BACS system. Pay day is on the 25th of each month, except when this falls at the weekend, in which case wages are paid on the preceding working day. Part-time employees will receive the same entitlements on a pro-rata basis as full-time colleagues. Employees on fixed-term contracts will receive pay and conditions of service equivalent to that of a comparable permanent employee.

Pension: Civil Servants and Health Service Workers are automatically covered by pension schemes. The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme has four sections known as Classic, Premium, Classic Plus and Nuvos. All new entrants will automatically join the Nuvos scheme. All schemes are administered on behalf of the Civil Service Commission by the Pensions Team of the Office of Human Resources. Members who decide to opt out of the schemes will be able to fill in an opt-out form.

Grade Review: Department of Health and Social Care employees are graded using recognised grading schemes. Employees can apply for a review of grade if the duties and responsibilities of the post have changed so that the post meets the criteria for a different grade.

Top Team Award: This is to recognise and reward teams (3 to 8 members) who have improved customer service through innovative thinking or high quality working practices. There is a financial incentive for short listed teams in the shape of workplace 'grants'. Entrants must submit a report about their project, which will be reviewed and scored by a panel of independent judges. The top 4 teams will be invited to give a presentation.

Long Service Award Scheme: Under the provisions of the scheme, employees will be entitled to an additional day of leave or a day's pay in the year in which they achieve 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service. This will not be an ongoing enhancement to leave entitlement.

Car parking: The parking arrangements will vary, according to on-site availability. On appointment, you will be able to find out specific arrangements from your line manager.

Corporate Gym membership: Many of the Isle of Man's health clubs and gyms offer corporate rates and discounts to Departments of Health and Social Care staff. Staff will be able to find a pricelist on the Government Intranet. The discounts will be available on presentation of a staff identity badge/ proof of employment.

Buy and Sell: Staff will be able post for sale or wanted items on the Government Intranet Buy and Sell forum, from cars to furniture to wedding dresses. But all items must be personal to themselves, they must not advertise a business item or offer as this is in breach of the Governmetn Policy.

Social events: While the Department have few official staff events, each division will organise its own celebrations and other social arrangements. News and flyers for island-wide social events will be posted on the Social Events page of the Government Intranet.

Chaplaincy: There is a chapel at Noble's hospital with chaplains who will be available to see patients and staff.

The Department of Health and Social care is committed to protecting the personal safety and security of its employees and recognises the need to have guidelines aimed at protecting staff from risks. It also aims to ensure healthy relationships between managers, employees and the public to create a positive working environment where staff will operate to the best of their ability, providing a high standard of customer service.

Quality and Customer Service: One of the Department's common objectives is 'To provide quality service to the public'.  The Quality and Customer Service Strategy covers all areas of the Department of Health and Social Care activities that affect the customer, including elements such as service availability, timeliness, value for money and customer support. It covers four key areas in providing a high quality customer service: identifying key service characteristics such as quality, quantity and speed; providing a service that the customer wants and perceives as being of value to them; ensuring a skilled and competent workforce; providing good communication and the right information, at the right time in the right format.

The Code of Practice for the Delivery of Services to Customers: This was developed to provide a set of generic customer service standards which clearly state the customer service principles followed by the Department. It covers consultation and choice, service by telephone, visitors, home visits, letters, information and complaints. Each public area and work place will display The Code of Practice in poster format and copies in leaflet format.

Equal opportunities: No employee should be subjected to discriminatory treatment on the grounds of gender, marital status, age, sexual orientation, colour, race, disability, religion or ethnic origin. They should not be disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified for sound operational reasons. Employees with grounds for complaint should raise this through the grievance procedures set out in their terms and conditions. The Equal Opportunities Handbook and details of the contact officers (there are designated staff trained to support staff who believe that they have been unfairly treated) will be made available to staff.

Bullying, harassment and victimisation: The Department is committed to eliminating bullying and harassment through both informal and formal methods and aims to raise staff awareness of the importance of a bullying/harassment free workplace. Confidential advice, guidance and support for victims and witnesses will be available from the network of Contact Officers, as well as from the Office of Human Resources Advisors. The Staff Welfare Office provide counselling, mediation and support services.

Violence and aggression: Employees will have a duty to follow the Policy for the Management of Violence and Aggression. They should not put themselves at risk unnecessarily and should reduce the risk of provoking violence by adopting high standards of customer care and sensitivity. They should tell their line Manager about potentially dangerous situations and always report incidents to them.

Capability procedure: The Capability Procedure will be applied when a problem arises concerning an employee's work performance or the ability of an employee to carry out duties for which they are employed. The aim is to assist and encourage employees to achieve and maintain effective standards of job performance. The Department of Health endeavours to address unsatisfactory performance and give guidance to improve it, while ensuring consistent and fair treatment.

Disciplinary procedure: The Department recognises that the maintenance of conduct is essential to ensure efficiency and the safety and wellbeing of employees. The Disciplinary Procedure is to help correct inappropriate behaviour and conduct of employees.

Grievance procedure: The Department recognises that circumstances may arise in which staff feel aggrieved with some aspect of their employment. The Grievance Procedure is a way of trying to resolve these complaints, before they escalate.

Whistle-blowing: The Confidential Reporting Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees to raise serious concerns and problems they identify within the Government in order to seek resolution without fear of reprisal.

Human rights: The Human Rights Act 2001 gives effect in the law of the Isle of Man to the fundamental rights and freedoms in the European Convention on Human Rights. There are sixteen rights which affect matters of life and death like freedom from torture and killing, as well as rights in every day life such as what you say or do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and many other basic entitlements. A Human Rights Leaflet is available to staff.

Information maintenance and security: Employees will undergo security awareness training before they will be able to access data. The Isle of Man Government has issued information security documents, which outline what is acceptable use and what isn't, which are available to staff. All employees with access to Government Information will be required to read relevant extracts from the Official Secrets Act and then sign a Declaration, committing to its content.

Financial regulations: The Financial Regulations are made up of Directions and Guidelines. They are in accordance with the Treasury Act 1985, which states that the Treasury's duty is 'to supervise and control all matters relating to the financial affairs of the Department.'   The Department is legally bound to comply with the Directions, and although the Guidelines are not legally binding, they are still expected to be complied with as they represent best practice in financial matters.

Trade unions: The Department recognises the right of its employees to join a Union and the Trade Recognition Agreement will be available to staff. It is designed to promote, establish and maintain a firm foundation for harmonious working relationships between the Department of Health and Social Care and its employees. This can be achieved through consultation and negotiation and for this purpose the Department encourages its staff to join a recognised union. All differences, disputes and grievances will be resolved in accordance with the Agreement.

Risk management: A risk is the possibility of undesirable events occurring that might prevent or impact upon the achievement of the Department's business objectives. The impact can be a threat to the delivery of the objectives or a missed opportunity. Risk management is the logical and systematic method of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risks in a way that will enable the organisation to meet its objectives and minimise losses and maximise opportunities. Members of staff will be asked to familiarise themselves with the risk management Policy. It is essential that they are aware of their role in the management of risk to an acceptable level. All employees are encouraged to revise potential risks with their line manager.

The Department of Health and Social Care aims to ensure that wherever practicable, working patterns will be flexible to allow for the achievement of a balance between work and home life. All employees will have a duty to strive for full attendance and to obtain proper authorisation for all absences.

Working hours: The standard hours of work of full-time staff vary depending on an individuals contractual terms and conditions.

Flexible working: The Department employs many different staff groups whose working patterns range according to the needs of the business and whenever possible, the Department attempts to apply a flexible approach to working hours. The Civil Service provide a model for flexible working, which has been adopted by departments of Government where such a scheme can be accommodated, without impacting on service delivery. It provides a framework for flexible working.

Overtime: Any overtime work must be agreed and authorised by the line manager prior to it being worked. The DH takes its responsibility to staff welfare very seriously. The provision of sick pay and appropriate support is offered to all staff.

Sickness: Generally in the event of absence due to sickness, employees will have to notify (preferably by phone) their line manager on the first day no later than one hour after their normal start time. They will have to give details of the sickness and an indication of when they are likely to return to work. On returning to work, the employee will have to fill in a Sickness Declaration Form and would normally have a return to work interview to ensure the organisation is able to support the employee after their absence.

Annual leave: The annual leave allowances will vary depending on how many years of service the employee has completed. Full details of individual’s entitlement will be outlines in the terms and conditions of their contract.

General public holidays entitlement (GPH): In addition to annual leave, employees will be entitled to ten public holidays each year. These include New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday, Senior Race Day, Tynwald Day, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Staff who are on rota patterns covering 24 hours a day, 7 days a week are entitled to take their GPH Entitlement at another time due to them having to work on a GPH.

Study leave: See Development.

Special leave: Special leave can be paid or unpaid in some cases an employee will be entitled to payment for an activity for which special leave has been granted. The categories for special leave include: time off for civic, public and trade union duties; paternity, parental, adoption, compassionate and carers leave; medical appointments; Island, Commonwealth and Olympic Games; Territorial and Auxiliary Forces; RNLI, Civil Defence, Coastguard and Fire Fighters; jury service. Special leave is usually considered on a case-by-case basis.

Maternity arrangements: Employees are provided with protection from discrimination in respect of dismissal on grounds of pregnancy. Every pregnant employee is entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave (26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave) and Statutory Maternity Allowance. Further enhancement will depend on the length of service and the criteria can be found in the terms and conditions of employment. They will normally be given paid time off to attend an antenatal care appointments. Pregnant employees should give as much notice as possible of the expected date of birth and the intended date of finishing work.

Paternity arrangements: Paternity leave is available to all DHSC employees and the payment for which varies, according to the terms and conditions of the employee.

Rest breaks: Where the working day is longer than six hours, all staff will be entitled to take a break of at least 20 minutes. Rest breaks must be taken during the period of work and should not be taken either at the start or the end of a period of working time. Employees should be able to take this rest break away from their work station.

Adverse weather/road conditions: When external factors such as adverse weather/road conditions occur, employees will still have a duty to make every effort to attend work. Depending on the reasons given for late or non-attendance and each case's particular merits, the absence could be treated as special paid or unpaid time off.

Occupational health: The Department's Occupational Health and Safety Service provides advice on all health, safety and wellbeing matters for staff of the Department of Health and Social Care. The services provided include pre-employment health screening, health surveillance, medical and workplace assessments, plus advice and support for staff who have health problems which impact on their work.

Staff welfare: The staff of DHSC has access to Welfare Services. This is a service, which provides confidential advise, support and counselling services on work and personal issues.

Policies to support DHSC employees: The Isle of Man Government and DHSC have many policies to protect and support staff through difficult times. These policies and strategies include, Drug and Alcohol, Equal Opportunities and Bullying, Harassment and Victimisation.

Performance Management is fundamental to the career support of staff for any well run organisation.

Performance Management is about establishing a culture in which every individual takes responsibility for delivering a quality service; ensuring the continuous improvement of business processes, their own skills, behaviour and development. It is about sharing expectations. Managers can clarify what they expect individual and teams to do; likewise, individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of management and what they need to do their jobs.

Performance management is also about interrelationships and improving the quality of dialogue between managers and staff. It can serve many important purposes within an organisation by motivating employees, strengthening organisational goals, comparing performance against occupational standards and facilitating discussion of ideas and areas for development and improvement.

Performance management systems

To manage performance effectively, individuals should know how their performance will be measured; therefore there needs to be structures and systems in place to inform this.

A good performance management system promotes interaction and feedback between management and employees, establishes expectations for individual work performance, and enables the development of all staff.

Various performance management systems exist within the Department of Health and Social Care. Day to day feedback, clinical supervision, learning and development records, performance reviews and appraisals all contribute to the effective management of performance in the Department. 360° feedback is also available to all staff through a contract with TLC Business Solutions.

Our Strategy for Health emphasises the importance of performance review and appraisal in the effective delivery of services. Performance reviews and appraisals help develop individuals to improve performance and feed into organisational plans. They are essential to career and succession planning, for both the individual and the organisation, and play an important role in maintaining standards, identifying training needs and improving communication. Performance reviews also provide a formal and regular record of an individual’s performance and a plan for their future development.

The IOM Civil Service Performance and Development Review (PDR) and the Manx Pay Terms and Conditions, Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) Performance and Development Review are systems of performance management which have been developed, and are used, within the DHSC to monitor and improve performance.

The PDR has been developed to provide support for the ongoing performance management of all Civil Servants. It allows staff to reflect on, and assess, how they have performed over the previous 12 month period. It also allows staff to plan ahead by identifying any development required for them to become more effective in their job and to progress on their chosen career pathway.

Participation in the PDR scheme is mandatory for all Civil Service staff regardless of grade.

Process

The PDR scheme runs annually from the 1 April to the 31 March and includes the following elements:

• final appraisal: This involves reflection on what was achieved during the previous year and how it was achieved. It allows decisions to be made regarding whether the individual met their agreed objectives and competencies. This normally takes place between April and June each year.
• Personal Delivery Plan (PDP): This involves looking forward to the next 12 month period and planning what needs to be achieved, how to do this and identifying any development needed. This information comprises the personal development plan and is usually completed immediately after the final appraisal.
• Interim review(s): The interim review establishes whether staff are on target to meeting the requirements of the PDP. These are generally held in October at 6 months but during probation periods will be more frequent.

Competency framework

There are 6 areas in which all Civil Servants are expected to show competency; Leading and Working Together, Communicating and Influencing, Achieving Results, Delivering a Quality Service, Changing and Learning, and Showing Commitment and Resilience. The level of competency expected depends on the civil service grade. The use of competencies provides a consistent and objective base for performance and development review across the Civil Service. It allows staff to demonstrate knowledge skills and achievements against transferable standardised competencies, which aids and enhances career development.

Performance ratings

Ratings record the level of performance achieved against each objective and competency. The manager considers these when making an overall assessment of the individual’s performance for the review period. In order for incremental pay progression to occur staff must achieve an overall rating of Good, Very Good or Outstanding. Staff may find further information on the Civil Service PDR scheme including guidance documents, detailed information regarding the competency levels, the performance ratings, appeals process, and a downloadable form on the Government intranet.