JES FAQs

Job evaluation assesses the demands of a job and is used to determine the relativities between one role and another, and provide a rational basis for the design and maintenance of an equitable and defensible grading structure Job evaluation is not concerned with how busy a post is or how heavily it is loaded. The evaluation should focus on the nature of the tasks which need to be performed in the role and the type of responsibilities which the role requires to be undertaken.

In the Probation Service there are two Job Evaluation Schemes (JES):

• National Negotiation Council (NNC) Job Evaluation Scheme for Probation Service Bands 1 to Band 6 (this scheme is jointly owned with Trade Unions).
• Hay Job Evaluation Scheme for Senior Bands A-D.

The evaluation itself is carried out by a panel (a minimum of three people) comprising of a representative from the recognised trade unions and two other trained job evaluators. It is intended to be as representative as possible of the Probation Service as a whole. All panel members must be trained in the relevant Job Evaluation Scheme i.e., NNC or HAY. All panels are chaired by a senior evaluator who is a member of the Job Evaluation and Assurance Team (JEAT).

Roles going through job evaluation are always scored based on the evidence provided and this can sometimes result in the banding changing.

It is possible for a JES review to result in a job being evaluated at a lower band.  If this happens then the role holder would be placed on mark time salary for a fixed period (usually no more than 2 years) and during that time would be signposted to training and development opportunities as well as to appropriate vacancies at the old grade.

In the event of the JES review outcome being a higher band, any changes will take effect from a specified date for all staff assigned to the newly evaluated job description.

There are two situations in which the job evaluation outcome can be appealed:

(A)  Disagreement over the evaluation of the job(s).

(B)  The job has changed significantly since the original evaluation.

The JES process allows for one appeal to take place. The role must be left for a minimum of 6 months to ‘bed in’ before any further review can be requested, unless there is TU and employer agreement to a different approach.

If you have any concerns, then should speak to your line manager for support. If your line manager agrees with your concerns, they need to follow the normal BAU process for job evaluation and contact JEAT through their central mailbox. JobEvaluationAssurance@justice.gov.uk

We have developed a high-level process map and an information pack that are provided to new JD developers. Both of these documents provide a good overview of the probation job evaluation process. These documents along with further information can be found on the Probation Hub.

Your local HR team are available to respond to any immediate questions you may have about the activity about JES and should be your first point of contact, but you can also submit queries about the JES review process to the PWPjobevaluationproject@justice.gov.uk mailbox.

Staff can access all JES approved job descriptions on the HMPPS intranet JES page, located here.

There is a 28-day consultation period for trade unions to provide comments on the job description documentation. TUs are represented at focus groups and a TU representative also sits on the job evaluation panel.

In the National Agreement there was a commitment to review all probation roles within three years of Unification. This work is currently being mapped out.

Please speak to your line manager or contact your local HR team. You can also e-mail the PWPjobevaluationproject@justice.gov.uk mailbox.

Once the appeal process has concluded, the outcome of a successful appeal will be applied retrospectively and will be effective from the original effective date. This means that any pay and pension contributions will be back dated and paid from this date.  The effective date is provided as part of the panel submission pack.

The JES process allows for one appeal to take place. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the role must be left for a period of time to ‘bed in’ before any further review, change or re-evaluation is conducted unless there is TU and employer agreement to a different approach.  The bedding in period for new roles is a minimum of 6 months.