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'Rewarding Excellence' Scheme

The Rewarding Excellence (RE) contribution-related pay scheme was introduced as part of the overall Framework Agreement with the aim of providing individual recognition for sustained outstanding contribution or over-achievement. Each October the year's successful nominees receive an additional salary increment.

Scheme details for 2012

Nominations to recognise employees who have made sustained outstanding contributions during the 2011-12 financial year (i.e. up to the end of July 2012) will be accepted from June 2012.

1. Eligibility

All staff in Grades 1 to 8 (or equivalent) with more than one year’s service at 1 August 2011 are eligible for this year's Rewarding Excellence scheme.

2. Process for submitting Nominations

Nominations can be made by line managers, Heads of Department (HoDs) or by employees themselves. In the case of self-nominations, we ask the HoD to confirm that the contents of the nomination form are factually accurate.

Nominations should be sent to the Director of Human Resources by 10 August 2012. They will then be checked for eligibility, consolidated and put forward for panel evaluation.

3. Review and approval of Rewarding Excellence nominations

An initial review will be facilitated by the Academic Coordinator and Heads of Department within each subject area (e.g. within Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences) or by the Operations Group for nominated staff in support directorates. Their recommendations will be put to a panel of senior management from different areas of the University to review the nominations and agree the awards. These will then be taken to the HR Policy Committee for ratification.

4 Timetable

Activity Date
Communication to all HoDs and staff June 2012
Deadline for submitting nominations to HR 10 August 2012
Initial review of nominations within subject area August/September 2012
Rewarding Excellence Panel meets September 2012
HR Policy Committee ratification September 2012
Communication of outcomes September/October 2012
Implementation of additional increments October 2012

Further information

If you need further information, please contact the Rewards Team on admn545@york.ac.uk or on extension 4850.

  1. What is the scheme?

    2. 1.1 The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Rewarding Excellence' awards are intended to provide recognition to those staff from any level or job family whose exceptional contribution, on a sustained basis over an appropriate period of time, has been outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides an annual opportunity to be considered for an award, normally of one additional incremental point, which will then become the new salary point of the member of staff receiving the award.

    1.2 The University also recognises and values outstanding achievements of a one-off or short-term nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Making the Difference' scheme for information about awards of that kind, applications for which may be made at any time during the year.

  2. Reasons for the scheme

    3. 2.1 To provide staff with a tangible reward for a sustained, outstanding contribution within their role.

    2.2 To assist progress towards achieving the objectives of the University by motivating staff to achieve excellence.

    2.3 To reinforce the values of the University by publicly acknowledging achievements which embody those values.

    2.4 This scheme is not intended to replace the process of promotion (for Academic, Research and Teaching staff) or of role review (for all other staff). In considering the role and/or the contribution of a member of staff, individuals or their managers should consider promotion or role review in the light of the guidance given for those processes.

  3. Principles of the scheme

    4. 3.1 The scheme is intended to reward those who can demonstrate sustained, outstanding achievement or excellence in their role. It is expected that this will be a certain percentage of staff costs every year (to be determined). More may be available some years dependent upon the financial position of the university or the receipt of additional funds, for example those targeted specifically at contribution reward.

    3.2 The 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme is not intended to encourage staff to work excessive hours, and judgements on the merits of nominations will be based on qualitative rather than quantitative assessments.

    3.3 The scheme should operate with consistency, fairness and transparency in order to retain the confidence of staff.

    3.4 The scheme should operate with equality of access across job families and grade levels, and with broad equality of outcomes as one of its aims. Monitoring will ensure that awards will, over time, reflect the workforce of the University regarding gender, ethnicity etc.

    3.5 The scheme should not be administratively burdensome at any stage of its operation.

  4. Eligible staff

    5. 4.1 All staff who have 12 months' service or more and have not achieved a similar award within the last 2 years are eligible to be nominated. Staff who have been nominated within the last 2 years but have not been successful are eligible for further nomination at the next opportunity.

    4.2 The scheme is open to staff who have changed roles within the University, but can demonstrate the same outstanding levels of skill or achievement in each role.

    4.3 Staff are eligible to apply whether their contribution has been made individually or as a member of a team.

  5. Nomination process

    6. 5.1 All members of staff should have an agreed, up-to-date Job Description that clarifies the expectations of their role. Many will have, in addition, specific objectives agreed at Performance Review and/or a person specification that identifies the competencies required for their job. These documents are the starting point for the identification of outstanding contribution.

    5.2 Heads of Department/Line Managers have a responsibility to monitor the contribution of all their staff and respond accordingly. Discussions that take place at Performance Review are often a trigger for this sort of consideration. As part of the monitoring process managers should identify cases where standards of excellence are exceptional, and have been sustained for a significant period. Submission for an award may be considered appropriate at that point.

    5.3 It is not possible to be specific about the length of time necessary to demonstrate that outstanding performance has been sustained, since it will vary from job to job. The work cycle of a Finance administrator will be different from that of a Catering Manager, or a Senior Lecturer. Evidence submitted of the sustained nature of the contribution should be appropriate to the post.

    5.4 Individuals may be nominated for an award by their Head of Department (possibly on the recommendation of a line manager) or they may nominate themselves. Where individuals self-nominate the contents of the Nomination Form (see Appendix A) must be authorised as factually accurate by the Head of Department. In either case the nomination form must be accompanied by an agreed, up to date job description, an organisation chart and evidence of formal objectives agreed wtih manager (if available).

    5.5 Nominations should be submitted to the HR Director each year (see the top of the page for details). The awarding committee will meet in September to consider which nominations should receive an award. It is likely, depending on the number of nominations, that this process of consideration will require an evaluation of the worth of each nomination in competition with others. It is therefore important that all those submitting nominations should follow instructions about the format of their submission, in order to facilitate the process of comparison.

    5.6 The awarding committee will submit its recommendations for awards to the September meeting of HR Policy Committee. Those receiving awards will be notified before the end of September and will receive one additional increment in their salary from October. Staff may be in receipt of more than one additional increment where they have been successful with nominations submitted at least two years apart.

    5.7 As the process is a competitive one it will not be possible to discuss results without compromising the confidentiality of other applicants. There will therefore be no review process.

  6. Monitoring Process

    7. 6.1 HR Policy Committee will receive annual data on the operation of the scheme, and will look for evidence that outcomes are broadly equal over time for job families, grade levels, departments, gender, ethnicity, disability, age and other relevant categories of staff.

    6.2 The operation of the scheme will be reviewed every 3 years to ensure it continues to meet its stated purpose in the most appropriate way

Document Control

Title:
'Rewarding Excellence' Contribution Pay Scheme Procedure
Applicable To:
All Staff Groups
Applicable From
August 2006
Procedure Owner:
Human Resources

Last Updated: March 2011 | Alex McFarlane (adm502@york.ac.uk)

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