In the event of any queries regarding the provisions of this letter, please contact, in relation to

Non-commercial State Sponsored Bodies: Sighle de Barra, tel 01- 6045407

Bodies in the Education Sector:  Gearóid Hodgins, tel 01-6045408

Bodies in the Health Sector: Jill Fannin, tel 01- 6045402

01 June 2005

Secretary General

Department of XXXXX

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Revision of Pay of Staff of Non-commercial State Bodies – Application of the final phase of Benchmarking increases and Section 14.2 of the Mid-Term Review of Part Two of Sustaining Progress

1. I am directed by the Minister for Finance to convey the following instructions to Departments (relating to staff of non-commercial State bodies under their aegis) in relation to the final phase of the pay increases arising from the implementation of the Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body and the increase of 1.5% (or 2% for those earning up to and including €351 per week) due under section 14.2 of Mid-Term Review of Part Two of Sustaining Progress with effect from 1 June 2005.

2. The payment of the 1.5% (or 2% if appropriate) increase and the final phase of the increases recommended by the Public Service Benchmarking Body are dependent, in the case of each grade in each non-commercial State body, on

A) verification of co-operation with flexibility and ongoing change, satisfactory implementation of the agenda for modernisation, maintenance of stable industrial relations and absence of industrial action in respect of any matters covered by the Sustaining Progress agreement.

B) the absence of cost increasing claims which are considered to be a breach of the Sustaining Progress agreement.

The arrangements for verification of satisfactory achievements of these provisions are outlined in Mr. Eddie Sullivan’s letter of 23 June 2003. Where you consider (and/or it is considered by the relevant Performance Verification Group) that payment of the increases is not warranted or where there are claims which might be considered to be in breach of the agreement, you should contact Ms Sighle de Barra, State Bodies Pay Section, 73/79 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2 to agree a course of action acceptable to both our Departments.

3. You should ensure that the increases referred to in this letter are only paid to the grades in non-commercial State sponsored bodies for which it has been considered that the progress achieved and verified is satisfactory and that the conditions outlined at 2 above have been fulfilled. Otherwise, no increases in pay should be applied to grades in non-commercial State bodies until further notice.

4. This sanction does not apply to: -

(i) employees whose pay is related directly to that of workers outside the public service;

(ii) grades whose pay and conditions are related to other grades where pay is determined by the Joint Industrial Council for State industrial employees, e.g. craft workers, general operatives and other grades which share a relativity with those grades;

(iii) persons paid on a fee, contract or piece-work basis or employed casually or on infrequent or nominal duties;

(iv) staff employed by State bodies in offices outside the State whose pay is fixed by reference to local conditions.

5. The PSBB recommended varying increases for the public service grades whose pay and conditions it examined. As you are aware, none of the grades in the non-commercial State bodies were assessed by the PSBB. They were, however, linked (List B) as appropriate with grades that were directly benchmarked (List A) - this Department’s letter of 14^th August 2002 refers (copy attached). That letter asked that Payscale Return Forms be completed for all grades in each non-commercial State sponsored body. Where payscale return forms are outstanding for any grade in any non-commercial State sponsored body, their submission is still required before either the first or second or final phase of benchmarking can be sanctioned (paragraph 6 below refers).

Revision of Pay

6. Subject to the provisions of this letter, sanction is hereby given for the application, in accordance with the Sustaining Progress agreement, of the final phase of the increase recommended by the Public Service Benchmarking Body and the increase due under section 14.2 of the Mid-Term Review of Part Two of Sustaining Progress with effect from 1 June 2005 to the basic pay of staff in the non-commercial State bodies where the first or second phase benchmarking has previously been sanctioned. It will be not be necessary to submit Payscale Return Forms for staff in the non-commercial State bodies and to seek definitive sanction for the related increases from this Department where payscale returns were already submitted for the 1^st and 2^nd phase of Benchmarking.

In particular, it should be noted that the 1.5% increase due under Section 14.2 of Sustaining Progress should be applied to the scale after the increases which arise from benchmarking have been applied.

7. The increases due under paragraph 6 are being added (as shown in the spreadsheet mentioned in paragraph 8) to basic pay as at 31 May 2005. The increases are being added to each point of incremental scales (and to off-scale points), rounding to the nearest euro on annual scales and to the nearest cent on weekly scales. Hourly rates should be rounded to the nearest €0.001.

8. A spreadsheet outlining the method of calculating the final phase of benchmarking increases is attached in Appendix A and is also displayed on the Department’s website www.finance.gov.ie.

The calculation of the final phase of benchmarking increases for the AO grade is illustrated as an example in Appendix A, while Appendix B (also available on the weblink above) gives detailed guidelines with regard to the method of calculation used in Appendix A. An illustration is also included in Appendix A of the application of the final phase of benchmarking increases where a particular grade in a non-commercial State body has relativity with the AO standard grade in the Civil Service but has a longer/shorter payscale or has a single point salary.

9. If applicable, Children’s allowances which are exactly the same as those paid in the civil service, both standard and ex-gratia, should be increased to €110.

10. Deductions from pay which are expressed as a percentage of pay (e.g. income continuance plans, union subscriptions, Third World contributions etc.) fall to be recalculated as a result of the increases provided for in this sanction.

This delegated sanction covers the application of increases arising from the Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body to the staff of the non-commercial State sponsored bodies only. A separate letter will issue giving revised rates for Chief Executive Officers, where these are affected.

Allowances

12. The PSBB stated that allowances should fall to be adjusted in accordance with normal custom and practice. In this regard it is unusual for allowances to attract increases which arise from “specials” and so we would not expect that many allowances would fall to be adjusted as a result of the increases recommended by the PSBB. Any allowances that might fall due to be adjusted would have to have a history of being adjusted as a result of increases other than general rounds. Where State bodies consider that a case can be made in respect of a particular allowance a case in writing should be made to the parent Department in the first instance. If your Department considers that there is merit in the case, specific sanction should be sought from this Department by writing to Sighle de Barra, State Bodies Pay Section, 73-79 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.

General

13. The PSBB has taken into account (a) the overall pattern of pay rates in the private sector and employments across a range of type; size and sector and (b) the way reward systems are structured in the private sector. Following that comparison the Body has recommended increases in scales. In view of this, this Department considers that there should continue to be no need to appoint recruits at points above the minimum of the scale. It is a condition of this sanction that all future recruitment to non-commercial State sponsored bodies under the aegis of your Department should be at the minimum point of the relevant scale. Where it is considered by a non-commercial State sponsored body that there is a requirement for recruitment above the minimum of the scale they should prepare a case setting out the reasons why they consider the adjustment is warranted. If your Department considers that there is merit in the case, specific sanction should be sought from this Department. No recruitment above the minimum point of the scale should be allowed without the definitive sanction of this Department. The only exception to this rule is where this Department has approved the extension of any incremental credit arrangements applying to the linked benchmarked civil service or other public sector grade to the relevant grade of the non-commercial State sponsored body.

North/South Bodies

14. Finance Ministers, North and South, have agreed that where a North/South Implementation Body or Tourism Ireland Limited has determined that adjustments in remuneration that apply to civil servants based in the South will apply to its Southern based staff, other than its Chief Executive(s), when notified by Sponsor Departments then such determinations shall be deemed to have been approved by Finance Ministers, in case of a Body in accordance with the requirements of the Implementation Bodies Agreement, and in the case of Tourism Ireland Limited in accordance with paragraph 3(1) of its Memorandum of Association. In regard to these pay increases, the approval of Finance Ministers can accordingly be deemed to have been given subject to each Department having obtained the necessary NSMC approval. Approval for future increases should not be given to North/South Bodies or Tourism Ireland Limited until you receive an appropriate notification from this Department.

Electronic Copies of Letter

15. This letter is available on the Department’s website at www.finance.gov.ie.

Yours sincerely

_______________

Donal Hannigan

Assistant Principal

Personnel & Remuneration Division

Encl.

 Enc 

 Our Ref: E151/5/00

August 2002

Secretary General

Department of XXXXX

XXXXXX

XXXXXX>

< P>

Non-Commercial State Bodies

Dear

As you are aware the adjustment to the PPF agreed in December 2000 provided that

“One-quarter of any increase arising from the report will be implemented with effect from 1 December 2001”

While the scales which will be effective from 1 December 2001 will not be implemented until there has been general acceptance of the Report by the unions and progress has been made in talks on payment of the balance of the recommended increases, it is important that non-commercial State Bodies calculate the revised scales on a “without prejudice” basis and obtain the sanction of this Department to the revised scales now.This will facilitate the avoidance of unnecessary delays when payment ofany increases arises.

As you are aware none of the grades in the non-commercial State Bodies were assessed directly by the PSBB.They were, however, linked (List B) as appropriate with grades that were directly benchmarked (List A).“List B” grades will receive increases comparable to those recommended by the PSBB for the List A grades with which they were linked.This letter sets out the manner in which the increases should be calculated by non-commercial State Bodies.

1.The PSBB recommended increases at each point of scale for the grades that it benchmarked.For these grades the new scales are being calculated as follows:

A) The actual percentage increases resulting from the recommendations of the PSBB are being applied to the existing unrounded euro salary scale to get a new unrounded salary scale;

B) The existing unrounded salary is then subtracted from the new salary (calculated at A) to get the increase (unrounded) at each scale point;

C) 25% of the increase (unrounded) is then calculated;

D) The 25% increase so calculated is added to the existing rate (unrounded) and the result is rounded to the nearest euro.

Grades on List B for Non-Commercial State Bodies that are linked to List A grades should have their scales calculated in a similar manner

2) In regard to scales which are exactly the same as those of the relevant List A grade non-commercial State Bodies may wish to take the corresponding points on the new scales as the correct point rather than undertaking the calculation.In such instances, however, bodies/departments will have to await the issue of circulars by this or other Departments (e.g. Health & Children, Environment & Local Government) in relation to these grades before submitting the increases for sanction as outlined below.

3)Where list B scales are longer or shorter than the linked grade in List A, this Department should be consulted regarding the appropriate application of the increases.

I attach a Payscale Return Form which should be completed, for each grade in each State Body, in applying for sanction in principle to the increases proposed. The forms should be submitted to parent Departments in the first instance where they should be checked and queried as necessary before being forwarded to this Department for sanction in principle to the proposed increases. Once sanction in principle has been obtained, State bodies will be free to make whatever preparations are necessary in regard to payroll etc; in anticipation of definitive sanction from this Department. Definitive sanction will not issue from this Department before there has been general acceptance of the PSBB Report by the unions and progress has been made in the talks referred to above.

The Payscale Return Form should be returned in the first instance to each Body’s parent Department who in turn should submit the completed forms for each body to:

Bodies under the aegis of the Department of Health and Children

Mr John Coughlan, Personnel and Remuneration Division, Department of Finance,

73-79 Lower Mount Street

Dublin 2.

Phone: 01 -6045402

E-mail: John_Couglan@Finance.irlgov.ie

Bodies under the aegis of the Department of Education and Science

Mr Brian Naughter, Personnel and Remuneration Division, Department of Finance,

73-79 Lower Mount Street

Dublin 2.

Phone: 01 -6045479

E-mail: Brian_Naughter@Finance.irlgov.ie

all other Non-Commercial State Bodies

Mr. Liam Smyth, Personnel and Remuneration Division, Department of Finance,

73-79 Lower Mount Street

Dublin 2.

Phone: 01 -6045407

E-mail: Liam.Smyth@Finance.irlgov.ie

Any queries in relation to the exercise should be raised, in the first instance, with parent Departments.

Allowances

The PSBB stated that allowances should fall to be adjusted in accordance with normal custom and practice. In this regard it is unusual for allowances to attract increases which arise from “specials” and so we would not expect that many allowances wouldfall to be adjusted as a result of the increases recommended by the PSBB. Any allowances that might fall to be adjusted would have to have a history of being adjusted as a result of increases other than general rounds. Where State Bodies consider that a case can be made in respect of a particular allowance a case in writing should be made to the parent Department in the first instance. No allowance should be increased on foot of the PSBB recommendations without the definitive sanction of this Department.

I would appreciate if you would nominate one individual to co-ordinate the exercise for your Department and advise me of your nomination in due course.

I would also appreciate if you would ensure that returns are made to the officers above in good time to ensure the speedy implementation of the first payment under benchmarking, when this arises, and thus avoid any possible industrial unrest that might arise from employees feeling aggrieved that they are not receiving an increase that is being paid across the Public Service.

Yours sincerely,

_____________

Ciarán Connolly

Assistant Secretary

Personnel & Remuneration Division

Click here for appendix A

Click here for appendix B

 

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