Exceptional Contribution Award Scheme

Where an individual or team make a truly exceptional contribution to the organisation’s performance they can be nominated by their line manager for an Exceptional Contribution Award.

Introduction

  1. This scheme is not linked to the performance appraisal process.
  1. An Exceptional Contribution Award demonstrates the Commission’s recognition and appreciation, but the amount awarded does not attempt to represent the value of the contribution.
  1. Individuals and teams may be nominated by their manager for this award if their performance is deemed to be exceptional, for example, if they have performed significantly above the requirements of the role or they have made a major contribution to thework of their team or organisation.
  1. The scheme is entirely discretionary and does not form part of the contract of employment.

Equality and diversity considerations

  1. All involved in this process must avoid all forms of unfair discrimination and seek to treat staff in a fair and equitable way.
  1. The only consideration when carrying out a performance review is the performance of the employee and whether they fulfil the requirements of the post. No consideration should be given to other factors such as gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, marital status, caring or parental responsibilities, and age. Under no circumstances will changes in performance caused by pregnancy form any part of a review; the dates of any absence due to pregnancy or maternity leave should be noted.
  1. When assessing exceptional contribution it is important toensure that assessments of exceptional contribution and other comments are:
  • based solely on evidence, and are not influenced by impressions, expectations or hearsay
  • include measures for performance based on outcomes and results, and not just on presence in the office and hours worked.

Eligibility

  1. All Staff below Executive levelare eligible to be considered for an award. They must be an employee of the Commission on the date on which the award is paid.
  1. Staff in their probationary period are eligible for an award, but this may be a pro-rata amount for the periodof their contribution.
  1. Staff on maternity/paternity/adoption leaveare eligible for an individualaward, but this may be limited to the pro-rata amount for the period during which they were in actively working or on compulsory maternity leave (the two-week period after childbirth during which work is prohibited).
  1. Staff on maternity/paternity/adoption leavewill also be entitled to a teamaward, receiving the same award as other members of staff in the team.
  1. Situations which may be covered by the Equality Act should be referred to HR for guidance.
  1. No team or individual should receive more than one award in a given financial year.

What constitutes Exceptional Contribution?

  1. Persons nominated for the award should have made a contribution to the Commission’s work during the course of the year that clearly exceeds the requirements and expectations of their role.
  1. A nomination may be made for a team/workgroup where the contribution has been owing to shared effort.
  1. The award may be given for a particular activity, or for sustained working over a longer period. However the amounts awarded will generally be higher where the activity is for sustained period.
  1. Examples of activity that might lead to an award would be:
  • considerably enhancing the reputation of the Commission at national or local level
  • contributing and developing ideas and innovative working practices that helped to significantly increaseefficiency, effectiveness, cost savingand/or quality of service
  • an outstanding contribution in helping colleagues deal with a challenging situation

(This list is indicative and other exceptional activities could justify an award).

  1. The payment of an award to a team or individual in a particular year does not set a precedent for an award for similar work in a subsequent year.

Nomination and consideration of awards

  1. The Exceptional Contribution Award nomination will be based on a manager’s ongoing observation and assessment of performance throughout the year.
  1. Exceptional contribution awards criteria can be achieved by staff at all levels. Managers are responsible for ensuring that staff across all roles and working patterns are appropriately considered for nominations.
  1. Line managers can nominate individual members of staff or whole teams/workgroups where they believe that they have contributed equally.
  1. Appropriate evidence must be available to support the nomination. The nomination form can be found at Appendix 1.
  1. Though managers can submit nominations at any time; all nominations will all be considered by theAwards Panel, at a single meeting held in January each year. Late nominations will not be accepted.
  1. Awards will be made by the Panel. The Panel will be made up of the two Executive Directors and the Commission Operating Officer. The panel will be advised by the Head of Human Resources.
  1. The Panel will report their decisions on the exceptional contribution awards to the Remuneration Committee, with their reasoning, before any awards are made and will reconsider any award in the light of comments from that Committee.
  1. The settlement date for the award is 31 March

Notification and publication of awards

  1. Employees will not be informed that they have been nominated for an award unless and until this is subsequently approved by the Panel.
  1. The names of employees who have received an award will not be announced. But, in the case of team awards the fact that an award has been made (but not the amount) may be announced, subject to the agreement of the team.

Appeals

  1. Awards are at the discretion of management. There is no right of appeal, other than through the Grievance Procedure.

Payment of Awards

  1. The Exceptional Contribution Award will be a one-off, non-consolidated cash award. It is non -pensionable and will not be taken into account when calculating overtime or other similar payments. The payment will be taxed at the same rate as normal remuneration.
  1. Staff who have been given an award will be notified by HR that they have been awarded a bonus and the reason(s) for the payment. Payments will be made in their March salary.
  1. The total amount available for awards each year will be agreed by the Chairman based on a recommendation from the Commission’s Remuneration Committee.
  1. The amount of each award will be determined by the Executive Team subject to limits on individual awards of £250 minimum and £950 maximum. The amount will be determined by the total sum available, the number of awards and whether the contribution was sustained or for a limited period. Particular care will be taken to ensure that the award is fair and non-discriminatory.

Monitoring the scheme

  1. Anonymised, aggregated, monitoring data in relation to the scheme will be reported annually by HR to the Commission by ethnicity, sex and disability.
  1. Copies of nomination forms for staff below Assistant Ombudsman/Heads of Service level who have received a performance award will be shared with Leadership Group members to improve transparency and to perpetrate a better understanding of the process

Annual Timetable

Ongoing / Managers submit nominations to HR who will log the nomination forms
Early January / The Executive Teamwill meet to consider the nominations
Early February / The Executive Team to report their decisions on the exceptional performance scheme to the Remuneration Committee, with their reasoning for consideration
Mid February / The Executive Teamconsider Remuneration Committee’s comments and reach final decision
March / Notification to successful staff
31 March / Payment made

Nomination for an Exceptional Contribution Award

Guidance

Exceptional contribution awards can be made to individual employees or to groups of individuals.

Particular care should be taken not to discriminatein nominations on grounds of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because someone is married or in a civil partnership.

Nominations can be made at any point in the year but all nominations will be considered together at a single meeting.

The completed form should be returned to the Human Resources Department.

All nominations should be treated as confidential. Candidates will only be notified if and when they receive an award.

The Application

Section 1: Personal Details

Name

Post

Line Manager

Location

SSection 2: Line Manager’s Nomination

Please explain the reasons for your nomination by providing an account of the employee’s or team’s exceptional contribution, referencing any relevant supporting evidence (which should be available for inspection by the Executive Team).

Line Manager’s signature / Date

Section 3: Performance Review Panel’s decision

PERFORMANCE AWARD MADE\NOT MADE (delete as applicable)
AMOUNT OF THE AWARD (if relevant) :
(Please give a brief explanation where an award is not made)
Secretary’s signature / Date

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