What are they and when should you use them?

Temporary Responsibility Allowance (TRA)

What is a Temporary Responsibility Allowance (TRA)?

A TRA might be applied in certain circumstances where a manager requires that an employee temporarily takes on higher graded additional duties or responsibilities beyond their usual role. The employee would be carrying out their normal duties in addition to the temporary responsibilities.

What should TRAs be used for?

A TRA will typically apply when cover is required due to something unplanned and unanticipated. The period of cover required must exceed one month and is envisaged to last no longer than 12 months. Examples include:

• when another employee is on long term sickness absence
• when a more senior employee has left and particular responsibilities must be covered pending recruitment.

When would it not be appropriate to use a TRA?

It is not appropriate to use a TRA where:

• the cover requirement is for one month or less
• there is a requirement that the whole of the 'higher graded' role must be covered by one post holder (this may be a secondment instead)
• the responsibilities being covered are of the same grade level as the employee covering them.
• a postholder already carries out these responsibilities
• a formal restructure is more appropriate

Role Review

What is a role review?

A role review is a systematic process used to assess whether the duties, responsibilities, and scope of a role have changed significantly since its last evaluation (usually when the role was recruited to). It ensures that the job is accurately classified and appropriately aligned within the University's pay and grading structure.

The role review focuses on the job itself, not the individual performing the role. It is part of the broader job evaluation framework, which helps maintain fairness, consistency, and equity across the University's roles.

When is appropriate to consider a role review?

It would be appropriate for a manager to consider a role review when there is sufficient evidence to indicate that an existing role, with a post holder in situ, has changed significantly since it was last evaluated and the manager has a requirement for these tasks to be completed by this role.

The manager must identify that there has been a significant and sustained change in the role's duties or scope e.g. greater scope of management responsibilities, new technical skills required etc. The manager must provide clear and concise evidence of the responsibilities of the role before making an application to the DFO and HR for the review.

What a role review is not.

• It does not assess how well the current jobholder is performing their duties. This is handled through performance development reviews.
• It is not an automatic regrading process and does not guarantee a change in grade or salary. If changes to the role are not substantial or sustained, the grade and pay will remain unchanged.
• It is not focused on temporary changes and not intended to address short-term or project-based changes to responsibilities e.g., covering for a colleague or special projects. These should be handled through a temporary responsibility allowance or secondment.
• It is not a pay adjustment or promotion mechanism. The aim of a role review is not to increase pay but to ensure that the role is correctly graded according to its duties.
• It is not a way to give a postholder additional higher level responsibilities that they have not been carrying out previously as this could be a restructure or potentially a redundancy situation.

Further reading:

Temporary Responsibility Allowance
Role evaluation and review policy