About civil service promotion?

[ŁadnaPogoda]

I realise that departments all do things differently, but does your department recognise promotion:

a) if you go to another government department on promotion and return to your original department. Do you keep your promotion grade or return to your original grade when you go back?

b) If your job gets upgraded while you are in it, you are put on temporary promotion for 3-4 years, but when you move on, are you now regarded as being permanently in the higher grade or do you have to revert to your original lower grade?

Not sure what you mean in example a. Are you saying if you go to another department on loan do you return to previous grade or new grade?

A) If you get promoted into a substantive grade through fair and open competition and using a panel then if you subsequently return to your home dept you will stay at new substantive role. However, if not on loan you wouldn't just return, you would need to apply for a role in your current grade and be appointed.

B) it's unlikely you would be on temp promotion for so long most have rules about how long it can be usually no more than 2 years at most. This is only temp so once the tole stops you return to your substantive lower grade. Only way to retain this grade would be to be interviewed again by fair and open competition and with a panel

Pretty sure this applies across the board. Hope this helps One thing is if you are on temp promotion you will have loads of good examples so use to your advantage to secure permanent role.

I agree with @TonightMatthewIamgoingtobecher

Substantive promotion, achieved with a correctly balanced interview panel, is an enduring promotion. You will only go back to the lower grade through poor performance processes or choice (ie you apply for a lower grade role).

Temporary promotion is temporary. It will (or should be!) removed at some defined point. It helps you develop and evidence skills at the higher level, but does not mean that you are badged at the higher level.

Your question about moving departments is strange. Normal moves between departments happen because the individual applies for a new role, at the same or different grade, and is successful at panel to get it. They are then badged at whatever grade that role is. If they choose to return to a previous department, they apply for a role there, at whatever grade they want to, and are therefore then working at the grade of that role.

If the department move and return is due to a loan, I am pretty sure the original department is only obliged to accept you back at the grade they employed you at (ie to return to your original role or close equivalent). Most people I have seen achieve promotion while on loan achieve it by applying for a permanent role at the higher grade in their new department, therefore ending the loan situation because they have got a new substantive post. So then they don't go back to the original department unless they apply for a role there, and it is irrelevant that they ever left on loan.

If you want to post your specifics, that might make it easier to explain?

When you say 'move department' do you mean 'accept a secondment'? If so, the secondment can often be at a higher level than your substantive post but when it ends, you'd revert to your lower level.

Promotions (as others have said) are a formal process if they are to be permanent.

Thank you - that’s helpful. Was asking for DH, who has decided to leave and take early retirement anyway! So he went on promotion, through fair and open competition, for a time limited job in another department, which was then extended for a year. His home department wouldn’t recognise the promotion, and said he had to go through open competition in his parent department to get substantive promotion. His colleague, who came from another department to work with him on the same project, recognised his promotion and took him back at his promoted grade. So he was able to apply for jobs at this grade which were advertised on level transfer, and not just jobs that were open on promotion, if that makes sense.

A - no
B - yes

In the scenario you describe, IME it would be normal for the employee to look for posts at the new grade on return to original department - he has passed a CS promotion board with fair and open competition and that is recognised department wide.