working outside job description

[decidedlydizzy]

My post has recently been downgraded with a particular element of work removed. This was the justification for the downgrade. As you might expect I am still expected to deliver this element of work even though it is not now in my job description. I wondered if anyone had advice on how to handle this. I am considering consulting my union but thought I'd post on here for collective wisdom. TIA

Is this a situation where the post has been downgraded, so any replacement would be a lower grade, but you, the individual currently employed, keep the grade until you move on?

yes, the post has been downgraded. I am salary protected for a fixed period.

TBH, I think the best thing you can do (for yourself) is to carry on doing a great job at the "whole" job and look to move on sooner rather than later.

You could put your foot down and insist you do the role as it's now set, but I imagine the company could insist that you do it anyway (as they're paying you to do it) If you actually do the downgraded job, then you effectively downgrade yourself, as your CV/ recent experience won't include examples of the higher grade work iyswim.

I doubt you can fight it, as they haven't downgraded "you". It happened to me once, but what it actually meant was the job I was doing was very close to the next move up, so by having over delivered for a while, I was more than qualified for promotion when an opportunity came up. It is very unsettling at the time though, I know.

In the job I'm doing now I often do tasks which strictly speaking are of a higher grade, but I see it as training and gathering experience to prepare me for the next job. Also makes the job a bit more interesting.

thanks that's useful to consider. Your advice is gratefully received. I will always have the experience, whether it's recent or not and yes I am now looking for other opportunities. Unfortunately, there is no scope for upwards movement so it's not in my interest. My post is at the top of the tree anyway, short of management and the element of work I refer to won't help in that direction. Management isn't the direction I want to take. I'm concerned because over time I think I'll resent it and I don't want this to have a negative effect. Although my salary is protected, that doesn't extend to the new working hours I now work, so technically, they aren't paying me to include that work element.
Of course I wouldn't want to downgrade myself, but why should I continue to perform at a higher level to suit them?

Is it a downgrade now, or a downgrade for the future planned to take effect on x date or when you leave?

If they are removing an element for the role do they not have a plan for where that element will go when they do eventually recruit someone on the reduced salary?

If the downgrade is effective immediately, why is that not happening, and if that's not happening now, and your salary is protected and the downgrade is effectively not happening immediately, that needs to be made clear to you.

thanks flowery. The downgrade, as part of a restructure, was effective from 1/1/13. They have already recruited a new member of staff on the new post/pay to replace others who took managed severance. They are expected to function the same.
The whole thing has been a set up so its no surprise that no plan is in place. The problem arises from a conflict of strategy. The previous line manager who does not respect our work and devised the new job description whereby we simply "deliver" talks and the new line manager ( a new tier of management was implemented) who want us to teach, which is what we did before and have continued to do even though it is now removed from the job description and duties. It's a subtle difference but teaching requires alot more work like developing materials, structuring a lesson, and facilitating learning- than merely delivering a talk that someone else has devised