Briefing to Branches with BTFS Members

No. 10/2016

16 November 2016

Briefing to Branches with BTFS members

Dear Colleague

BTFS Fabric Technician Review Outcome

Further to Briefing 07/2016 which detailed the process of the Fabric Technician Review letters have now been sent out to all colleagues that have undertaken the assessment process informing if they have either been successful in becoming an Engineering Technician (Fabric) role or the newly created General Technician role.

I am pleased to report that of the 111 colleagues within scope

• 77have been assessed as Engineering Technicians (Fabric)
• 31 have been assessed as General Technician
• 3 yet to be assessed

Where appropriate, pay increases were for most colleagues included in October’s pay, with colleagues who had their assessments completed during October receiving their increase in November.

Development towards being an Engineering Technician (Fabric)

Those 27 General Technicians now have an opportunity within the next 12 months to work towards becoming an Engineering Technician (Fabric) if they decide to do so. The first stage will be to speak to their Line Manager and using the detail of their assessment criteria identify the gaps between the current level of competence and what is required to become an Engineering Technician (Fabric). This will be recorded as the start of a development plan whereby together they explore how the relevant experience and competencies can be gained in these areas.

Once a development plan is in place and the colleague has undertaken the necessary development and training the Manager will review again the competence matrix used during the assessment. If the colleague meets the required standards for Engineering Technician (Fabric) within the next 12 months then they will be promoted. Those that meet the standard beyond the 12 months will need to wait for a vacancy in the Engineering Technician (Fabric) role and they will also need to apply for the role.

It is the view of the CWU that those colleagues that were not successful in securing an Engineering Technician role should take this opportunity to be developed so they can secure the necessary competencies in order that they can make that transition to the ET (Fabric) role within the next 12 months.

Appeal Process

There will be some colleagues that will have disagreed with the outcome of their assessment or believe that the manager has not considered some of the areas of their performance or experience and will want to appeal against the decision.

Colleagues who are in this position should review the detail of the areas assessed during the assessment and consider whether it is accurate or not regarding their abilities following which;

• A discussion should take place withthe Line Manager
• If following a discussion they are still not happy with the outcome they then can appeal the decision. This should be done within the next 14 days.
• The appeal should be submitted by e-mail to the Manager stating the reasons why they believe the outcome is wrong and also should include the detailed areas from the assessment which they believe is incorrect.
• A meeting will then be arranged for an appeal.
• The RFSM will hear the appeal and any additional evidence of work that needs to be considered can be presented.
• Individuals will also be entitled to a CWU representative to accompany them during the appeal meeting.

The CWU continues to work with BTFS on this programme to ensure that the assessment criteria, development process and appeal process is robust and transparent.

Any queries should be addressed to Sally Bridge

Yours sincerely,

Sally Bridge

National Officer