South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust
Agenda for Change Project Team
Knowledge & Skills Framework Steering Group
KSF Gateways Policy & Guidance
Structure
1/ Background
2/ The KSF within SWYMHT & links to other policies
3/ Normal Progression
Timing of the Review
Payroll notification
4/ Problems with Progression
General skills gaps and concerns about performance
Reasons for non-progression
Deferred Progression
Moving from one job to another
Maternity Leave
Sickness Absence
Secondments
Career Breaks & Sabbaticals
Redundancy
Redeployment (for reasons not connected with performance)
5/ Disputes
Appendices
1/ KSF Terminology
2/ Position of Second Gateway points
1/ Background
The NHS Knowledge & Skills Framework (KSF) is part of the wider Agenda for Change package of changes to employment arrangements for all NHS staff, other than ‘the three Ds’ – doctors, dentists, and directors at board level. The benefit that the KSF brings to these changes is a common and systematic approach to staff development that is also linked to pay progression. (See Appendix One for a glossary of KSF terms. These are highlighted in bold when first used in the text).
The basic arrangements of the KSF are that all posts have an agreed Outline. This defines and describes what knowledge and skills staff doing that particular job need to be able to apply in their work to deliver quality services. Each Outline has six core dimensions that apply to all staff and a selection of several relevant dimensions from 24 additional specific dimensions. Each dimension has four levels with a title describing what that level relates to and indicators which describe how knowledge and skills need to be applied at that level.
All staff should be aware what Outline applies to them and have an identified Reviewer (typically their line manager or supervisor) who knows and understands their role and performance at work. They should meet them regularly to consider this and how it links to their Personal Development Plan (PDP). These formal meetings should take place at least annually, and twice during their first year in post, and are in addition to normal supervision, etc.. (See the Trust’s Appraisal and Development Review document for more details)
Each outline exists at two levels. The full outline sets out the requirements of the experienced postholder. A foundation sub-set describes the basic knowledge and skills required from the outset in the post, coupled with that needed after 12 months of development and support – this is used at recruitment, during induction and at the Foundation Gateway point. (There is a separate Trust protocol on developing and agreeing KSF Outlines).
There are two Gateways – a Foundation Gateway after twelve months in post and a Second Gateway after several years in post (the exact point varies from pay band to pay band and is set out in Appendix Two). At these points a Gateway Review takes place where progress is formally assessed against the relevant Outline (Foundation or Full) and if a member of staff has not yet fulfilled their relevant Outline requirements their pay progression will stop until they are able to do so.
It is important to stress that such a drastic step should be exceptional and should never come ‘out of the blue’ – concerns about staff who are likely to have problems fulfilling the relevant Outline requirements should be highlighted early on and staff given assistance and opportunities to help them fulfil them.
The Trust is also centrally monitored on the application of the KSF and a breakdown of the numbers of staff whose pay progression is blocked (including details of gender and ethnicity) has to be submitted regularly to the NHS Staff Council.
Steps to withhold pay progression from individuals are likely to be contentious and subject to close scrutiny – although in no way should this inhibit reviewers contemplating it in appropriate cases. This policy and guidance sets out the approach that should be taken within the Trust.
2/ The KSF within SWYMHT & links to other policies
KSF implementation within SWYMHT is overseen by a KSF Steering Group with a range of management and union representatives and is currently (2006-7) led day to day by Project Manager Liz Sutcliffe (). Once this phase of initial implementation is complete advice should be sought from your service’s HR manager.
A training programme took place during 2006 to ensure all staff have access to a suitably trained reviewer and a wide range of Outlines have been developed. The Trust has agreed to use the NHS wide e-KSF system to administer the process.
This KSF Gateways policy sits alongside a range of other related Trust policies including ones on Appraisal & Development Review, Capability, Disciplinary, Equal Opportunities, Recruitment and Security of Employment. These can all be viewed on the document store on the Trust’s intranet pages. Any concerns staff have about the application of this policy to them need to be addressed through the Grievance and Collective Grievance policy, accessible from the same source.
3/ Normal Progression
Staff progress annually by increments from their point of entry onto a Pay Band to the top of their scale, subject to satisfactory Gateway Reviews. In the case of new entrants to Band 5 there are two increments during the first year in post, the second of which is subject to fulfilling the Foundation Gateway requirements for the post. (AfC Terms & Conditions Handbook, Part 2, paragraph 1.8)
The KSF Outline and the member of staff’s PDP should be considered at each formal review session. These should be at least annually and twice during the first year, though meetings every three months in the first year and every six months thereafter are good practice. Each review session should be recorded on the e-KSF.
Gateway Reviews are where pay progression depends upon the postholder being able to demonstrate that they can fulfil the requirements set out in the KSF Outline for their post. In order to pass through the Foundation Gateway the individual must demonstrate that they meet the basic requirements of the KSF dimensions set for their role. For the Second Gateway the individual must demonstrate that they can meet the full level descriptors of the dimensions set for that role.
The types of evidence needed to demonstrate fulfilling a post’s Outline requirements should be discussed between the reviewer and postholder at their review sessions ahead of the Gateway Review. The postholder should bring appropriate evidence (preferably as a portfolio) to the Gateway Review meeting, and this evidence should be retained for at least 12 months in case verification is requested (a random selection of Gateway Reviews will be audited to verify they have been correctly undertaken).
Timing of the Review
· The Foundation Review takes place when the postholder is coming up to 12 months in post, wherever on the incremental scale for their Band they started. (This means that staff in posts subject to transitional points do not have their Foundation review after several years in post, nor do staff appointed part way up an incremental scale to reflect previous relevant earnings, etc., avoid one)
· The Second Gateway is always at the same point on the incremental scale for the Band.
The Trust operates a system by which an e-mail is generated to both the member of staff concerned and their reviewer (through the e-KSF) when a Gateway Review is coming up. This is normally sent two months before the Gateway Review must take place.
It is possible for someone to be established as meeting Gateway requirements at any time, though this does not have any consequences for their pay progression until the Gateway point falls due. If they are established as meeting the requirements in advance they must continue to demonstrate that they meet the requirements until the Gateway falls due (for Second Gateways this could be over several years).
The earliest a Gateway Review can take place is three months before a Foundation Gateway and six months before a Second Gateway, except where the Gateway will fall during a period of prolonged planned absence (most commonly maternity leave) where it should take place about one month before the absence is due to commence.
Payroll notification
Staff will be paid any incremental increase they are due from the appropriate date unless Payroll are notified otherwise by the individual’s line manager. This is in line with the operation of the ESR (Electronic Staff Record) system.
This places responsibility for ensuring Gateway Reviews take place in good time and for notification of any member of staff not passing through Gateways, firmly in the hands of line managers.
Where at appraisal (preferably half way through the year), an individual is not meeting the requirements of the post and unlikely to pass through their Gateway, their manager will need to ensure appropriate measures are taken to support the individual. This may include a further appraisal 3 months before the Gateway.
Where there is concern that an individual will not pass through their Gateway, the manager should contact the appropriate HR for advice. This may include whether to defer the incremental date, pending a satisfactory review taking place.
Please note that Payroll need early notification of any failure to pass through a Gateway – at least three weeks before the relevant payday.
It is expected that staff will normally move through the Gateways without difficulty. However managers need to ensure that the system does not work against competent staff, by allowing those who have not met the laid down standards, to also pass through by default.
Should a member of staff appear to be avoiding meeting with their reviewer (perhaps in the hope of passing though a Gateway by default) this should also be flagged as above.
4/ Problems with Progression
General skill gaps and concerns about performance
Skills gaps should be identified in the normal PDP process. Where skills gaps are identified, education, training or development should be agreed to help the member of staff to gain the necessary knowledge and skills. Managers must facilitate the member of staff in pursuing that learning activity and applying the learning to the job so that employees are able to pass through the Gateways.
If organisational/managerial decisions or actions prevent any member of staff from pursuing learning or development activities that were agreed in the PDP as necessary to enable the member of staff to meet the KSF requirements, then the member of staff may pass through the Gateway regardless of whether or not they fulfil the requirements of the KSF Outline.
Where a member of staff’s own decisions or actions result in them not pursuing the learning or development activities that were agreed as necessary and this results in them not being able to demonstrate that they meet the requirements of their KSF Outline at the time of the Gateway Review, the member of staff will not pass through the Gateway.
Concerns about performance should be picked up and dealt at the time of the concern and not be stored up for Gateway Reviews. The PDP processes should be used along with the KSF to highlight the concerns and to identify development needs. Employees should then be supported to gain the knowledge and skills they need.
It is not appropriate to rely on KSF Gateways alone to deal with capability issues. If the concerns about performance remain despite appropriate education, training or development the manager may consider pursuing the issues using the Trust’s Capability procedures.
If an employee is not successful in the KSF Gateway Review this will result in the employee not receiving the next incremental payment on their salary. This means that their pay would remain frozen at its existing point until the Gateway Review has been successfully resolved.
Reasons for non-progression
Normally, non-progression through the Gateway could be for any one of the following reasons:
Failure to attend the Gateway Review meeting.
If the employee has failed to turn up to the Gateway Review meeting, without a reasonable explanation, the employee will not receive the next incremental payment in the pay band. A reasonable explanation may be, for example, sickness, accident, sudden bereavement, sudden family crises etc. The explanation for non-attendance should be sent to the reviewer, as far as is possible, as soon as the incident which prevents attendance occurs. In the event of this the meeting should be re-convened at the earliest possible time.
Failure to produce a portfolio of evidence with no reasonable explanation for not doing so.
If the employee has failed to produce an appropriate portfolio of evidence, showing application of the necessary knowledge and skills as defined in the NHS KSF Outline for his/her post, then it may be decided that the employee has not proved that s/he is performing to the level expected of him/her in the job.
In the event of the above, the reviewer and employee should explore why this has happened and agree how best to enable the employee to now gather and present the appropriate evidence. The employee should then be given an extension of no more than 3 months to produce the portfolio and attend a new Gateway Review with the portfolio. Incremental payment will not be made until this new Gateway Review has taken place. If this new Gateway Review is successful, incremental payment will then be made. However, incremental payment will not be backdated if there was no reasonable explanation for the lack of a portfolio.
At the Foundation Gateway, “reasonable explanation” may be, for example, considerable sickness absence, maternity leave, etc. The Second Gateway often leaves a gap of several years to gather the evidence therefore sickness absence and maternity leave should not normally be acceptable as a reason for not having a portfolio.
Failure to apply the knowledge and skills required for one or more KSF dimension levels for the job.
At the Gateway Review, where indications suggest that an employee is not applying the knowledge and skills required for one or more of the KSF dimension levels for the job, despite appropriate development, incremental payment will not be made.
In this case the reviewer and employee should discuss the employee’s further development needs and actions required to remedy the needs. In the light of this point a reasonable deadline should be set for development and performance improvement and a new Gateway Review date planned. Incremental payment will not be made until this new Gateway Review has taken place. If this new Gateway Review is successful incremental payment will then be made, but will not be backdated.