Findings on Appointments to Higher Duties on a Temporary Basis

3.1 Introduction

Appointments in an acting-up capacity are made in situations where it is necessary to assign a civil servant or public servant to higher duties on a temporary basis for a defined period to address a short-term business need. All such appointments are subject to the Commission's Code of Practice.

3.2 Acting-up Appointments

There are occasions where it is necessary to assign individuals to higher duties with little or no notice. These can arise when cover is required in order to ensure that certain duties in the prison are carried out and such duties/tasks must be overseen or conducted by employees of the Prison Service at an appropriate level. This can result in officers being assigned in an acting capacity in some instances for days or weeks. Short term assignments of this nature are the responsibility of the Governor with staff chosen based on supervising panels in place or seniority on the day and are necessary to ensure the day-to-day running of the prison.

In the past acting-up appointments, once approved by HR, were managed locally and selection was at the discretion of the relevant Governor subject to criteria agreed with the Unions which generally included suitability and seniority. There was an allowance paid in respect of these temporary appointments. Since the introduction of the Haddington Road Agreement in
May 2013 the payment of allowances for acting-up appointments in the Prison Service is no longer applicable.

Following a recommendation by the Commission in its previous audit report arrangements for managing all acting-up appointments in the Prison Service were reviewed by SCSD. A protocol for internal appointments in the Prison Service was introduced, including temporary and acting-up positions, to ensure that all such appointments are made in full compliance with the Commission's Code of Practice.

The protocol and relevant templates for acting-up positions were sent to all
HR Governors in each prison and Prison Administrative and Support Officers
(PASOs) followed by a presentation delivered by a member of SCSD in June
2013 and again in September 2014. The main thrust of the presentation was
that all competitions for internal appointments with effect from 1 July 2013,
including those managed locally by the Governors, must have a standardised
approach and be merit based only.

Therefore, while responsibility for managing acting-up appointments is delegated to local HR Governors in each prison, since July 2013 there is a standardised approach employed that includes an application form, a job description, competencies for the role and a marking assessment form. Candidates' applications are assessed based on the criteria identified for the
role by an assessment board.