Assignment to Role Guidelines
Dear Members,
On 13 October I circulated the Draft Assignment to Role Guidelines provided to the PSA from the Public Service Commission.
These guidelines only apply to members employed under the Government Sector Employment Act.
For example, they do not apply to School Administrative and Support Staff other than General Assistants.
The PSA is due to provide feedback to the Public Service Commissioner by 21 November.
We want the input of members to help shape that response.
You can read the draft Guidelines HERE
A brief summary:
The assignment to role process is a key component of the Government’s agenda of increasing staff mobility within the public sector.
As members may be aware, the Government Sector Employment Act refers to “roles” instead of “positions”, as jobs were described under the previous Act.
The Guidelines set out how employees will be assigned to roles within an agency on an ongoing and temporary basis.
An assessment by the PSA reveals a number of concerns with the draft Guidelines.
These include:
- There is no requirement for a manager to consider or mitigate any adverse impacts on an employee when assigning them to a different role. This includes matters such as an employee’s existing flexible work arrangements, caring responsibilities or excessive travel requirements.
- There is no right of return to an employee’s existing role when taking any form of approved leave (apart from parental leave).
- The Guidelines do not refer to the continuing operation of existing transfer policies in some agencies that have been negotiated with the union.
To assist us in providing an informed response we would appreciate feedback on how the proposed Guidelines may operate in your agency and the impact on you as an employee and the work that you do.
If you wish to give feedback please complete the five minute survey HERE.
You can tell us how important the issues we have identified are to you as well as provide comment on specific sections of the Draft Guidelines.
Anne Gardiner
General Secretary
Public Service Association of NSW
