Career Grades Scheme - guidance for managers - Agreements

Agreement to fund the learning and training activities

Where there are recruitment and retention difficulties a manager may consider recruiting to a post on a Career grade (see the Career Grade Scheme). The Manager must ensure that the relevant training is available to enable the successful candidate to receive the necessary training to be able to undertake the duties of the full role. The manager should discuss this in the first instance with the Workforce Learning and Skills Manager to ascertain if training is available and determine the funding arrangements.

If the training is not available then a Career Grade cannot be used.

Where the relevant manager and the Workforce Learning and Skills Manager determine that an employee will have their training, qualification course (including Apprenticeships for existing employees) costs paid by the council (either through the central budget or the Apprenticeship Levy or directly by the Service) they must ensure that the Career Grades Training Agreement is signed by the employee and by the relevant manager / senior manager within their service area.

Please note that the Career Grades will relate to specific qualification or training course(s) linked to the Career Grade.

The Signed Career Grade Training Agreement should then be returned by the manager to the Learning and Skills Team.

This is for signature by the appropriate Workforce Learning and Skills Manager, on behalf of the council.

The Learning and Skills Team will send the signed Agreement to the Service Centre via the Service Centre Portal for a copy to be placed on the employee’s personnel file and recorded on iTrent.

The Service Centre will complete the relevant field on the employee’s record indicating that they have entered into a Career Grade Agreement.

Provided that the employee successfully completes their training from the point of qualification (notification of the final exam results or successful completion of the course) and all other learning and development activities necessary to progress to the full role and completes three years’ service with the Council thereafter, the training costs will not be reclaimed.   

Arrangements to reclaim costs if the employee leaves before the expiry of the timescale as described in the Career Grades and Training Agreement

As soon as the manager knows that an employee is leaving, the Manager must notify the Service Centre immediately by completing the leaver form on the Portal.

The Service Centre will notify the Workforce Learning and Skills Manager that there is Career Grade Agreement in place and the employee is leaving.

The Workforce Learning and Skills Manager will discuss and agree the repayment of the costs with the relevant Manager.

The manager should, where possible, meet with the employee to discuss the repayment of costs, the rationale for the calculation of the amount to be reclaimed and inform them that this will be deducted from their salary payments and final salary.

If there are insufficient salary payments for the whole amount an invoice for the outstanding amount will be sent to the employee. The council should recover monies in a fair and equitable manner which does not leave the employee in a situation where they would not be able to meet their financial commitments or suffer undue financial hardship. (See the Overpayment Recovery Procedure). Alternative repayment arrangements may be agreed if appropriate.

The Learning and Skills Team will advise the Service Centre of the amount to reclaim, the method of repayment and the cost centre to be reimbursed.

The Service Centre will deduct the amount of the training costs to be reclaimed as notified either from the employee’s salary, final salary and/or or will raise an invoice for any outstanding monies.

The relevant Learning and Development budget or the service budget will seek to be reimbursed by the amount recovered as appropriate.