Security team at the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission and the job description/personnel specification for each role

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our Ref: FoI 34-19

10 December 2019

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I can confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission holds information relevant to your request of 11^th November 2019. In your request you asked for the following information:

“Please can you provide the following information about the Northern Ireland Assembly's security department?

a) Job Description / Person specification for each role within the department?”

Copies of the Job Descriptions and the Person Specifications are attached at Appendices A-H.

“b) Rank/Grade insignia for each grade worn by uniform staff?”

Ushers, Control Room Operatives and Senior Ushers are the only members of Usher Services who wear a uniform. These staff do not wear a rank/grade insignia although Usher and Control Room Operatives wear one colour of tie and Senior Ushers wear a different colour tie as part of their uniform.

“c) Details of the pay scale for each grade within the department, including any enhancement (shift allowance, night rate, overtime rate, first aider pay etc)?”

Table 1: The current relevant pay scales for Assembly Commission staff, effective from 1 August 2018 are:

Grade	Scale Minimum	Scale Maximum
AG8	£22,802	£24,226
AG7	£28,541	£29,527
AG6	£35,046	£36,097
AG4	£55,577	£57,263

Assembly Ushers who work a shift pattern are entitled to a Shift Disturbance Allowance of 12.5%. Control Room Operatives who work a shift pattern are entitled to a Shift Disturbance Allowance of 20%.

Table Two: Overtime rates of pay

Grade	Mon to Sat	Saturday	Sunday
Grades up to and including Assembly Grade 7	Plain Time Rate plus a half (T + ½) (Overtime may only be claimed for hours worked before 0800 and after 1800, and for shift workers for hours outside of their established shift bandwidth)	In addition to T + 1/2, a Saturday premium at half Plain Time Rate is payable (T + ½ plus ½ PTR Premium)	Double Time (Plain Time Rate plus Sunday duty premium at Plain Time Rate)
Assembly Grade 6	Plain Time Rate (OT may only be claimed for hours worked before 0800 and after 1800, and for shift workers for hours outside of their established shift bandwidth)	In addition to Plain Time Rate a Saturday premium at half Plain Time Rate is payable	Double Time (Plain Time Rate plus Sunday duty premium at Plain Time Rate)
Assembly Grade 4	Credit time for additional hours worked (Monday to Friday) and TOIL for additional hours worked at weekends or Bank, public and privilege holidays. Hours claimed as credit time or TOIL may not also be counted towards discretionary payments. Discretionary payment may be made where 30 or more excess hours are worked over a 3-week period or 60 or more excess hours over a period of 6 weeks.	On approval of discretionary payment, premium of half Plain Time Rate is payable (subject to relevant caps)	On approval of discretionary payment, Sunday duty premium at Plain Time Rate is payable (subject to relevant caps)

Grade

Mon to Sat

Saturday

Sunday

Grades up to and including Assembly Grade 7

Plain Time Rate plus a half (T + ½)

(Overtime may only be claimed for hours worked before 0800 and after 1800, and for shift workers for hours outside of their established shift bandwidth)

In addition to T + 1/2, a Saturday premium at half Plain Time Rate is payable (T + ½ plus ½ PTR Premium)

Double Time (Plain

Time Rate plus

Sunday duty

premium at Plain

Time Rate)

Assembly

Grade 6

Plain Time Rate

(OT may

only be claimed for hours worked

before 0800 and after 1800, and

for shift workers for hours outside

of their established shift

bandwidth)

In addition to Plain

Time Rate a

Saturday premium

at half Plain Time

Rate is

payable

Double Time (Plain

Time Rate plus

Sunday duty

premium at Plain

Time Rate)

Assembly

Grade 4

Credit time for additional hours worked (Monday to Friday) and

TOIL for additional hours worked at weekends or Bank, public and privilege holidays. Hours claimed

as credit time or

TOIL may not also be counted towards

discretionary payments.

Discretionary payment may be made where 30 or more excess

hours are worked over a 3-week period or 60 or more excess hours over a period of 6 weeks.

On approval of

discretionary payment,

premium of half Plain Time Rate is payable (subject to relevant caps)

On approval of

discretionary payment,

Sunday duty premium at

Plain Time Rate is payable (subject to

relevant caps)

Ushers and Senior Ushers work within an established shift bandwidth of 07.30-22.30.

Senior Ushers, Principal Ushers and Head of Usher Services are entitled to on-call rates.

Table Three: On-call allowance

Period	On-call Allowance
Weekdays between the closing of an office in the evening and its opening the following morning	£9.30
Saturdays, Sundays and Privilege Holidays (a) For each full 24 hour period (b) For a period of less than 24 hours, a proportion of	£36.00
Public and Bank Holidays (a) For each full 24 hour period (b) For a period of less than 24 hours, a proportion of	£44.00

Period

On-call Allowance

Weekdays between the closing of an office in the evening and its opening the following morning

£9.30

Saturdays, Sundays and Privilege Holidays

(a) For each full 24 hour period

(b) For a period of less than 24 hours, a proportion of

£36.00

Public and Bank Holidays

(a) For each full 24 hour period

(b) For a period of less than 24 hours, a proportion of

£44.00

“d) Total number of staff employed (FTE and headcount) by the department?”

The current number of staff employed is 65.4 FTE and 69 headcount for the department.

If you feel that the information we have provided does not meet your request fully, please contact this office as soon as possible. You have the right to request a formal review by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address.

If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Information Standards and Data Protection Officer