Please see the below agreed definitions to support you when deciding how best to arrange cover and payment for a post.
Acting up arrangements
An acting‑up arrangement is the formal period of time during which an employee is asked to temporarily perform the full duties of a higher‑graded post.
- Their assignment details in ESR will transfer to the new post, including grade.
- Acting up arrangements are typically between 1-6 months in duration, except in instances of maternity leave, long-term sickness absence, adoption or parental leave and career breaks where a longer period may be known at the outset.
- The employee’s increment date will reset to the date the employee starts in the new pay band. Any time spent in the higher pay band will be credited towards the employee’s substantive post’s pay step date, for the purpose of progression, upon their return to their substantive post at the lower band.
Note: Acting up allowances are not something the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) progresses. Arrangements should either fall under the acting up arrangement or additional responsibility payment processes.
Additional Responsibility Payment (ARP)
An additional responsibility payment is used when an employee takes on specific extra duties outside their normal role but not enough to count as doing a higher‑graded job.
- The employee retains their existing job role and grade.
- The payment is often a fixed amount or a percentage uplift, reflecting the extra workload or responsibility. The payment will be reviewed regularly.
- ARP arrangements typically last up to 6 months but may be extended, subject to review.
- These payment types are not pensionable and do not count towards other payments linked to the employee’s basic pay e.g. overtime.
Internal secondment
An internal secondment is where a colleague is transferred to a new post within the same organisation on a full-time basis. They are expected to return to their substantive post at the end of it.
- Their assignment details in ESR will transfer to the new post where this is undertaken full-time, including grade.
- Internal secondments are typically between 6-24 months in duration.
- If the secondment is to a post at the same pay band, the employee’s salary and pay progression will continue as normal.
- If the secondment is to a post at a higher band, the employee will commence at the bottom of the new band and their increment date will reset to the start date of the secondment. Their increment will revert to the original date when they return to their substantive post.
- The time worked in the secondment will be counted towards the employee’s substantive pay progression regardless of if the secondment is at the same band or higher.