Pay appraisal interview

The basic collective agreement section 5 states that the employer shall offer the employee an annual pay appraisal interview where they shall discussing skills, responsibility, salary and professional development in accordance to the local salary policy. The discussions shall also secure equal pay between the genders and prevent discrimination, in accordance with the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act section 6.

Why the pay appraisal interview is important

Your salary is payment for the tasks performed by you as an employee, as well as an incentive for your continued efforts and professional development. Salary is also an recognition for a job well done. If a salary is to have a motivational effect, it should be considered fair by both the employer and employee. Knowledge, skills, effort and level of responsibility should be determining factors in establishing salary at the time of employment, and also in the continued salary development, for both individuals and groups. Salary should be a tool in ensuring that the knowledge resources in society are utilised where they are needed the most.

Akademikerne encourages all our members to participate in pay appraisal interviews with their employers. The interview has the potential to tie the individual contribution and the institutional development together, and sets the employees salary expectation in a realistic framework. As a results of the negotiation of the new basic collective agreement, it is now mandatory for the employer to offer an annual pay appraisal interview to the employee. Akademikerne consider it appropriate that the pay appraisal interview takes place before the deadlines for submitting a claim in the annual local negotiations.

What is the pay appraisal interview?

The pay appraisal interview gives you and your manager the opportunity to have an open dialogue about your, and the institution's, development. In order to facilitate a good conversation, there should be a work description with specified tasks and a set of defined goals for the position for you to discuss. Contact your manager in order to either request the pay appraisal interview or wish to know when it is planned.

In the pay appraisal interview, you may discuss your expectations for your salary development and any other benefits that may be relevant. Your manager will be able to provide their views of your results, your efforts and skills. This will help set your work into a more general institutional setting. Please note that the pay appraisal interview should be kept separate from a performance appraisal. Also, please be aware that a payment appraisal interview is not a salary negotiation, and is not meant to replace local salary negotiations. Salary negotiations in the Norwegian public sector are kept at a collective level, where employees are represented by trade union officials.

Preparing for a pay appraisal interview

In the interview, you should be able to clearly state your education, experience and skill. We recommend that you check available statistics for salary levels among comparable positions and groups (available from your primary trade union association). You should have a clear knowledge of your role in the organisation; your responsibilities and the goals set for your efforts. You may refer to your trade union official for advice before the interview.

The different roles in a pay appraisal interview

  • Your role:
    It is your right to have an annual pay appraisal interview, and we encourage our members to seize the opportunity. Through this interview you can provide your employer with your expectations for your development, and your salary as part of that. Your employer can use the conversation to provide you with feedback on your performance and the potential for development. The pay appraisal interview is intended as an opportunity to clarify expectations on both sides, and as a more direct feedback than what is possible through central negotiations.
  • Employer's role:
    Which level manager that represents the employer in the pay appraisal interview depends on the institutional structure of your work place. The manager should be clear on goals, goal attainment and the criteria considered as basis for a salary adjustment. The manager shall offer the employee an annual pay appraisal interview.
  • Trade union official's role:
    The trade union officials should encourage the members to ask for the pay appraisal interview. The interview itself should be between an employee and the employer. If a trade union official is present in the interview, this should only be in an observational capacity. On an organisational level, the trade unions and management should have a common understanding of the conditions and criteria that are considered when negotiating a salary adjustment.

 

By TN
Published Mar. 29, 2019 11:13 AM - Last modified June 30, 2022 2:38 PM