Fahy v Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue... [2010] NIIT 00632

THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REFS: 1302/07

632/08

CLAIMANT: June Fahy

RESPONDENT: Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service

DECISION AT A STAGE 2 EQUAL VALUE HEARING

(1) At a Stage 2 Equal Value Hearing, pursuant to the Industrial Tribunals (Equal Value) Rules of Procedure (‘the Equal Value Rules’), contained in Schedule 3 of the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, the tribunal unanimously made a determination of the facts upon which the parties could not agree which relate to the question whether the work of the claimant (Group Commander) was of equal value to her named comparators, pursuant to Section 1(2)(c) of the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 (‘the 1970 Act’) – as set out in Paragraph 2 of this decision.

(2) In light of the determination of the said facts, the tribunal decided that a further Stage 2 Equal Value Hearing will be arranged, in due course, to:-

(a) determine the terms of the standard orders, as set out in Rule 7 of the Equal Value Rules;

(b) determine what further and other orders require to be made by the tribunal before the substantive hearing is listed in this matter.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman: Mr N Drennan QC

Members: Mr J D Hampton

Ms T Madden

Appearances:

The claimant was represented by Mr M Potter, Barrister-at-Law, instructed by Thompsons McClure, Solicitors.

The respondent was represented by Mr P Ferrity, Barrister-at-Law, instructed by Directorate of Legal Services, Belfast City Council.

Introduction

1.1 It was agreed by the parties that the relevant named comparators of the claimant, for the purposes of these proceedings, were:-

Assistant Group Commander Biggar; and

Station Commander McKnight.

It was further agreed that the period in relation to which the said comparison of the claimant’s work with that of her said comparators was the period of one year, prior to the presentation of the claimant’s claim on 13 June 2007.

1.2 The tribunal at a Stage 1 Equal Value Hearing, pursuant to Rule 4(1)(d) of the Equal Value Rules on 17 October 2008, as set out in the Record of Proceedings of the said hearing, made an order that the parties would present to the tribunal a joint agreed statement, in writing, of the following matters:-

(i) The facts which both parties consider are relevant to the said question.

(ii) The facts on which the parties disagree (as to the fact or to the relevance to the question) and a summary of their reasons for disagreeing.

1.3 In compliance with the said order made by the tribunal, after considerable work was carried out by the representatives of the parties over a period of months, which work the tribunal gratefully acknowledges, the representatives of the parties prepared, for the purpose of this hearing, detailed job descriptions for the claimant and each of her said comparators, namely Assistant Group Commander Robin Biggar and Station Commander Joe McKnight. In the body of each job description, the representatives of the parties set out the facts which were not in dispute; but also highlighting those facts which remained in dispute between the parties and which required to be determined by the tribunal at this hearing before the independent expert could be required to prepare his report, relating to the question on the basis of the facts as agreed but also those facts as determined by the tribunal at this hearing. A copy of the said job descriptions, highlighted, as set out above, are pinned together and attached here and marked Appendix ‘X’ – Section B Pages 10 – 50A; Section C Pages 15 – 41 and Section D Pages 11 - 29. Whilst the tribunal acknowledges there were many facts agreed between the parties, which the tribunal therefore did not require to consider further, there remained considerable factual issues to be determined by the tribunal, as set out below in the following paragraphs of this decision. The said job descriptions, highlighted as above, therefore form part of this decision and should be read in conjunction therewith and save, as set out below, contain those facts which were agreed between the parties, prior to this hearing. Those facts which were not agreed, highlighted as set out above in the said job descriptions, and which required to be the subject of the tribunal’s determination are set out in Paragraph 2 of this decision – with the tribunal relying on the same sections and numbering as used in the said job descriptions prepared by the parties, for the purposes of this hearing, contained in Appendix ‘X’.

1.4 The tribunal heard oral evidence from the claimant, Mr Raymond Moore, former Assistant Chief Fire Officer (retired) and Assistant Chief Fire Officer Thomas Wright. In addition, the tribunal was greatly assisted by the written submissions provided to the tribunal by the representatives at various dates following the hearing of this matter.

1.5 The tribunal emphasised that, for the purposes of this Stage 3 Equal Value Hearing, the tribunal was determining, where necessary, the facts relevant to the question and was not determining whether any work of the claimant was of equal value, for the purposes of the 1970 Act, with her said comparators or either of them.

2.1 In relation to those facts, highlighted in the said job descriptions, which remained in dispute between the parties and required to be determined by the tribunal, the tribunal determined those facts, as set out below, relying on the same sections and numbering in the said job descriptions, prepared by the parties for the purposes of this hearing, contained in Appendix ‘X’ and attached hereto. For the purposes of its said determination of those facts the tribunal noted certain relevant matters, which should be read in conjunction with and as part of its said determination.

(I) Group Commander (Controls) June Fahy

Section B

B Page 10

(v) Hours per week

The claimant is roistered on the day duty system. As such she worked 168 hours over a four week cycle – she provides evenings and weekends cover for all Regional Control Centre Management issues.

The claimant is contactable by mobile telephone, pager and home telephone outside these hours of work.

B Page 10

(vi) Job purpose

The primary role of the Group Commander (Control) is to assist the Assistant Fire Officer, who is Director of Technical Development, to plan, co-ordinate and support NIFRS service delivery within NIFRS Regional Control Centre and throughout the NIFRS operational environment. In a nutshell this means that she has to ensure that all three sections of the Regional Control Centre perform properly so that NIFRS appliances, personnel and specialist equipment are mobilised quickly and effectively to operational incidents, in order to save life and property etc.

B Page 10

(vii) Location

NIFRS Headquarters, Seymour Street, Lisburn

She has her own office containing a desk, computer, telephone, filing cabinets. She is contactable by way of pager and mobile telephone provided by NIFRS to enable her to be contacted during her positive hours but also allows her to be contacted outside her positive hours which has occurred in the past and continues to occur in the circumstances noted in Notes set out at B, Page 15, Paragraph 1.

B Page 12

Function 2 within the Regional Control Centre is ‘Operational Support’. This Department has a back-office role which involves the input and provision of data that assists the Regional Control Centre personnel in mobilising the equipment and personnel necessary to deal with operational incidents. Within this Department there are currently three uniformed staff and two non-uniformed staff. In the period of comparison there would have been a total of five uniformed personnel (four operational and one on welfare) there were no non-uniformed personnel. This Department is responsible for inputting and updating of data such as streets, addresses, etc. This has to be accurate so call handlers within the Control Centre can mobilise the appropriate number of personnel and equipment to deal with operations. As well as data, any new operational policies etc will have to be inputted into the system and the claimant would be responsible for advising the ACFO, where appropriate and necessary, what is required on her part and whether such policies are appropriate and that such policies will not have a negative impact in the performance of the Regional Control Centre. Further, she would have to ensure that all staff etc are trained on such policies. As Head of Department she has direct input to NIFRS Service Policies especially those that require a mobilising brief.

B Page 12

Regional Control Centre Management

1. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer Technical Development has overall responsibility for the efficiency of the Regional Control Centre (‘RRC’) and the achievement of efficient standard mobilising and control procedures. The claimant assists the ACFO in the achievement of same. Subject to the foregoing the claimant has overall day-to-day responsibility for the management and operation of the Regional Control Centre. This involves the management at present of 57 personnel.

B Page 13

2. The claimant’s role is to assist the Assistant Chief Fire Officer Technical Development with the development and maintenance of service delivery protocols and the ACFO would consult with her, as appropriate, in relation to all such matters, which affect the RCC.

B Page 14

5. … Anything that affects the strategy and performance of the RCC needs to be referred to the claimant, for clarification and authorisation and, when required the claimant will consult with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer and, in particular, in relation to any major issues affecting the RCC.

B Page 15

Regional Control Staff Management

1. “These 44 personnel are assigned to one of the four watches and the claimant’s role involves her having overall responsibility for ensuring that each watch has, at all times, sufficient numbers of personnel to cover all types of fires/rescue incidents in Northern Ireland on a 24/7 basis, which can involve her being contacted at home outside her positive/contractual day hours in the circumstances as noted below.

Note:

(i) The major focus of the dispute between the parties related to whether the claimant was required to be on call out of hours, ie outside her positive (day hours)/contractual hours.

(ii) It was not disputed that the claimant’s comparators are contacted out of hours and such contact is an agreed part of the contractual duties of the said comparators and as a consequence they do get called out outside normal hours and have to return to work. It was further not disputed that AGC Biggar, as a comparator, in his communications role, can be required to attend actual incidents. Neither the claimant or Station Commander McKnight would attend such incidents.

(iii) It was not disputed that relevant records show that the claimant has been contacted out of hours. (The respondent accepted that, insofar as any contact related to the Serious Incident Contingency Plan, such contact, but not otherwise, would be as part of her duties and part of her contract of employment.).

(iv) On the evidence, the tribunal was not satisfied that, in the relevant period of comparison, the claimant was called out and required to return to work following any such contact out of hours. If she had been required to return to work out of hours the tribunal is satisfied she would have been paid for doing so.

(v) For those whose contract requires them to be contactable out of hours, there are relevant rotas/procedures/protocols to ensure that there is always cover for such person and such a person is therefore not required to be contactable ‘24/7’.

(vi) The tribunal is not satisfied that there is a requirement for the claimant to be contacted out of hours, other than in relation to the Serious Incident Contingency Plan, in relation to issues arising in relation to the Regional Control Centre which forms part of her agreed contractual terms of employment. If it had been so, the tribunal considers, as in the case of those whose terms of employment requires them to be so contactable, there would have been put in place appropriate rotas/procedures/protocols to ensure cover for the claimant was provided at all times. Further, her comparators, who are required to be so contactable receive allowances/payment for same; in the case of Mr McKnight, he receives a flexible duty allowance and Mr Biggar receives an emergency communications call-out payment allowance, known as ‘ECCOPA’. No such allowance has been paid or agreed to be given to the claimant for any such contact outside of hours.

(vii) However, the tribunal is satisfied that a practice has grown up over the years which, historically, has its origins when Mr Raymond Moore (in the period 1994 – 1998) was Assistant Chief Fire Officer, with responsibility for the Regional Control Centre. He asked the claimant, on her appointment in 1994 as Principal Fire Officer (now called Group Commander (Controls)), to be contactable at home out of hours in relation to certain issues in the Regional Control Centre which he considered required some managerial input during such hours. She agreed to do so provided Mr Moore sought from the respondent a flexi duty allowance for her. Apparently, the claimant’s predecessor had not been prepared to do such work out of hours. Mr Moore was clearly not prepared to have such contacts made to him and, as a consequence, he had tried, unsuccessfully, to have it included as part of the claimant’s contractual duties before the claimant was appointed. This never happened, as he had left it too late to do so before the recruitment process was commenced. As a result, it was not included as part of her contractual duties and no such allowance was ever agreed to be paid to the claimant. To have happened this would have required the approval of the Chief Fire Officer and/or the Fire Authority. It was not disputed such approval was never given.

(viii) Although no such approval was given, the claimant continued to be contactable at home out of hours in relation to the list of issues drawn up by Mr Moore. The tribunal is satisfied that, over the years, that list of contactable issues has evolved/been amended by the claimant, in light of changed circumstances; but in essence it remains the same. The claimant has continued, voluntarily and not under any contractual obligation to do so, as part of her job as Group Commander (Controls), to follow this long established practice as part of her duties, which commenced under Mr Moore; with the consequence that she continues to be contactable out of hours in relation to such matters. Surprisingly, ACFO Wright seemed to be unaware of this ongoing practice. The tribunal was satisfied, on the evidence, that this practice, in particular, continued during the relevant period of comparison without any objection by the respondent. Thus, the relevant members of staff in the RCC can contact the claimant, as appropriate, both during her contractual hours and out of hours in relation to matters, as set out below, in accordance with the most recent list of contactable matters, drawn up by the claimant:-

(1) Any excessive increase in the number of calls being received.

(2) Incidents involving a large number of FRS resources.

(3) Personnel booking on/off sick.

(4) Personnel going home sick.

(5) Any requirement for O/T as soon as it becomes obvious.

(6) System crashes.

(7) Any complaints regarding control rooms mobilising procedures.

(8) Any mobilising errors by Control Room staff.

(9) Accident/injury to FRS Control personnel.

(10) Occasions when Command Room is used operationally.

(11) Occasions when Control Room personnel crew the Command Support vehicle.

(ix) The tribunal has no doubt the claimant is clearly a good and conscientious Group Commander (Controls), and is a person who always wants to be on top of her job, but concluded she tended to exaggerate, in her evidence, the relevance, frequency and importance of any such contacts. In the tribunal’s view, given that there are already in place detailed relevant procedures to be implemented in the event of such eventualities, any such contacts, which the tribunal accepts on the evidence were made to her, were more in the nature of keeping the claimant ‘in the loop’ that all relevant procedures had been implemented, rather than requiring her to take any relevant detailed management decision. Indeed, many of the issues were matters, which if they occurred during the out of hours period, would normally be able to be dealt with during the contracted hours and would not require the claimant to take any action/decision, out of hours. At best, she would be noting to herself what had happened and that she would require to take appropriate action during the contacted hours. Of course, particular circumstances could require particular action/decision to be taken by the claimant out of hours; but the tribunal considered this would be unusual and not part of the normal pattern of keeping her ‘in the loop’. Further, for example, there has not yet been an occasion when Control Room personnel have been required to crew the Command Support vehicle. In the absence of any relevant detailed evidence, and subject to the foregoing, the tribunal therefore was not in a position to reach any conclusions and, in particular, during the year of comparison, on the precise frequency of such contacts and/or where the contact did require any relevant managerial decision by the claimant and were not merely contacts, by relevant staff, ‘to keep the claimant in the loop’.

B Page 15

(2) … including attendance. The claimant will advise the Assistant Chief Fire Officer on a regular basis of any staffing deficiencies. This would occur at the regular monthly meetings held with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, which are arranged by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, at his direction, with the claimant as one of his Department Heads. Absenteeism is managed by the claimant …

B Page 15

3. The claimant, in accordance with the directions of the ACFO, normally meets, as a Department Head, with the ACFO, at a regular monthly meeting where issues of concern are raised, which can include recruitment/staff shortfall issues, and advises the ACFO accordingly who, if appropriate, takes the issue to the Chief Fire Officer to decide whether any such recruitment exercise is to take place. In the event of such an exercise the claimant has responsibilities, as set out in Paragraph 1.6 of her job description, in tandem with the Human Resource function for recruitment. Once recruited the claimant will oversee the induction …

B Page 16

2. The claimant has overall responsibility, as per 1.4 of her job description, for the delegation of responsibilities to supervisory officers and RCC personnel, which responsibilities would be set out in their individual job descriptions, as appropriate.

B Page 18

… In terms of policies and procedures generated by and specifically for the Regional Control Centre, she will liaise closely with the representative body (Fire Brigades Union) and the resource function prior to policy implementation.

This will be to secure agreement from the union, for example, to changes in RCC practices. The claimant liaises with the Representative Body on all day-to-day issues (eg transfers, welfare, etc); but the ACFO would do so in relation to strategic/major issues.

The claimant will liaise on day-to-day issues with Human Resources to ensure that any new practices will be adequately staffed and staff adequately trained; but the ACFO would do so in relation to strategic/major issues which might arise.

B Page 19

7. The claimant needs to know Fire Service procedures and policies so as she can propose and implement changes to these, for example, ‘call challenge’ dealing with difficult telephone calls such as malicious calls or ‘call management’ dealing with various mobilisation issues.

When Regional Control Centre policies and procedures need amended, the claimant does not have the authority to amend same herself but, after setting out the grounds for any such amendment, she can seek relevant approval for such amendment.

B Page 38

12. The RCC is a stressful working environment for the staff of the RCC, due to an ever-increasing workload and the demands to update technology skills which has resulted in increased stress-related sick leave for such staff. The claimant has had to deal with a number of personnel who have suffered from ill-health through work-related issues. This in turn causes staffing pressures. The claimant, as a manager, has to deal with these pressures. Her job is stressful and demanding and she is often having to deal with competing issues, ie the call handler who is off sick with stress who is unable to return to work; the claimant’s duty to have appropriate levels of cover in the control room and the duty not to put other staff under too much stress (causing them to go off sick with stress) by covering the original sick leave vacancies for too long. This puts the claimant under pressure to strike the right balance at all times. Such stress is part and parcel of the job carried out by the claimant and similar to the stress shared by all others in the respondent who have a similar high level of responsibility.

Note: The tribunal noted that the claimant had not raised any issue of stress relating to her job with ACFO Wright, and therefore has been able to deal successfully with the pressures and demands of her job, as set out above.

B Page 41

…

2. The claimant can call for a change in the conditions of service of RCC staff. For example, the Future Service Delivery Model …

Note: In the absence of any contrary evidence the tribunal accepted, the Future Service Delivery Model was a relevant example for the purposes of the job description.

3. The claimant can call for a change in Fire Service Policies affecting the RCC. With regard to management level policies this would require her to prepare a written business case for so doing. For example, Cross Border Co Donegal Mobilising. However, ….

Note: In the absence of any contrary evidence, the tribunal accepted the Cross Border Co Donegal Mobilising was a relevant example for the purposes of the job description.

B Page 49

Factor 16 – Physical Effort (Stamina)

…

2. … The claimant as part of NIFRS fitness policy chooses not to use the lift in the building.

Note: In the absence of any contrary evidence, the tribunal accepted that the above statement was accurate for the purposes of the job description.

3. The claimant uses a personal computer in her office throughout the day. This involves sitting in a fixed position for long periods of time which can, on occasions amount to approximately two to three hours at a time. This can be sore on her back and she has to ensure she had regular breaks from the computer screen. This can also strain her eyesight and she has to wear glasses as a result of using a computer screen. She takes breaks from the computer screen by walking outside for fresh air to relieve the strain on her back and in compliance with the Display Screen Legislation.

Note: In the absence of any contrary evidence, the tribunal accepted that the above statement was accurate for the purposes of the job description.

B Pages 37/38

Factor 12 – Emotional Demands, Stress and Pressures in the Job

…

9. Other difficult situations or circumstances that make it difficult for the claimant to do her work include workloads which are heavy and demanding at times. This entails having to take work home or work longer hours to complete reports etc, in order, for example, to meet the set timescales required in the preparation of the Future Service Delivery Model, or to be able to feedback to the appropriate management level. This increases the pressure on the claimant and can be stressful etc as operational activity takes precedence and reports and projects must be accommodated around this. The claimant regularly has to take work home in order to meet the time constraints imposed on her.

B Page 14

See further the Note set out at B Page 15 Paragraph 1.

(II) Assistant Group Commander (Control) Robin Biggar – Section C

C Page 17

His role is to assist the Group Commander (Control), to plan, co-ordinate and support NIFRS service delivery within the RCC and throughout the NIFRS environment by keeping her informed/updated of his work duties/activities, as he did ACFO Wright, as appropriate. In a nutshell, the comparator has responsibility for the development and implementation of technical elements which are essential enablers for mobilising and include technology associated with GIS, Telecommunication Command Support, Information-gathering and so on. For example, the comparator was a member of the Project Board for the replacement radio system. This all feeds into the RCC’s operational strategy needed to ensure the organisation’s ability to mobilise appliances throughout Northern Ireland correctly. He has responsibility to evolve and manage the process to collect and provide the information or data to support command and control of NIFRS operations.

Note: On the evidence the tribunal was not satisfied that the claimant directed/ instructed him in his duties and to suggest same was to exaggerate her role in relation to the above matters for the purpose of these proceedings.

C Pages 17/18

2. CSU are intrinsic to the Incident Command System (‘ICS’) which is a UK Fire & Rescue Service safe system of work and are called into operation at ‘Level 3’ or the top level of the Incident Command System which would involve a proportion, but probably a minority, of the number of incidents in any given period.

In effect, this covers all medium to large size incidents and there can be two or three of these incidents per week.

Note: The tribunal was provided by the respondent with little or no evidence upon which to judge whether or not the proportion was significant; but it concluded, on balance and, in particular, in light of evidence of ACFO Wright, that incidents where CSUs would be required would probably amount to a minority of incidents, as it would normally only be required at a ‘4 pump incident’.

5. Whilst attending incidents or exercises within CSU there is a Command Support Officer, who is officer-in-charge of the CSU, and the comparator would undertake this role, when mobilised or nominated to do so by the Incident Commander, Exercise Director, etc. In the year of comparison he would have undertaken this role on a number of occasions but not amounting to a high percentage.

Note: The tribunal was provided by the respondent with little or no evidence upon which to judge the number of occasions/or the percentage in the year of comparison this might occur; and, in light of same, concluded the above was an accurate statement for the purposes of the job description.

C Page 22

RCC Management

1. Within the RCC, the comparator is part of the RCC Management team which has monthly meetings chaired by the claimant though, on occasion, these might be chaired by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer.

The meeting is made up of himself, Assistant Group Commander, RCC Technical, Assistant Group Commander, RCC Operations and the Group Commander RCC (Controls). The purpose of these meetings is to update his colleagues on developments within his responsibilities, for example technical issues within the RCC, data, etc. The comparator would spend approximately an appropriate amount of his time in preparing for, attending and dealing with work arising out of such project meetings.

Note: The tribunal was not provided with any evidence upon which to judge the amount of time spent by the comparator; but concluded he would have spent some time but this would vary and the above was an accurate statement for the purposes of the job description.

C Page 22

Operational Meetings

1. The comparator would attend these approximately eight time per year, for example the Operations Forum. In attendance at this would be other managers representing various departments and areas. These meetings cover a wide range of operational issues and the comparator provides input on the areas within his responsibility such as how projects are developing, eg the CSU project, GIS, etc. There would be some form of operational meeting on a monthly basis. They would last a couple of hours. The comparator would spend an appropriate amount of time in preparing for, attending and dealing with work arising out of such meetings. Such work would included technical issues previously outlined; and the precise amount of time would depend on the nature of the meeting and the comparator’s involvement in the matters on the agenda.

C Page 22

Training

1. His training/technical role in relation to the CSU and GIS is that he would spend a significant proportion of his time in the period of comparison.

Note: The tribunal was not provided with any evidence upon which to judge the proportion of time spent; but concluded, given the nature of his job, the time spent would have been significant and the above is therefore an accurate statement for the purposes of the job description.

C Page 24

Factor 2 – Experience, training, education required

1. Other than the essential criteria no formal qualifications were required. The essential criteria for the role was that he had 12 months experience as a fire control officer, passing an assessment centre.

Experience required included that of leadership and support which the comparator had in his role as a watch manager. The comparator actively participates in continual personal development/professional development.

Note: The tribunal concluded in the absence of any relevant evidence but having regard to the nature of the comparator’s job duties, the above was a more accurate description of his development in his position of Assistant Group Commander (Control).

C Page 26

Factor 4 – Responsibility for quality and standards

Own work

2. In terms of technical projects which would form 55% of the comparator’s role, the comparator has specific responsibility and accountability in terms of ensuring quality and standards are met and, in essence, for all day-to-day purposes, in relation to any technical projects; but this is subject to the fact that he reports on all such matters to, and obtains necessary approvals from ACFO Wright, as Director of the Technical Department and who is therefore ultimately responsible. ACFO Wright has the ultimate line management responsibility; but the comparator is the technical specialist.

C Page 27

Factor 5 – Health & Safety responsibilities

Health & Safety responsibilities

1. The comparator has responsibility on a day-to-day basis for addressing health & safety issues in the RCC especially with regard to technical equipment then reporting on such matters to the claimant who at all times has overall responsibility for health & safety in the RCC.

C Page 28

11. Insofar as any of the matters referred to above are directly relevant to the work of the Regional Control Centre, the comparator would report directly to the claimant who would confirm her satisfaction or not with the steps taken. But in relation to specialist technical projects, such as CSU/introduction of new technologies, the comparator would report directly to ACFO Wright, as Director of the Technical Department – albeit he may also keep the claimant, as his line manager, informed/’in the loop’ on such matters.

C Page 29

Factor 7 – Training, mentoring and teaching

4. In addition to training members of NIFRS, the comparator will provide training to other fire services in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on GIS and also to students at the University of Ulster.

Note: In the absence of any relevant evidence by the respondent about such training which the tribunal was prepared to accept, as set out above, such training forms part of the comparator’s job description, there was no evidence therefore the comparator gave such training, in the year of comparison, on any occasions, let alone ten occasions.

C Page 30

Factor 8 – Responsibility for data-handling, record-keeping process, etc

2. As new standard operating procedures are introduced, the comparator who has responsibility for the software packages required for these procedures will ensure that these are processed correctly by the Operations Support Team and would report to the claimant and keep her informed and updated in relation to all such matters, as necessary and required.

Note: On the evidence the tribunal was not satisfied the claimant directed the comparator in such matters; and in the tribunal’s view to suggest same was to exaggerate her role in relation to such matters for the purpose of these proceedings.

C Page 31

Factor 9 – Responsibility for security and/or confidentiality

1. The comparator is responsible for the physical security of the RCC such as ensuring that the doors lock effectively, CCTV, who gets in, etc. He must also ensure that the practices and policies in relation to security in the RCC are complied with by staff and that adequate steps have been put in place.

This may require him, on occasion, depending on the precise circumstances, to report on these issues to the Group Commander (Controls) on an individual basis as and when such issues arise; but more usually/generally such reports will be made to the RCC Management Team.

C Page 33

Factor 12 – Emotional demands – stress and pressures in the job

3. The comparator can be, as part of his job description, required to deal with media interviews including live TV interviews addressing technical issues when an operational incident is ongoing.

Note: In the absence of any relevant evidence by the respondent about any such interviews, whilst the tribunal was prepared to accept, as set out above, such interviews may require to be given by the comparator, as part of his job description, there was no evidence that, in the year of comparison, he was required to give any such interviews.

C Page 36

Factor 13 – Decision-making

11. The comparator is also responsible for making recommendations in terms of his role, in relation to the specification and procurement of equipment and services, the final approval/decision would be required to be given by Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Director of Technical Development). In that context, for the purposes of making a recommendation for which he is seeking such approval/decision, the comparator would decide what equipment to recommend to be bought for the CSU project, what was the best piece of equipment to buy based upon his research, experience and knowledge on such matters; and, in doing so, he would take into consideration such issues as to whether the procurement of the new equipment would provide value for money for NIFRS and meet the needs of the service and, if such equipment was bought, how it would integrate with equipment already there.

C Page 37

Verbal communication

1. As well as preparing reports, the reports, could form, occasionally, the basis of presentations to various groupings by the comparator.

Note: On the evidence, the tribunal was prepared to accept that such presentations could be made by the comparator; but it would not be normal and, in particular, there was no evidence any such presentations were made by the comparator in the year of comparison.

C Page 40

Factor 16 – Physical effort (stamina)

2. At operational incidents whilst in the CSU, the comparator could be required to stand or walk about for eight hour periods on end if the relevant incident was of a protracted nature.

Note: The tribunal accepted the comparator could, if the incident was of a protracted nature, be required to do so – given his role is that of a Communications Officer unlike a fire-fighter who would not be so required and who would have to be given appropriate relief/breaks.

(III) Section D – Station Commander Joe McKnight

D Page 19

Factor 4 – Responsibility for maintaining quality and standards

His own

2. The system must be available 99.9% of the time and the comparator must report to the Communications Officer or ICT Officer, but, if there were any problems with the system he would report this to the Communications Officer. He would also report directly to the claimant if this impacted on the overall performance of the RCC or the personnel of the RCC.

Note: On the evidence the tribunal was satisfied that the above statement was no longer in dispute between the parties.

D Page 23

Factor 8 – Responsibility for data – handling, record-keeping, processing

7. The comparator would also have responsibility for sensitive/critical data. All the command and control information and data is critical as it is used for ‘life and death situation on a constant basis’. So emergency information such as telephone numbers, addresses, maps, records of incidents would be handled by the comparator. He would ensure the Operational Support Team has the appropriate functionality within the Command and Control System to enter the information and that it can be retrieved accurately and in a timely fashion by the RCC staff. Such information is recorded and update on a daily basis so that such information can be used in any future similar incidents to help save lives and property.

Note: ACFO Wright confirmed in evidence to the tribunal that the comparator would handle such sensitive/critical data, which was also agreed by the claimant, and which he would then ensure was integrated into the relevant system for the command and control centre staff, as necessary. In light of the foregoing, the tribunal was satisfied that the statement, as set out above, was an accurate and proper statement for the purposes of the job description.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 6 – 10 July 2009, Belfast

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties:

CASE REFS: 1302/07

632/08

CLAIMANT: June Fahy

RESPONDENT: Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service

APPENDIX ‘X’

SECTION B PAGES 10 – 50A

SECTION B 10-50A

THE CLAIMANT’S JOB DESCRIPTION

A. BACKGROUND

I. JOB HOLDER:

Group Commander (Controls) June Fahy

II. STATUS:

Claimant

III. REFERENCE PERIOD FOR COMPARISON OF DUTIES:

12 June 2006 – 12 June 2007

IV. JOB TITLE/GRADE:

Group Commander Controls/Group Manager B

V. HOURS PER WEEK:

The Claimant is roistered on the day duty system. As such she works 168 positive hours over a 4 week cycle –She provides evenings and weekends cover for all Regional Control Centre Management issues.

The Claimant is contactable by mobile telephone, pager and home telephone outside these hours of work.

VI. JOB PURPOSE

The primary role of the Group Commander (Control) is to assist the Assistant Chief Fire Officer who is Director of Technical Development, to plan, co-ordinate and support NIFRS service delivery within NIFRS Regional Control Centre and throughout the NIFRS operational environment. In a nutshell, this means that she has to ensure that all three sections of the Regional Control Centre perform properly so that NIFRS appliances, personnel and specialist equipment are mobilised quickly and effectively to operational incidents, in order to save life and property etc.

VII. LOCATION OF WORK

NIFRS Headquarters, Seymour Street, Lisburn.

She has her own office containing a desk, computer, telephone, filing cabinets. She is contactable by way of pager and mobile telephone provided by NIFRS for out of hours contacts. This is a service directive. The Claimant is contacted about numerous issues outside her positive hours in relation to major incidents. The Respondent disputes that this is a contractual responsibility, the Claimant maintains that it is.

VIII. RESPONSIBLE TO

Assistant Chief Fire Officer who is Director of Technical Development.

IX. PREVIOUS CAREER HISTORY

The Claimant joined the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade/Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service on 21^st May 1973. The posts held are as follows.

Fire Control Operator 21/05/73

Leading Fire Control Operator 01/08/76

Senior Fire Control Operator 05/06/78

Temp Fire Control Officer 24/06/80-10/08/80

Temp Fire Control Officer 02/12/83-4/07/84

Temp Fire Control Officer 01/01/85-31/12/85

Temp Fire Control Officer 31/03/86-10/05/87

Substantive Promotion to Fire Control Officer 11/05/87

Temporary Group Fire Control Officer 01/04/93-01/07/93

Temporary Group Fire Control Officer 10/01/94-10/04/94

Promoted to Principal Fire Control Officer 01/06/94

*After Fire Service restructuring all ranks were changed to Role based (in 2003), the Claimant’s rank/title changed from Principal Fire Control Officer to Group Commander B in accordance with the Emergency Fire Services National Occupational Standards.

X. DATE APPOINTED TO THE POST

1^st June, 1994

B. JOB CONTENT

I. MAIN DUTIES OR TASKS

Regional Control Centre Management

The Regional Control Centre is the focal point for all NIFRS emergency operations.

The 3 functional departments are;

Function 1--- The Regional Control Centre forms the core part of the Emergency Response provided by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The NIFRS Regional Control Centre provides the emergency response to a range of incidents for e.g. Premise Fires, Road Traffic Collisions, Chemical Incidents, Incidents when the NIFRS Specialist Rescue Team are required on a 24 hours basis such as Water Rescue.

The NIFRS Regional Control Centre operates on a 24 hours basis. There are 4 watches of 11 personnel of which a minimum crewing level of 7 must be maintained.

NIFRS Regional Control Centre receives all 999 calls for emergency incidents in N.Ireland. They also cover a buffer zone within County Donegal.

NIFRS Regional Control Centre mobilises Wholetime and Retained (part time) firefighters using Service appliances to deal with the various types of emergency calls they receive. Along side the emergency aspects of the job the NIFRS Regional Control Centre deal with all associated administrative calls and radio messages to support service delivery.

Function 2 within the Regional Control Centre is “Operational Support”. This Department has a back office role which involves the input and provision of data that assists the Regional Control Centre personnel in mobilising the equipment and personnel necessary to deal with operational incidents. Within this department there are currently 3 uniformed staff and 2 non uniform staff. In the period of comparison, there would have been a total of 5 uniformed personnel (4 operational and one on welfare) there were no non uniformed personnel. This department is responsible for inputting and updating of data such as streets, addresses, etc. This has to be accurate so call handlers within the control centre can mobilise the appropriate number of personnel and equipment to deal with operations. As well as data, any new operational policies etc. will have to be inputted into the system and the Claimant would be responsible for advising the ACFO what is required on her part and whether such policies are appropriate and that they will not have a negative impact in the performance of the Regional Control Centre. Further, she would have to ensure that all staff etc. are trained on such policies. As Head of Department she has direct input to NIFRS Service Policies especially those that require a mobilising brief.

Function 3 of the Regional Control Centre is the technical/training department. This is staffed by 2 uniformed personnel who deal with technical and training issues for all staff within the RCC, e.g. maintain effective operational equipment such as the ICCS (Integrated Communications Control System), Proc Cad mobilising system. This department also deals with training issues from trainee training to organising courses internal and external. In the period of comparison, there would have been 2 uniformed personnel and no non uniformed personnel.

The Claimant has overall responsibility for the management of all 3 of these functions and the staff within them although, she will dedicate responsibility to support officers to deal with many day to day issues.

Regional Control Centre Management

The Primary role of the Claimant is to assist the Assistant Chief Fire Officer to plan, co ordinate and support NIFRS Service delivery within the NIFRS Control Centre and throughout the NIFRS Operational environment. As with prior agreement under the “Terms of Settlement Agreement with the Northern Ireland Fire Authority 8^th Jan 2001” the Claimant has overall responsibility for the management and operation of the Regional Control Centre. The Respondent states that the Claimant assists the Assistant Chief Fire Officer Technical Development who has overall responsibility for the efficiency of the Regional Control Centre (RCC) and the achievement of efficient standard Mobilising and Control Procedures. This involves the management at present of 57 personnel of which 44 work in a 24/7 Regional Control emergency call handling facility. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel;

there were no non uniformed personnel. These 44 personnel are assigned to one of four watches and her role involves ensuring that each watch has sufficient numbers of personnel to cover all fire/rescue incidents in Northern Ireland and that all staff members are appropriately trained and supported to provide and ensure an effective and efficient Fire service delivery to the public.

The Claimant’s role is to assist the Assistant Chief Fire Officer Technical Development with the development and maintenance of service delivery protocols . The Claimant would have responsibility for taking the lead in such consultations as all policies come direct to the Claimant and not through the ACFO. The Respondent disputes this. After agreements have been made in relation to changes to such protocols etc. the Claimant then has to assess whether or not further steps, such as training or adapting service policies to work within the confines of the ProCad mobilising system, would have to be initiated within the RCC to address the new protocols. It is the Claimant’s responsibility to ensure that all changes to polices, practice and procedures will not impact negatively on core service delivery within the RCC and she has responsibility for approving these in liaison with operational staff.

She has the overall responsibility to ensure efficient arrangements for the provision of mobilising in the event of evacuation or equipment failure in the RCC. The Claimant is responsible for drawing up the evacuation procedure, monitoring this and amending it as a result of experiences within test evacuations. It is her responsibility to ensure that there is no failure in the core service provided by the RCC i.e. that even during an emergency evacuation the NIFRS can receive emergency calls etc. She has to ensure that there are enough staff to deal with emergency situations and that their needs are met under such emergency conditions. She also has to ensure the provision has been made so that technical equipment is in place to deal with such situations. This role involves a weekly test of the Business Continuity arrangements to ensure that if the RCC is unable to function for whatever reason, the NIFRS Standby control (a second control facility located off-site at Lisburn Fire Station) is functioning and the mobilising resources and radios are accessible. This role requires training to ensure that control personnel are aware of the evacuation procedure so that the service to the public is in no way compromised in case of emergency.

As part of the Business Continuity Plan, the Claimant is a member of the Crisis Management Team which is a head of departments forum to address issues regarding the efficient deployment of staff and equipment etc. if the RCC fails for some reason. As such, she directly feeds into strategies and policy issues to ensure that the core service of the RCC is met. Further, at such meetings she would be involved in addressing potential emergency situations that might face Regional Control Centre e.g. such as the current potential swine flu pandemic which could affect RCC personnel. The Claimant must ensure there are measures in place to address this. She is directly responsible for the NIFRS Regional Control Centre BCP Plan.

She has overall responsibility for the overall efficiency of the Operations Support Department and its review of existing Mobilising Strategies and Procedures. There are approximately 90 mobilising strategies and procedures

to be complied with by the RCC. The Claimant as Head of Department is responsible for ensuring that these strategies and procedures are correct and delegates the Operations Support Department to review these and to up date her on any concerns arising from these. She will then take steps to remedy any short falls and where necessary delegate responsibility for implementing the changes to sub ordinates for example Cross Border Mobilising arrangements. In some situations she will require to liaise with other staff such as one of the four Area Commanders in relation to new mobilising procedures. Operations Support Department is responsible for updating geographical and other operational critical information and ensuring that it is correct and accurately stored within the ICCS and the ProCad mobilising system. As Head of Department the Claimant must ensure the accuracy through verification of all information sources. The Claimant will ensure the accuracy of information by physically looking at this, testing and confirming that she feels that all the information available for control personnel to perform their role effectively is present and is accurate and correct. So for example, in terms of flooding the Claimant was involved in meetings with the Water Service, Flood Line, to address issues such as what information the NIFRS will need to mobilise personnel and equipment to deal with flooding incidents, she will also need to know the contacts to be notified within the Water Service and what contacts should be made generally in terms of names and telephone numbers. The Operational Support Department should include all this information so that RCC staff can then make the necessary contacts as required. Anything that affects the strategy and the performance of the RCC needs to be referred to the Claimant, for clarification and authorisation When required the Claimant will consult with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer.

The Claimant’s role also involves the development and maintenance of service delivery protocols, policies & procedures governing the type and number of fire appliances and officers allocated to specific incidents NO. Service Delivery protocols, policies and procedures etc. that the Claimant would have responsibility for developing and improving upon would include for example, “Call Challenge” - a policy developed and reviewed by the Claimant to deal with difficult or malicious calls. “Call Management” is another such policy developed and maintained by the Claimant which provides guidance to RCC staff in terms of, for example, the number of appliances that should be mobilised to a particular incident. As well as drafting such policies, the Claimant needs to ensure that appropriate training is put in place so that RCC staff effectively deliver on such policies as they develop and change.

Within her normal hours of duty and outside of her normal hours (as confirmed mobilising action card for Major Incidents) (the Respondent disputes the latter point) she is required to attend the RCC for Major Incidents and Spate conditions, to take control of the Regional Control Centre assist and advise senior officers as required. Spate conditions relate to excess increases in emergency call handling activity. Example such as flooding has become more prevalent due to climate change. An example of this occurred during a 48 hour period in August 2008 when the NIFRS Regional Control Centre personnel received 1,463 emergency calls of which 179 were flooding incidents. Such incidents put extreme pressure on the call handling personnel. Due to increasing demand, it is necessary for her to ensure that appropriate

staffing levels are maintained in the NIFRS RCC so that there is no interruption to service delivery and that the Health & Safety of staff is not compromised.

Regional Control Staff Management

Within her role the Claimant has responsibility for managing the current 57 personnel in the Regional Control Centre. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel. She is responsible for the maintenance of the agreed establishment and strength of the RCC. An organisational chart attached indicates the staff so managed by the Claimant. This involves the management of the current 57 personnel of which 44 work in a 24/7 Regional Control Centre. These 44 personnel are assigned to one of four watches and the Claimant’s role involves ensuring that each watch has, at all times, sufficient numbers of personnel to cover all types of fire/rescue incidents in Northern Ireland on a 24/7 basis which can involve her being contacted at home. It is part of the service requirement, Terms of Settlement and mobilizing action card for major incidents the Claimant is contacted outside of positive hours. The Respondent disputes that this is a contractual responsibility, the Claimant maintains that it is.

She has to be satisfied that all staff members are appropriately trained and supported to ensure an effective and efficient service delivery. This can take up a lot of the Claimant’s on duty and off duty time in terms of ensuring there are adequate levels of crewing to allow the Regional Control Centre meet service objectives. A database is also maintained by the Claimant on a daily basis to physically monitor staff levels including attendance. The Claimant will advise the Assistant Chief Fire Officer on a regular basis of any staffing deficiencies. The Respondent states that this is at the direction of the ACFO which is disputed by the Claimant. Absenteeism is managed by the Claimant in association with the Attendance Management function within Human Resources. The Claimant will, if needs be, get involved in the disciplinary procedure, particularly at the appeal level.

It is the Claimants responsibility to decide when and what recruitment is required and advise the ACFO accordingly. The Respondent states that this is at the direction of the ACFO which is disputed by the Claimant. The Claimant would then arrange for Recruitment, Selection, Induction of Control staff and to be a member of Interview Panels as required. This involves the determination of staff shortfalls and making arrangements in tandem with Human Resource function for recruitment. Once recruited the Claimant will oversee the induction and training of new staff and will ensure staff competency prior to a fully functional role being allocated within Regional Control Centre. In addressing staffing issues, the Claimant will meet with Assistant Chief Fire Officer on a regular basis to address staffing measures within RCC to ensure that it will always be able to function properly. The Claimant would also sit on recruitment panels.

In liaison with the NIFRS Training Officer the Claimant has overall responsibility for the training of RCC personnel and to revise and implement a suitable Training programme for all RCC personnel. In this role she will

oversee the training of staff with respect to new and existing protocols to ensure that staff deliver an efficient service provision and that staff remain competent at all times. In furtherance of this role, the Claimant is responsible for preparing the training needs for every member of her 57 personnel (in the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel) on an annual basis and raising such needs with the NIRFS training officer to ensure staff are trained to develop into their roles.

The Claimant is responsible, as per 1.4 of her Job Description, for the delegation of responsibilities to Supervisory Officers and RCC personnel. The Respondent disputes this suggesting that these responsibilities are are determined within individual job descriptions In this role the Claimant must assess staff capabilities prior to allocating responsibilities thereby ensuring that day to day RCC management is allocated to competent personnel trained to carryout the necessary tasks allocated. For example, can Watch Commanders provide sufficient training on an issue, or should that be delegated to the training team. A series of meetings occur daily with supervisory staff to ensure that emerging issues are addressed as they occur and as a matter of urgency. Monthly meetings are held with Regional Control Centre personnel to update staff on mobilising issues and to ensure the delivery of a Core Brief (monthly newsletter from NIFRS Management).

To continually review and monitor the personnel under her command with regard to Career Development, personal performances and effectiveness. The Claimant has overall responsibility for the continued Personal Development of all 57 RCC personnel and must ensure that suitable training and support mechanisms are in place to meet emerging career development requirements. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel; there were no non uniformed personnel. The Claimant will also have responsibility for disciplinary matters in relation to performance issues. Her supporting officers would deal with these at first instance, but she would often, if required, be the appeal officer at such hearings.

Administrative Management

Within her management role of the RCC, she also has administrative tasks to deal with the matters detailed below.

The Claimant has overall responsibility for the supervision, collation and production of all Performance Indicators – such as ensuring calls are answered within 60 seconds and Operational statistics associated with the Command and Control System. These statistics record all mobilising issues such as call handling times, nature of incidents attended and calls of special interest. In this role the Claimant is responsible for the generation and verification of operational and other statistical information on a weekly/monthly basis such as Monthly call handling report, monthly statistical report for operational incidents. She is also responsible for maintaining the database on Fire Data Reports which contains details of what type of incident was attended, how many appliances attended, what happened at the incident etc. This information is sent to many internal departments such as the four Area Commanders and is

also sent externally to the Department of Communities & local Government (formally the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)

Overall responsibility for the collation of Fire Data Reports including dealing with external enquiries and liaison with the Fire Statistics Research Division. In this role the Claimant is responsible for the generation and verification of operational and other statistical information for external usage. This information is sent externally to the Department of Communities & Local Government (formally the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister), and other agencies such as the PSNI etc. who may want to verify information for charges such as arson etc.

To ensure that within all areas of the RCC all elements of the NIFRS Health and Safety Policy are applied and that a safe working environment is maintained. In this role she is responsible for ensuring appropriate staff undertake risk assessments in line with Health & Safety at Work (NI) Regulations (2000) and other legislation such as the Display Screen Regulations (1992) which is particularly prevalent to employees working in a control room environment as the majority of their time is spent in front of a number of visual display units wearing headsets to take calls etc. In carrying out risk assessments The Claimant is directly responsible for the on-going Health & Safety of 57 staff members. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel; there were no non uniformed personnel. Also when the Health & safety Policy Unit issues new or amended Health & Safety guidance the Claimant has direct responsibility for ensuring that all staff under her command are aware of the requirements and receive any additional training she feels is necessary.

To monitor the working environment that all 57 personnel (in the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) work in and to investigate any dangerous occurrences or accidents therein. In this role the Claimant carries out ongoing reviews to ensure that the ergonomics of the control room environment is such that accidents and other dangerous occurrences are minimised. This involves physically inspecting the working environment, asking personnel about concerns, and putting in place solutions to any concerns that have been raised. This involves a risk assessment process (see above) which the Claimant will review on completion. The Claimant is responsible for ensuring necessary steps are taken to address any risks identified and this will, if needs be require liaison with the Head of Health and Safety. In the rare instance that an accident does occur the Claimant will undertake in association with the Health & Safety Policy Unit an investigation into the circumstances determining areas for improvement which the Claimant will then implement to prevent recurrence.

Overall responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of all personnel files and the monitoring of the Attendance Management policy within the RCC. In this role the Claimant maintains both a personnel & attendance management file for each staff member. These files are strictly confidential and will be used to monitor attendance under the auspices of the NIFRS Attendance Management Policy. In respect of attendance, the Claimant also attends a monthly case conference with the Senior Medical Advisor, Director of Human

Resources and staff from the NIFRS Occupational Health Department. In this forum discussion takes place regarding any Regional Control Centre personnel on long term sick leave or any welfare issues emerging, with the intention of determining an action plan to instigate an early return to work. It is the Claimant’s responsibility to ensure that the action plan is instigated.

To ensure that Fire Service Orders, Policies, Instructions, National Joint Council Conditions of Service and local agreements with the representative body are maintained up to date and fully implemented as pertaining to the RCC. In this role she is responsible for disseminating additions and amendments to the above to Regional Control Centre staff and for ensuring that all necessary training accompanies such documents. So for example, the Claimant will be involved in meeting with senior management to feed in her ideas etc. and put across the perspective/needs of the NIFRS Future Service Delivery Model. She then has responsibility for briefing RCC personnel on such issues accordingly. In terms of policies & procedures generated by and specifically for the Regional Control Centre, she will liaise closely with the representative body (Fire Brigades Union) and the human resource function prior to policy implementation. This will be to secure agreement from the Union for example, to changes in RCC practices. The Claimant liaises with the Representative Body with all day to day issues (e.g. transfers, welfare etc.) The Respondent argues that this process is carried out by the ACFO. The Claimant will also liaise with human resources, to ensure that any new practices will be adequately staffed and staff adequately trained. The Respondent argues that this process is carried out by the ACFO.

Other key tasks are in accordance with the Claimant’s job description.

FACTOR 1 – KNOWLEDGE BASE – KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED AND USED IN THE JOB.

1. The Claimant must be aware of various policies and procedures with NIRFS such as the approximately 90 Mobilising Strategies and Procedures, the Risk Management Plan etc., so she can make staff arrangements for the RCC in terms of core staff, but also in terms of for example, ensuring that the Team has significant numbers to cover absences in the RCC in emergency situations so that the Mobilising Strategies and Procedures etc. can be operated effectively at all times.

2. She has to know how all her staff perform and what it is likely to impact on their performance. She has to be able, through such knowledge, to anticipate staff difficulties whether they be Health, Welfare (at home or at work) into personal relationships of staff members. Without such knowledge she can not have the staff numbers to delivery the core service of the RCC and ensure a group relationship between staff members. Without such knowledge she will be unable to manage personnel as effectively and efficiently as possible.

3. Have knowledge of Policies, Procedures, Practises, Reports, Fire Service Circulars and Administrative procedures. This includes a specific understanding of policies & procedures in the following areas: Equality, Grievance, Disciplinary and Attendance to ensure the effective management of staff in terms of career

development/recruitment and selection procedures, addressing grievance and disciplinary issues as well as welfare and health issues.

4. She needs to have a detailed working knowledge of 30 or so Standard Operating Procedures for various operational incidents to ensure that incidents are managed efficiently and effectively with appropriate staff and equipment for particular incidents. So, for example there will be SOPs for water rescues, SOPS for various types of fires/road traffic accidents. She needs to know which SOP applies so she can ensure that RCC staff use the correct “mobilising package.”

5. The Claimant needs to know the National Technical Bulletins. The NTBs include information about types of equipment and what and when they are used. She also has to know what pieces of equipment are held on appliances so that she can ensure that RCC personnel are fully conversant with such matters by way of disseminating information to them so that she is satisfied that when technical support is requested from the fire ground the correct equipment is being dispatched by her personnel.

6. To ensure a high level of discipline is maintained both personally and by all subordinate personnel within the RCC, the Claimant must know NIFRS policies and Fire Service Orders pertinent to discipline and performance. She also has to know the Code of Conduct guidelines on such issues. Without knowledge of these she would be unable to satisfy herself that her staff and their actions are to the required standards not endangering life and property and/or the reputation of the organisation. On occasions when guidelines etc. are contravened, she has to know if and when it is appropriate to initiate the Discipline Procedure in accordance with NIFRS policies and Fire Service Orders.

7. The Claimant needs to know Fire Service procedures and policies so as she can propose and implement changes to these, for example “Call Challenge” dealing with difficult telephone calls such as malicious callers or “Call Management” dealing with various mobilisation issues. When Regional Control Centre policies and procedures need amended, she will generate a revision and amend and notify the relevant department The Respondent argues that this require the approval of ACFO denied by the Claimant. She equality assures it through the Human Resources function. In this latter role she has to be aware of equality issues including section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act obligations. In doing so the Claimant will liaise closely with the representative body (Fire Brigades Union) and the human resource function prior to policy implementation. The Claimant also needs to know other policies that might impact on the RCC e.g. mobilising instructions and Standard Operating Procedures so that, at meetings with senior management, she can enter into debates with her colleagues at such meetings as to how the current policy or a revised policy will impact on RCC and make suggestions as to how or why such change is or is not appropriate.

8. Once policies etc. are introduced, the Claimant then needs to know what action needs to be taken so that the RCC and its staff are implementing / complying with the new policy. She needs to know for example what additional training, equipment etc. might be required. She need to know if different levels of training are required for different members of staff, which staff do or don’t require training at various levels, how to secure that training and from where and know the time scales for such training. She needs to know if new equipment is required for RCC, what disruption will be caused by the introduction of such equipment, how long the installation of

such equipment will take and what, if any contingency plans/steps need to be taken to accommodate such issues. Without such knowledge she cannot ensure that all necessary action is taken to ensure that fire calls etc. are dealt with efficiently and effectively.

9.The Claimant needs to know how and what makes her staff “tick” so that she can provide leadership and motivation to them on a collective and individual basis. She also needs to know how they are emotionally/physically to identify welfare/medical issues. Knowledge of their experience, training level, performance and disciplinary record is also required in terms of identifying training needs, developmental needs etc.

10. To produce and implement the RCC Annual Business Plan the Claimant needs to know and understand the organisation wide Corporate Aims and Objectives so that she can ensure that the RCC objectives etc. dove tail into and help to achieve the Corporate Aims and Objectives. To this end, she needs to know what priorities/projects within the RCC will be required to meet both its own and NIFRS’s overall objectives.

11. Due to the stressful nature of the work undertaken by Regional Control Centre personnel, it is not unusual for staff to be affected by large incidents especially those culminating in a loss of life. The Claimant must know her staff and be aware of who might have been adversely affected by such calls. She must be aware of the signs of stress etc. She must also be aware of and understand how referrals to medical, counselling and welfare facilities operate and when it is appropriate to make such referrals. In a counselling/welfare role she must know when it is appropriate to provide an incident debrief for Regional Control Centre personnel.

12. The Claimant must know current staffing levels within the RCC, who is off, why they are off, how long they are likely to be off, who is available to cover absences, for how long etc. This is essential as she must, at all times, ensure that the Regional Control Centre continues to function irrespective of the incidents it handles.

13. The Claimant would use all this knowledge on a day in day out basis so that the three functions within the RCC and the staff within them are managed effectively.

FACTOR 2 EXPERIENCE – TRAINING, EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED.

Essential Experience

To attain the position of Principal Fire Control Officer (now Group Commander B Controls) it was essential that the Claimant held the position of substantive Fire Control Officer (Station Commander level or above) for a minimum period of 12 months having progressed through the ranks within the Regional Control Centre. It would not have been possible to apply for this position without having progressed through each of the 5 less senior ranks

What training was required to achieve competence in the role?

Attendance at the Fire Service College at Moreton in Marsh, England was necessary in order to progress from rank to rank. It was necessary for the Claimant to attend the Fire Service College in England to obtain the necessary

supervisory and management qualifications and continue to develop and progress in line with Continual Professional Development (CPD) requirements. Satisfactory completion of the Management Control Room Course and the Senior Control Room Course were essential qualifications to allow fulfilment of the requirements of the post.

Is any further or ongoing training required?

The Claimant manages herself to achieve work objectives and implement personal development plans to continuously improve personal performance. This is formalised through the Continual Professional Development (CPD) scheme in place within NIFRS and monitored annually by a Principal Officer. When necessary she attends any training courses to meet the requirement NIFRS deem appropriate to her role.

Are there any formal qualifications required for this role?

Required to fulfil the criteria as per Brigade Order C/1, Appendix B

Is there any requirement formal or otherwise to update knowledge or practice in relation to this role?

The Claimant manages herself to achieve work objectives and implement personal development plans to continuously improve personal performance. This is formalised through the Continual Professional Development (CPD) scheme in place within NIFRS and monitored annually by a Principal Officer. When necessary she attends any training courses to meet the requirement NIFRS deem appropriate to her role.

The Claimant has attended various courses (see below) and seminars relevant to her senior manager’s role and she is qualified to deal with all aspects of RCC Management.

These courses include;

Principal and Senior Officer Media Studies
Continual update in relation to new technology in planning of RCC equipment requirements.
Conflict Management Skills
Coaching and Team Building Skills for Managers and Supervisors
Stress Awareness
Recruitment and Selection Code of Procedures
Managing Harassment in the Workplace
Disability Awareness Training
Attendance Management Training
Security Policy Training
Trauma(Counselling) Awareness
Equality and Dignity Awareness Course
Chief Executive Forum - Women’s Leadership Development Programme Course
Advanced Media Studies

City and Guilds National Vocational Qualification Assessor Award (Competence in Training and Development)
Command and Control Mobilising
First Aid
Health and Safety
Conducting Interviews and Hearings
Stress Training
Computer Courses such as Computer Literacy, Microsoft Project Course, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word and ECDL.
Suicide Awareness Training

This list is not exhaustive

FACTOR 3 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PLANNING AND ORGANISATION WORK

Organisation of The Claimant’s Work?

The Claimant organises all her own work on a daily basis taking into account the ongoing situation within the RCC departments in terms of the work of 57 personnel. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel. A lot of this work is reactive and leading to situations in which the Claimant “calls the shots” to ensure continual service delivery. She will often be required to make “snap” decisions such as taking overall control of the Regional control centre for major incidents. The only time work is delegated to her would be Annual Budget requirements, Annual Business Plan and Corporate Plan. Things that are delegated then would be special projects such as the establishment of a NIFRS Regional Control Centre Resilience team. The Claimant would organize 95% of her own work with 5% being allocated by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Technical).

The Claimant has to plan ahead to prepare for and attend meetings to deal with the various scenarios that the RCC departments raise on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

The Claimant also has to plan ahead to prepare for and attend senior management meetings on a monthly basis to ensure that the aims and objectives of NIFRS are taken forward. Such meetings would include, for example, strategic meetings such as the Operations Forum where the Claimant would input her views on issues regarding NIFRS progress generally, how and what the RCC departments are doing to assist that progress. Attendees at such meetings would be at Group Commander and above. The Claimant would also be attending meetings addressing operational issues to address any issue arising out of RCC, for example, if someone had a query why only two appliances were mobilised to deal with a particular fire call. Approximately 15% of the working week could be spent preparing for and attending meetings and dealing with the issues arising out of these meetings. The Claimant would also attend senior management meetings. So for example, she would attend meetings with Assistant Chief Fire Officer to discuss issues relating to the RCC such as recruitment/selection issues, how things are running generally within the RCC, how targets etc. are being met in terms of handling time, any problems that have been identified within the RCC and how the Claimant is addressing it.

The Claimant is involved in a number of specialist projects to ensure achievement of the NIFRS Aims and Objectives. This involves ensuring task delivery within pre-determined timeframes and reporting on progress bi-annually using a traffic light system. Such specialist projects would include the Future Service Delivery or the Resilience Team Project. This latter project involves setting up a team of individuals from non uniform and the retained (part time) service to cover RCC personnel in cases where an emergency arises. In such projects, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer sets various tasks to be completed by the Claimant. He sets terms of reference and time frames which the Claimant has to comply with.

As the Head of Department the Claimant reports to the Assistant Chief Fire Officer who is Director of Technical Development. She would meet to plan and coordinate and support NIFRS service delivery within the RCC, but the vast bulk of this work is organised by the Claimant in terms of her responsibilities and delegated down to her staff as appropriate. As such she has, more or less, a free hand to organise the work of RCC staff.

Is there regular routine?

The day is regularly interrupted. But the routines, as such, would include: prioritisation of her ‘in tray’; responding to internal and external e mails as and when they arise; communication by telephone as and when with various internal and external agencies. Due to the nature of the work of Regional Control Centre, although routines do exist, these are often interrupted by new or emerging priorities such as evacuation to stand by control or excessive increase in calls (spate conditions). As a 999 service it is critical to ensure that the safety of the public and personnel is not compromised in favour of routine.

The Claimant is free to organise and plan her own working day/week and the working day of personnel reporting to her. A lot of this work is reactive and leading to situations in which she “calls the shots” to ensure continual service delivery.

Responsibility for planning and organising the work of others

The Claimant has full responsibility for the allocation of work to 57 personnel (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) who ultimately report to her and for whom she is ultimately responsible for in terms of day to day management.

Two Department Heads report directly to the Claimant however, the Claimant retains overall managerial responsibility for all 57 personnel (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) within the NIFRS Regional Control Centre. See Organisational Chart below.

In terms of the allocation of work and delegation of responsibility, she tasks her two Assistant Group Commanders to deal with various issues, for example, mobilisation issues that have been raised and require following up on in terms of any issues she has identified. She would also, for example, ask for: a report on issues such as training progress for new trainees, service charter objectives i.e. monthly call handling statistics to confirm Regional Control Centre are meeting service charter objectives e.g. answering an emergency call within 10 seconds and mobilising within 60 seconds; manning trends e.g. maintaining minimum crewing levels in the Regional Control Centre at all times; Technical Development e.g. Regional Control Centre equipment, upgrades on future Regional Control Centre environment issues.

The Claimant will provide timescales for her subordinates to perform such tasks.

Regional Control Centre – Organisational Chart 2009

FACTOR 4 – QUALITY AND STANDARDS

Own Work

The Claimant has responsibility for maintaining the quality and standard of her own work. She needs to make sure that the contents of any report/statistics etc. are accurate and turned round within required time scales etc.

Her standards will be monitored by others in the following manner:

Delivery of tasks listed within the Annual Plan are reviewed by ACFO Wright bi-annually using a traffic light system where good performance is recorded as green, borderline performance as amber and poor performance as red. A formal report on performance is then made to the sponsoring body (DHSSPS) Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety.

When the Claimant completes a policy document for service delivery, a process of screening under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act is required. The Claimant ensures that the NIFRS Human Resources department process this and check the revised policy meets required standards.

When required to provide/produce new policy document or change/ amend/update existing policy – this would be submitted to ACFO Director of Technical Development for his consideration and approval and as such standards are checked by him in this regard.

The Regional Control Centre is subject to internal and external audit review by auditors and as such the Claimant’s work in terms of RCC meeting various targets etc. is monitored in this regard. The Claimant is responsible for implementing any recommendations on a timely basis. To this end she will deliver service requirements and objectives to ensure standards are being met by all 57 (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) of the staff she is responsible for. For example, she will carry out checks on National Vocational Qualification based assessments within the Regional Control Centre for staff e.g. sampling training files to ensure standards are met; she will review the work of her Assistant Group Commanders (Technical and Operations) Station Commanders and Watch Commanders. The review process takes the form of regular meetings to discuss issues such as meeting targets for training objectives and also for incident handling, receiving audit reports on Annual Leave.

Others Work

The Claimant has to ensure that service delivery is maintained by all three functions within RCC under her command. To do this she has regular meetings with the departmental Assistant Group Commanders, Station Commanders and Watch Commanders.

In order to ensure that quality and standards are met, the Claimant prepares training needs analysis for all her 57 staff identifying training and

development needs so quality standards are met. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.

FACTOR 5 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY

The Claimant has responsibility for the safety of others in the following ways:

The Claimant has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that risks to her 57 personnel are kept to a minimum. In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.

The Claimant must ensure the Display Screen, Work Stations, Seating, Lighting, Ergonomics of the Regional Control Centre comply with the Health and Safety Regulations so as to minimise health and safety risks to all her staff. The Claimant must ensure that cleaning personnel put in place appropriate warning signs when cleaning wet floors, no trailing leads when using vacuum cleaners etc. She must ensure that electrical appliances and lights are turned off when not in use.

It is her responsibility to ensure risk assessments are carried out in the Regional Control Centre and that personnel comply with the statutory regulations by, for example, taking appropriate breaks from their work station.

The Claimant must also ensure that staff using Visual Display Units (VDUs computer screens) have their eyes tested yearly or as requested.

An Evacuation Plan is essential in light of the work undertaken by the RCC. The Claimant must ensure that RCC personnel carry out non immediate evacuation procedures on a weekly basis and also carry out quarterly immediate emergency evacuations to the NIFRS Stand by Control (Based at Lisburn Fire Station) and do so in line with health and safety standards.

The Claimant has ultimate responsibility to ensure that all communication and electrical equipment has been tested within the RCC and NIFRS Standby Control to required standards. This is to ensure that it is safe for personnel to use e.g. headsets, computer screens, radios, portable electric heaters (they are electrically tested), have no trailing leads etc.

The Claimant must also ensure that all accidents are reported and investigated in tandem with the Health & Safety Policy Unit and if necessary refer injured personnel to the NIFRS Senior Medical Advisor or Occupational Health nurses.

The Claimant has attended various courses on health and safety in order to address the above including e.g. stress management and health and safety.

FACTOR 6 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR EQUIPMENT RESOUCES AND FINANCE

The Claimant is a budget holder and therefore must work within the confines of the NIFRS budgetary instruction. She prepares her annual bid to the Finance Management Accountant for money from NIFRS by considering her budgetary requirements for training courses, overtime, office equipment, air travel (flights) etc. for the three functions within her team. This annual estimate would be in the region of £254k. She then makes submission with a detailed breakdown of future Regional Control Centre department spending requirements.

The Claimant monitors stock levels of stationery etc. and re order as and when stock levels are near depletion e.g. Fire Reports that are used by Operational Fire Crews.

The Claimant does not handle cash or cheques but authorises the payment of invoices for goods purchased. She also authorises the payment of claims for overtime and training courses and “expenses claims”.

The Claimant is involved and buying stock, supplies and equipment. For example, she would order in fire data reports from the Department of Communities and Local Government. She would also be responsible for the ordering and buying furniture for the control room such as desks, chairs etc. In making such purchases, she has to ensure that they are approved to appropriate health and safety standards.

The Claimant is responsible for making a bid for a budget of approximately £254k. From within this budget she would have to secure funding for training, overtime etc. and decides how much will be spent on training, overtime etc. She decides who goes on training and when overtime can be authorised. She will delegate responsibility for the safe keeping of stock, supplies and equipment, however she has an overall responsibility that everything is kept safe. It is her responsibility to ensure that an inventory of all stock and supplies is kept up to date.

FACTOR 7 – TRAINING, MENTORING, TEACHING

The Claimant has responsibility for ensuring that training is organised and/or commissioned so that training to all staff within the RCC occurs.

The Claimant decides how much money will be assigned from the RCC budget to training, allocates training days, decides who needs training and on what subjects as a result of the training needs analysis drawn up by the Claimant in relation to each of her 57 personnel and where necessary make arrangement to buy in training. She does this by having meetings with her line manager Assistant Chief Fire Officer Wright and where required with the Area Commander of the NIFRS Training Centre. These meetings are held annually and thereafter as and when required.

The Claimant will prepare training needs analysis on an annual basis for every staff member under her control and then take steps to ensure appropriate training is delivered to each of her 57 personnel buying in outside training if required.

She has overall responsibility in ensuring that appropriate training programmes are in place within the RCC. This task is delegated to sub ordinate staff i.e. Assistant Group Commander – Operations/Training and other training personnel within her department. She will, however, check and approve any training programmes.

Delivery of training – lecturing teaching or demonstrating

The Claimant meets VIPs and others who attend and visit the control room and address and demonstrates how the equipment and emergency 999 service operates in the NIFRS Regional Control Centre. She fields any questions asked.

The Claimant gives lectures and demonstrates future plans and policies to senior officers and other Heads of Departments within NIFRS by verbal and power point presentation.

The Claimant will delegate training etc. duties as appropriate to other supervisory and managerial personnel.

Training of trainees, new starters or apprentices

Induction of new trainees. The Claimant welcomes new trainees into the RCC. She briefs them on the RCC training course, the standard of work, the assessment process throughout the training period, the standard of discipline and appearance expected.

Assessments of trainees are carried out by dedicated training officers under the Claimant’s command. Written reports are submitted to the Claimant during and on completion of course. The Claimant considers these on an ongoing basis, if needs be identifying any concerns and, if needed (in her view), intervening with the trainee if not satisfied that they will or have attained the required standard of competence. After interview the Claimant allocates them to their substantive posts in the Regional Control Centre.

The Claimant ensures continual assessment and career development is maintained for junior employees by their Watch manager in accordance with their Personal Development Programme. This is done by auditing training files, NVQ assessment documentation. This is carried out on a monthly basis.

Mentoring

The Claimant provides mentoring to newly promoted officers. Such mentoring would cover advising on their new role and responsibilities and the expectations associated with their new role.

In addition the Claimant has day to day contact with all her staff and will discuss with them informally any concerns etc, they may have.

The Claimant debriefs RCC personnel as and when necessary as per NIFRS Debrief Policy i.e. after a stressful call handling incident such as fatal fires or serious road traffic accidents. As such she acts as mentor giving staff support and guidance.

FACTOR 8 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR DATA – HANDLING, RECORD KEEPING, PROCESSING

The Claimant sets up, updates and extracts data from the database for NIFRS fire reports. These reports are prepared by the officer in command for every operational incident attended by the NIFRS. The information in the report will record the type of incident, its location, the number of appliances, the equipment used, difficulties encountered, fatalities/injuries etc. The Claimant is responsible for collation of the information from such reports for all the Command Areas within the NIFRS. When she has received all the fire reports it is her responsibility to ensure these are forwarded to the Department of Communities and Local Government (Fire statistics research Division) in England. She is also responsible for coordination and issue of this information to outside bodies such as the PSNI.

An incident form is also produced for each incident attended by the NIFRS and she extracts information from these forms to provide a report for all NIFRS personnel.

Other types of paperwork or data the Claimant is involved with include

Fire Reports as well as completing such forms she has responsibility for storing these and processing them in the form of forwarding them onto interested parties;

Attendance management documents – the Claimant monitors all of these documents where required, she will deal directly with the NIFRS Senior Medical Advisor, Attendance Management Officer and the Occupational Health Officer;

Overtime and Training course payment documents by which the Claimant authorises all payments and maintains records for budget requirements she has responsibility for storing these and processing them in the form of forwarding them onto wages and salaries;

Internal Memos on issues such as Mobilising updates e.g. Cross Border Mobilising, Business Continuity Plan Evacuation, Regional Control Centre Crewing Shortage Coping Mechanisms the Claimant sends these to her sub ordinates to action for her three functional departments;

External memos on issues such as call handling in association with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Fire Report processing in association with the Dept of Communities for Local Govt. The Claimant uses incident

information to investigate difficulties with the aforementioned agencies and follows this up by responding in writing to the relevant agency;

Email on issues such as Attendance Management, Operational Exercises, Schedule dates for meetings to other Departments e.g. Human Resources, Internal Auditor. The Claimant arranges meeting with the above to pursue her departmental objectives e.g. recruitment and checking performance indicators.

NIFRS Policies on issues such as Call Challenge Policy, Call Management. The Claimant has sole responsibility for writing and implementing these policies within the Regional Control Centre, after ensuring that they have been appropriately screened under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. These are prepared, reviewed etc. following research of information such as statistics on incidents attended by NIFRS resources and consultation with Regional Control Centre personnel about the effectiveness of existing procedures. She would also use information gathered from other Fire Services such as Greater Manchester Fire Service and organisations such as Chief Fire Officers Association and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Claimant ensures such documents are stored both in electronic and as hard copies.

Other actions carried out by the Claimant in respect of these forms of data etc. include the following:

1. The Claimant receives the Fire Reports on paper format. These forms provide statistical information relating to the Fire Service attendance at incidents i.e. response times, damage to property, fire service resources attending the incident, any casualties or fatalities involved at the incident.

2. The Claimant records the receipt of these fire reports on her database and sends them to her staff to extract statistical information from them.

3. The Claimant ensures a copy of these forms are filed and stored and maintained for future reference.

4. The Claimant also ensures that the original forms are forwarded by post to the Department of Communities and Local Government (Fire Statistics Research Division) in England.

5. If these forms are not received by the Claimant (within the 4 week period) it is her responsibility to remind the personnel i.e. Area Commanders to submit the paperwork immediately. The Fire Statistics Research Division regularly queries the non submission of such reports.

6. Attendance management – the Claimant receives attendance management (sickness absence) information by e mail from her watch officers on a monthly basis. She then checks the information provided to ensure that the sickness absence is acceptable and in accordance with the targets laid down by the Service. If not she then refers this data onto human resources with a view to taking further action.

Some of the data/ material the Claimant works with is sensitive or critical including:

Service policies, whilst in draft format, are confidential at Group Commander and Assistant Chief Fire Officer level until agreed. For example, the Regional Control Centre Crewing Document. This document is confidential as it contains changes to working practices and staffing issues that at first must be addressed with the representative body i.e. Fire Brigades Union. Confidentiality is required because changes to the policies, if leaked beyond senior management could have a negative effect on staff and their morale.

Medical examination reports of staff on sick leave – the contents of such and the recommendations etc. are to be treated confidentially between the employee, the Occupational Health Department, the Claimant and their supervisory officers.

Negotiations with Representative Body (Fire Brigades Union) in some circumstances would be confidential and sensitive. So for example changes to working practices, introduction of new procedures, changes to conditions of service e.g. change to shift/hours of work. These remain confidential to avoid any undue stress on staff whilst agreed negotiation processes take place. This also avoids any loss of morale.

Personnel interviews will deal with sensitive and confidential information such as nature of sickness or other personal issues. It is totally inappropriate to have such information in the public domain. Confidentiality must be observed at all times.

Grievance interviews: it is necessary to protect every individual whilst allowing them to raise issues which may give them cause for concern. For example perceived bullying or harassment etc. by other members of staff. Other forms of grievance might include a perceived lack of opportunity or access to development opportunities. In all cases these should be handled with sensitivity and confidentiality.

Freedom of Information enquiries are sensitive and have to be treated confidentially as they may impact on official investigations into incident handling and consequences. The Claimant would receive requests for information regularly.

FACTOR 9 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR SECURITY AND / OR CONFIDENTIALITY FOR PREMISES AND/OR PEOPLE

The Regional Control Centre is an emergency service provider and is a restricted area. Security is maintained by ensuring only appropriate staff with appropriate swipe cards can enter the facility. The Claimant must ensure that this is maintained and access restricted. She does this by confirming the reason and need for the individual to attend the Regional Control Centre. She does this by ensuring the individual is either accompanied by an approved member of staff or they are issued with an appropriate visitors pass. This is reviewed on appointment of new staff or on receipt of a request for access to this restricted area.

In line with the above, she has an overall responsibility for the safety and welfare of the on duty personnel in the Regional Control Centre. At any one time this will amount to 20 but could increase to 50 people. This would include Regional Control Centre personnel and visitors. To meet her responsibility the Claimant must ensure that the area is free from any potential hazard which could cause harm to any individual. This would include instructing all persons on evacuation procedures, use of equipment and the need for attention to welfare.

In addition the Claimant has responsibility for ensuring that policies and practices in relation to the security of people and / or premises are carried out by others. In particular she has responsibility to ensure that all personnel in the Regional Control Centre are fully aware of the day to day responsibilities placed upon on duty personnel in relation to the security of people and / or premises. This includes for example routine training and updating all personnel on practices and procedures. To achieve this she must liaise with the appropriate training personnel who will be responsible to deliver this training. This would be reviewed on a quarterly basis.

The Claimant has responsibility for maintaining confidentiality about people, policies or information held by herself including the following:

She is the custodian of all Regional Control Centre personal files which include all reports on all 57 personnel under her command and confidential information about them including sensitive information such as medical details.

The Claimant’s role includes the researching and preparation of strategic Policy Documentation in draft form for inclusion as Service Policy. For example, the Regional Control Centre Future Service Delivery Model which addresses changes to contractual hours, shift patterns, and conditions of service for the future. This policy is dealt with at Group Commander rank and subject to approval by Assistant Chief Fire Officer and above. It must also reflect the requirements of Equality Legislation.

The Claimant has responsibility for ensuring that others carry out policies and practices in relation to confidentiality. For example, she has responsibility to ensure that all personnel in the Regional Control Centre are given the appropriate level of training for their job specific role and at the same time ensure that those responsible for delivering training and assessing competence maintain records in a secure and confidential manner to protect individuals from unwarranted criticism based on perceived capability. The Claimant will also ensure that each of the four Watch Commanders in the control room are fully aware of the need to keep the contents of return to work interviews etc. confidential and also to maintain confidentiality with regard to welfare requests. The Claimant is responsible for all Attendance Management issues and deals with these directly with her subordinates and emphasises to them at such meetings the need for confidentiality.

FACTOR 10 – RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CARE OF OTHERS

In addition to her health and safety responsibilities detailed elsewhere, the Claimant is involved in the care of all Regional Control Centre personnel in the following ways:

1. Home Visits – Personnel on Long Term Sick Leave. The Claimant must carry out “home visits” to personnel who are absent from work on long term sick. Long term sick is defined as a period of four weeks or more. The purpose of these visits is to offer support and welfare facilities and maintains regular contact with the employee throughout their period of absence.

2. Arrange Medical Referrals: The Claimant arranges medical referrals to the Senior Medical Advisor (SMA) on request from Regional Control Centre personnel or in line with the Attendance Management Policy. The Claimant arranges these appointments herself by telephone and where necessary discusses personnel issues with the SMA. She then follows this up with written correspondence to the employee and to the SMA.

3. Liaison with NIFRS Occupational Health and Welfare Officer. The Claimant liaises with the Group Commander (Occupational Health Officer) meeting on a monthly basis to attend a “Case Management Conference”. This meeting also involves the Senior Medical Advisor, Director of Human Resources and the Services Attendance Management Officer. This meeting is to discuss personnel in the Claimant’s department who are absent from work for more than four weeks or who have continual health issues.

4. Liaison with Occupational Health Practitioners. The Claimant also refers members of staff with medical issues to the Occupational Health Practitioners. This would include medical circumstances unrelated to sickness for e.g. unable to wear standard uniform such as footwear.

5. Facilitation of Personnel who may have domestic issues. The Claimant also offers confidential support and counselling facilities for staff who wish to discuss personal/family issues which may be causing them difficulties.

6. Where necessary the Claimant would ensure that arrangements are put in place in order to support and accommodate the care of personnel in the form of referrals to the counselling services offered by NIFRS.

7. She would also offer personal support in the form of telephone contact or meeting the staff member at a neutral location.

FACTOR 11 – CONCENTRATION, ACCURACY, MEMORY.

Examples of activities in the Claimant’s work where she has to concentrate, be alert, focus include the following:

Under Major Incident or Spate Conditions (excessive increase in emergency calls) she will be recalled to the Regional Control Centre as per Major Incident instruction to assume overall command of the operational response made by the NIFRS. For example, during the July celebrations and Halloween when the

Regional Control Centre encounters a high level of operational activity. She meets with Area Commanders to formulate a strategic plan for these occasions. As incidents occur and develop, this requires her to quickly assimilate large amounts of information enabling the organisation to adapt to an ever changing situation. So, for example she needs to be able to react quickly so that if appliances are mobilised from one station to cover an incident outside its normal territory, that there is adequate cover available to cover a fire in that town for example. So if a number of appliances are called from a number of towns to cover, for example, a large forest fire, the Claimant needs to be thinking ahead to ensure that contingencies are in place to cover risks at those towns if a fire were to occur there whilst the forest fire has taken up a lot of appliances and personnel.

Also, when involved in recruitment and selection procedures, grievance procedure, disciplinary procedure etc. it is essential that the Claimant concentrates so that she identifies all relevant issues to the decision making process so that the right decision is made and so that she can stand over what ever decision she makes.

The Claimant when preparing reports responding to requests etc., such as Freedom of Information, must ensure the information requested is correct and complete confidentiality maintained.

In preparation of meetings with senior management the Claimant needs to concentrate on minutes, reports, draft procedures etc. so she is fully briefed for meetings so she can discuss issues that arise for e.g. changes to mobilising practices and procedures. She must also be well prepared to contribute to technical development issues.

The Claimant also needs to concentrate at the various strategic meetings she attends such as meetings with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Operations Forum, Outside Agencies such as Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Assistant and Duty Headquarters, so she can listen and understand the impact any proposed actions on NIFRS part will have on the RCC. She needs to concentrate so she can respond and put forward her views in relation to such changes etc.

At meetings with her staff, either on an individual or group basis, the Claimant also needs to concentrate so she can take on board issues raised by staff members such as increases in work load and the ability to adapt to changes in the working environment. These could be procedural or changes in technology. She must also be able to take on board and react to a wide variety of staffing issues both at individual and group level. This will help her to improve levels of service delivery.

If the Claimant is dealing with complaints about the RCC, both internal and external, the Claimant has to concentrate so that she can understand and respond to the complaint so that the correct and adequate response is made and she can stand over any explanation etc. given.

In dealing with report writing, attending meetings, recruitment and selection procedures, disciplinary procedures and grievance procedures the Claimant

has to be 100% accurate so as to ensure appropriate outcomes. She must endeavour to ensure that the correct decisions are made, that her feed back into meetings is taken seriously and that there are no adverse consequences.

In addition all aspects of written and verbal communication provided by the Claimant to other departments or external agencies must be accurate. The following are some examples of the types of communication involved where accuracy is required.

i. Report of monthly Operational activity submitted to the NIFRS Fire Board and circulated throughout the organisation. This report details statistics on incidents recorded by the Regional Control Centre and also includes calls of special interest. This may inform and influence decision making on call handling processes. The Claimant would check the accuracy of information by a random check of all calls and by a detailed check of calls of interest.

ii. Fire Report information to the Department for Communities of Local Government, Fire Statistics Research Division, England. This report is provided for every major fire incident and is used to help predict trends and patterns of fire related incidents. This can subsequently be used to put into place procedures of a preventative nature e.g. if there is an increase in the number of fires in domestic dwellings for given localities, this may lead to improved Fire Safety campaigns. Accuracy is crucial to avoid the unnecessary waste of public money in such campaigns etc.

iii. Details of fires, road traffic incidents are often requested by PSNI for police investigations. The Claimant may be required to prepare a pack of information for PSNI including fire reports, statements from RCC personnel, tape recordings related to the incidents etc. The Claimant will delegate this responsibility to a junior staff member, but will physically check all the information collated to ensure accuracy so that there is no negative impact on the police investigation.

The Claimant will often have to remember sequences etc. contained within mobilising instructions and action cards. This would be necessary if during any meeting she was be required to detail the Regional Control Centre actions for any given scenario. This will help in decision making processes and the updating of NIFRS Standard Operating Procedures e.g. Mobilising to Islands, Marine Mobilising, Flooding etc.

It is rare, if at all, that there are errors on the Claimant’s part in her work.

FACTOR 12 – EMOTIONAL DEMANDS, STRESS AND PRESSURES IN THE JOB

In the 14 year period the Claimant has been in post she has, generally speaking, had good working relationships within NIFRS and with the representatives of outside agencies with whom she communicates, such as PSNI, NIAS, Water Service, Road Service, Donegal Fire Service, Camp West (Regional Control Centre for the West of Ireland). There have been however

occasions where she has encountered difficulty with sub ordinate staff members which inevitably comes with the role of being the manager of 57 people. The Claimant has received conflict management training to deal with such stressful issues.

There would also be demanding situations when she has to “fight the corner” for the RCC in terms of making bids for funding, recruitment and balancing the needs of the Regional Control Centre with all other NIFRS departments.

The Claimant is the first point of contact for complainants (both internal and external) in terms of the service delivered by RCC staff and/or staffing issues. Complainants by their nature are difficult and have the potential to be demanding and stressful. The Claimant will use her good inter-personal skills to defuse the situation, to establish the facts and determine a resolution.

Difficult situations that might arise with the public include complaints with regard to perceived inadequate call handling by Regional Control Centre personnel. The Claimant is the first point of contact for complainants (both internal and external) in terms of the service delivered by RCC staff. Complainants by their nature are difficult and have the potential to be demanding and stressful.

Difficult situations that might arise for the Claimant with the media might include pressurising of Regional Control Centre personnel to release details of incidents involving e.g. fatalities or attendance of NIFRS at incidents that have the potential to affect the wider community. The Claimant will have to step in to deal with such demanding calls from time to time.

Difficult situations that might arise with the external agencies include, for example, local councils providing the data necessary to maintain accurate information which will impact on incident handling. This will include contact information for emergency planning and other officers who may be called upon to support the emergency situation. Local Councils do not always appreciate the need for urgency. This role also includes receiving information on time and ensuring it is inputted correctly which is stressful and demanding to the Claimant as all information must be readily available to her RCC personnel staff to mobilise crews etc. effectively.

Sometimes, unrealistic timescales to meet deadlines put excess pressure and stress on the Claimant. Additional demands are placed on the Claimant as she will often be required to meet deadlines and/or conflicting priorities. So she may have several things that need to be done for the same time or in or around the same time which require prioritising and longer hours of work.

Other stressors include meeting and supporting Regional Control Centre personnel, with serious medical and personal issues, in order to offer comfort and advice in extreme situations e.g. bereavement, major illness and personal tragedy.

Other difficult situations or circumstances that make it difficult for the Claimant to do her work include work loads being excessive at times. This entails having to take work home or work longer hours to complete

reports etc., in order, for example, to meet the set time scales required in the preparation of the Future Service Delivery Model, or to be able to feed back to the appropriate management level. This increases the pressure on the Claimant and can increase levels of stress etc. as operational activity takes precedence and reports and projects must be accommodated around this. The Claimant regularly has to take work home in order to meet the time constraints imposed on her. The Respondent states that she is not contracted to work at home and her workload is not excessive.

The Claimant’s work is interrupted on a daily basis by others seeking information and assistance in relation to the provision of information to outside agencies for e.g. PSNI and other authorised bodies seeking fire related information. She is also interrupted by internal and external phone calls and personnel calling at her office. Internally this could be about welfare issues/personnel with personal problems that require addressing urgently. Externally something such as mobilising problems which would require the Claimant to urgently contact command area officers. It would not be unusual for the Claimant to be interrupted in excess of 10 times per day. This entails the Claimant having to re-adjust and prioritise her current daily work schedule and is often under pressure in terms of having to “catch up”. This increases the pressure on the Claimant and can increase levels of stress etc.

Financial and recruitment pressures sometimes result in difficulties in staffing the control room function. This increases the pressure on the Claimant and can increase levels of stress etc. in that she must balance constraints of the budget against the demands of the Regional Control Centre whilst ensuring that minimum staffing levels and quality of service is maintained.

The stressful working environment of the RCC for staff, due to an ever increasing workload and the demands to update technology skills etc. results in increased stress related sick leave for such staff The Claimant has had to deal with numerous personnel who have suffered from ill health through work related issues (The Respondent disputes that this is an issue.) This in turn causes staffing pressures. The Claimant, as manager, has to deal with these pressures. This causes her stress in that she is often having to deal with competing issues i.e. the call handler who is off sick with stress who is unable to return to work; the Claimant’s duty to have appropriate levels of cover in the control room and the duty not to put other staff under too much stress (causing them to go off sick with stress) by covering the original sick leave vacancies for too long. This puts the Claimant under pressure to strike the right balance at all times and is a more or less a constant demand on her.

Fatal incidents and errors in incident management are extremely difficult to manage and affect the morale and effectiveness of staff. As a manager, the Claimant would organise one-to-one debriefing sessions and counselling as methods of defusing difficult situations. This causes her stress in that it may result in staff requiring time off which impacts on the crewing levels. She would also have the increased emotional demands of being concerned about her staff on a personal as well as a professional basis.

Fatal incidents and errors in incident management can be difficult to deal with on an individual basis for the Claimant e.g. whilst listening to a recording of an incident where a caller is dying whilst making a request for assistance, realising that a child has died in a fire etc. It is necessary to listen to these recordings for legal purposes.

Work in the Fire Service is recognised as a stressful occupation and the Claimant would be expected to accept such pressure and stress. The pressure and stress that the Claimant experiences, as well as the issues discussed above include always maintaining a strong face in spite of often tragic events. This in turn may impact on the Claimant’s private life as she needs to find a release for these emotions.

FACTOR 13 – DECISION MAKING AND INITIATIVE

In her work the Claimant would regularly have to take decisions about or make assessments/judgements about the following issues:

1. The Claimant is constantly making decisions and assessments as to whether there are satisfactory staffing levels in place and being maintained to ensure operational service delivery. This may involve the temporary transfer of staff to cover staff shortages and she will decide who, from her staff will cover such shortages.

2. The Claimant would regularly decide if overtime is required and authorise this and decides how much of her budget should be directed towards this.

3. The Claimant decides what training should be authorised for herself and her 57 staff (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) and decides how much of her budget should be directed towards this.

4. Other than new technology she decides what equipment, supplies etc. should be bought for the RCC and how much can be spent from the RCC budget in this regard.

5. The Claimant decides on an ongoing basis, what improvements etc. can be made to service delivery by RCC staff and decides if she can take action to improve the service or whether it needs to be raised further up the chain of command and decides to act accordingly.

6. Decides if action is required under the disciplinary procedure on conduct/performance issues, absence control procedure etc. for each of her 57 staff and acts as per those procedures. (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel, there were no non uniformed personnel.) The Claimant will also decide on the outcome of grievance procedure and disciplinary procedures at the appeal stage. She will also be involved in the decision making process for recruitment and selection exercises.

7. Decides what functions can be delegated to her 57 sub-ordinates (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel; there were no non uniformed personnel.)

8. Prioritising her work load and that of her 57 sub-ordinates (In the period of comparison, there would have been 53 uniformed personnel; there were no non uniformed personnel.)

9. Decides if staff require support, whether it be informal from the Claimant herself or more formal in terms of Occupational Health Department referrals/counselling referrals.

10. Decides what time scales should be placed on work delegated to her sub-ordinates.

In taking these decisions the sort of things the Claimant has to take into account include:

i. Current level of staffing available; required level of crewing; the effect of such temporary transfer and the individual’s personal circumstances; personnel currently unavailable and the reasons for their unavailability. She must take these issues into consideration in determining who to approach to cover absences and ensure that the appropriate level of staffing is in place.

ii. What training provision has been made within the Regional Control Centre by the dedicated training staff and other departments to ascertain if this is appropriate to meet training needs when making decisions on training.

iii. The condition of and need to replace Regional Control Centre furnishings etc. and prioritise such issues in terms of spending her budget on equipment etc. and/or staffing issues such as overtime and/or training.

iv. Any changes in policies and procedures that impact on incident handling and the Regional Control Centre to ensure that she can decide when the best time is to implement such changes, when training etc. on such new policies can be delivered so that staff can effectively implement these changes.

v. The credibility and reliability etc. of those involved in inter-personnel disputes within the RCC as well as the reliability etc. of evidence and arguments presented so that she can make the right decision when arbitrating in such disputes and facilitate the opportunity to resolve issues.

vi. The responsibilities of each role, the capabilities of each and every member of staff, the pressure each member of staff may be under either internally or externally when allocating/delegating work to the appropriate level to ensure this work is completed to the required standards.

vii. What matters require prioritisation in terms of incident handling, training, meetings and other administrative duties in order to maintain quality of service.

viii. What personnel she has and who the appropriate personnel are for tasks

ix. How approachable staff members are going to be in terms of discussing health and personal issues on a confidential basis.

x. Feedback received from project managers, lead officers, sub ordinates via team briefs etc. which help the Claimant to make decisions on improving strategies and processes within the RCC.

Three examples of matters the Claimant is able to decide on without having to refer or get agreement from others include:

1. Increasing staffing levels from the minimum required in the RCC to whatever level the Claimant feels appropriate for potential periods of enhanced operational activity. So for example, the 11^th July bonfire celebrations or Halloween where there is an expected increase of call activity.

2. Approval of overtime payments.

3. General work routine on a “day to day” basis for e.g. recall to duty of personnel in order to provide enhanced cover under spate conditions such as extreme weather conditions resulting in major flooding and increased demands on NIFRS resources. This may include the direction of Operations Support staff to crew the Command Room and liaising with senior officers. Also training personnel may be called upon to enhance control room activity.

Three examples of matters the Claimant would have to seek agreement from others before going ahead would include:

1. The Claimant can call for a change in overall establishment of the RCC. To do so would require her to prepare written business case for so doing. However, before this would change the approval of Assistant Chief Fire Officer is required to whom she will make her case;

2. The Claimant can call for a change in the Conditions of Service of RCC staff For example, the Future Service Delivery Model. To do so would require her to prepare written business case for so doing However, before this would change the approval of Assistant Chief Fire Officer in the first instance and ultimately the Chief Fire Officer is required to whom she will make her case. It will also be necessary for her to consult with Human Resources with regard to equality issues and refer to the representative bodies.

3. The Claimant can call for a change in Fire Service Policies affecting the RCC. With regard to management level policies this would require her to prepare written business case for so doing. For example Cross Border Co. Donegal Mobilizing. However, before this would change the approval of Assistant

Chief Fire Officer is required to whom she will make her case. In the case of operational policies she would consult and agree with the appropriate Group Commanders before progressing the issues to higher levels if necessary.

FACTOR 14 – COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Written Communication

The Claimant sends and or receive memos, emails, letters to/from others etc. This would include:

Internal emails, memos and letters within the Regional Control Centre in relation to: Mobilising issues e.g. Cross Border Mobilising procedures; general dissemination of work related information to Regional Control Centre personnel e.g. Annual leave targets; mobilising procedures e.g. high rise premise mobilising information; E mails, letters to/from personnel within RCC regarding medical appointments etc.

Internal emails, memos, letters within NIFRS as a whole in relation to Mobilising issues; Human Resources issues (including . recruitment, medical issues to Senior Medical Advisor); General dissemination of work related information to Regional Control Centre; papers such as Call Management, Call Handling.

External emails, letters to/from outside agencies e.g. PSNI requests for information with regard to hoax fire calls which may be used for legal purposes. Fire Statistics Research Division in England in relation to e.g. Fire reports. She also receives updates and requests for information from other fire services through “Finds” This is the U.K. Fire Service method of contacting each other about queries and informing each other of service information.

The Claimant also writes reports etc.

Examples of such reports include

Corporate Business Plan
Operational Assessment of Service Delivery Plan
NVQ Training Standards (National Forum)
Monthly Statistical Report;
Annual Budget;
Annual Training Needs Analysis;
Bi Annual Priorities and Targets Report.
Personal File Notes;
Attendance Management Case Notes;

In preparing such reports she will undertake various tasks as detailed below.

The Claimant prepares a monthly statistical report. This report highlights various types of incidents the Fire Service has attended such as fatalities, rescues, major fires and other calls that are of interest. The report would be four to six pages long and takes one day to prepare and deliver. Information is

gathered from the ProCad incident logging system and the Management Information System.

The Claimant prepares and submits the Annual Budget requirements of RCC on an Annual basis and taking into account expenditure in the previous year and uses this as a prediction model.

The Claimant produces and submits a Training Needs Analysis annually to the Fire Services Training Officer for each of the 57 staff under her command. This looks at individual and group needs and takes into account new technology, health and safety, management training opportunities etc The Claimant must also consider newly promoted staff and their developmental needs.

The Claimant provides the Annual Priorities and Target report for the Control Room and updates this report Bi Annually. This is drawn from the Business Plan Technical Development Directorate and involves completing projects which aims to improve the NIFRS quality of service.

The Claimant writes “personal file notes” on personnel in relation to various issues such as welfare, discipline etc. These are kept on the individual’s personal file. These notes are confidential.

The Claimant provides Attendance Management Case notes to the Senior Medical Advisor prior to medical appointments. She writes a brief history and resume of staff members prior to making an appointment. A copy of this is retained in their personal file.

Verbal Communication

The Claimant also deals with matters on the telephone answering queries, providing explanations etc.

1. On a daily basis the Claimant receives telephone calls from her staff members. This may be a simple query or request which can be immediately actioned or answered, for example the release of information to the media or she may have to go and seek information from her own sources e.g. incident recordings, or other departments such as Wages e.g. reduction in pay for any reason.

2. The Claimant will on a daily basis receive calls from any of sixty eight fire stations seeking information on mobilising issues, making complaints, details of fire reports, visits to the control room etc. She will provide the information there and then or she may have to go and seek information from her own sources e.g. consult with other staff members, control room records.

3. The Claimant will receive calls from members of the public seeking visits to the control room. She will check to see if these can be accommodated on the date and time requested. The details are entered into the “Day Book” and the officer on duty in the control room informed. These requests will vary in intensity depending on time of year etc.

Interpersonal skills used in the Claimant’s work – in dealing with colleagues, members of the public, other agencies etc. are detailed below

Predominantly the Claimant uses verbal communication skills as her primary mode of interacting with colleagues, clients, members of the public etc. and does so on a daily basis. This method is best received by recipients but has to be used in a constructive way so that at the same time the Claimant uses her listening skills too. So for example with other managers she will use such skills at management meetings to discuss and update changes in procedures and practices. This will be achieved by meeting with her line manager and also in recognised Fire Service Forums. With her sub-ordinate staff she will use such skills at meetings to discuss, for example performance reviews and staff concerns. With members of the public she will use such skills when receiving e.g. a complaint, request for information, visits by representation of external agencies such as DHSSPS. With external agencies/visitors to the RCC she uses such verbal communication skills in presentations about the work of the RCC to inform the recipient on NIFRS Regional Control Centre issues as well as using these to negotiate memorandums of understanding for joint working.

The Claimant has good empathy skills together with her good verbal communication and listening skills so as to encourage people to talk to her and these in conjunction with her 'open door' policy encourage all staff to approach her should they need to liaise with her on any matter, listening being the most important and valuable interpersonal skill;

The Claimant makes her staff aware of her flexibility and readiness to listen by having regular meetings with staff on a watch by watch basis listening and acting upon concerns, providing leadership and support when dealing with stressful issues in work and out of work such as personnel conflicts and stress in home life.

The Claimant acts as a facilitator for Watch Commanders meeting to enable areas of importance to be highlighted and rectified. This facilitates the interchange of views and deals with any area of concern.

The Claimant acts as point of contact for complaints and act to rectify situations quickly. She has to demonstrate patience and tact when dealing with such issues and hopefully use her powers of persuasion to convince those complaining that NIFRS is not at fault (unless it is).

The Claimant represents the department at various open forum giving presentations as a means of relaying messages and increasing understanding of what the organisation is trying to achieve. She also brings from these meetings to the Regional Control Centre any information which they must act upon.

The Claimant negotiates for RCC finance by stipulating the case for proposed expenditure in the area of responsibility and persuading them to meet her needs;

The Claimant challenges existing working practices at strategic management level to ensure the delivery of an efficient and effective service whilst ensuring staff are able to meet changes and challenges by motivating them and

persuading them of their abilities to do so. Examples of this are attending the Regional Control Centre during spate conditions to offer support and advice. Also by de briefing and feeding back information to all personnel on the high level of performance they have achieved.

FACTOR 15 – RELATIONSHIPS (INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL)

1. The Claimant has regular contact with internal and external people using various methods of contact. The Claimant needs to develop and maintain such relationships to ensure that the needs of the RCC are met so that NIFRS can mobilise effectively. This often means making sure the needs of her staff are met. With her superior colleagues the Claimant needs to ensure and maintain good relationships with them to ensure that they take on board and listen to her concerns about the operation of the RCC and so that she can persuade them to address her concerns so that the RCC operates in an efficient and effective manner. The Claimant will meet with Area Commanders and Group Commanders to confirm service objectives are being met.

2. The Claimant has a direct role in the management of subordinates’ relationships with each others. For example, she must ensure that all her subordinate officers work together effectively and efficiently to achieve service aims and objectives. She is also responsible for dealing with any problems that should arise between her subordinates.

3. In terms of external relationships, the Claimant has to maintain and develop these so that she can impress upon them the good work of the RCC and NIFRS generally so that respect and admiration of NIFRS is maintained. Such contacts are detailed below. She also meets with the Director of NIAS, the Chief Inspector of the PSNI Regional Control Centre, Senior officers of the Donegal Fire Service and Senior officers of CAMP West (this is the Regional Control Centre for the west of Ireland which covers Co. Donegal – this Regional Control Centre directly impacts on work carried out by the NIFRS Regional Control Centre as the NIFRS provide fire cover to the eastern part of Co. Donegal)

Senior Medical Advisor…mode of contact-- by telephone, written, e

mail and face to face.

Purpose—to discuss staff medical issues, arrange medical appointments and occasionally query reports received.

Status of contact---Senior Medical Advisor

Contact—Monthly meeting and at other times required to discuss staff

medical issues.

b. Occupational Health Practitioners…mode of contact---by telephone and e mail

Purpose—to discuss and refer staff members for medical reasons

Status of contact—Works with the Senior Medical Advisor

Contact—On an irregular basis. When the Claimant has to refer staff members that do not warrant a medical appointment with the Senior Medical Advisor.

c. Fire Service Headquarters Receptionist…mode of contact --by telephone and face to face, email.

Purpose—to receive my daily mail i.e. internal and external post. To request the receptionist to “hold” calls, take messages/details when I am out of my office.

Status of contact—Switchboard Receptionist

Contact—On a daily basis

d. Area Commanders (4)..mode of contact—telephone, email, written and face to face

Purpose—to discuss changes in operational procedures, such as increasing or reducing the attendance of fire appliances. Informing by e mail that fire reports are required by the Fire Statistics Research Division and that I have not received them from some of their Fire stations

Status of contact---Area Commanders

Contact—as required, but is likely to happen at least once a month

e. Attendance Management Officer---mode of contact—telephone, e mail and face to face.

Purpose—to discuss staff attendance issues. Arrange audit of Attendance Management where necessary

Status of contact—Attendance Management Officer

Contact— as required, but is likely to happen at least once a month

f. Immediate Subordinate Officers---mode of contact—telephone, e mail and face to face

Purpose—Plan and allocate work activities to meet service delivery needs, discuss staffing issues, plan and agree budgets, provide feedback on team and individual staff performance, discuss new technical equipment and the training requirements that would be needed, discuss and co ordinate projects to achieve objectives.

Status of contact—the Claimant has 2 Assistant Group Commanders, one has a “technical “ reference the other is “operations and training”.

Contact—Daily basis

g. Police Service of Northern Ireland—mode of contact—telephone, written and face to face.

Purpose—to provide confidential information on disc and paper format. To sign data protection documentation when releasing confidential information.

Status of contact---PSNI personnel carrying out investigation of cases.

Contact---as and when required, could be at least once a month

h. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service----Mode of contact—telephone, written and face to face.

Purpose---To discuss any communication problems there may be with Ambulance and Fire Control staff.

Status of contact---Assistant Director of Communications

Contact---Meet yearly with other services including British Telecom Service Provider, PSNI

Pay visit to view Ambulance Control Room.

i. NIFRS Head of Internal Audit— mode of contact -telephone, e mail, face to face and written

Purpose---To discuss Internal Audit Reports, Quality Service Review and Statistical Returns i.e. Best Value Performance Indicators (BPVI)

Status of contact---Head of Internal Audit

Contact---Monthly basis

j. NIFRS Budget Accountant --mode of contact—e mail, face to face, and telephone.

Purpose---to receive on a monthly basis update on budget expenditure

and discuss any associated issues i.e. overspend/under spend

Status of contact---Budget Accountant

Contact---Quarterly basis

k. Fire Service Training Officer--- mode of contact---e mail, telephone, written

Purpose—to provide written training needs analysis for control room personnel on a yearly basis.

Status of contact--- Fire Service Training Officer (Area Commander role)

Contact--- Quarterly basis.

l. Human Resources Manager----Mode of contact—telephone, email, face to face

Purpose---to discuss recruitment, agree times /dates for interview panels both operational and control room when necessary. Confirm vacant posts in the Control Room and confirm advertising of vacancies.

Status of contact---Uniformed Appointment Officer

Contact--- Monthly basis

m. Control Room Managers of the Fire Service in the U.K.----Mode of contact—telephone, e mail

Purpose---To maintain a working relationship, to share information .

Status of contact---Group Managers and Principal Fire Control Officers in charge of Fire Service Control Rooms in the United Kingdom

Contact--- Monthly Basis

In addition the Claimant attends meetings and working groups including those detailed below:

Operations Forum – This discusses Support Services, Strategies and Policies, and is made up of area and departmental representatives of Group Commander level and above. The Claimant represents the Regional Control Centre ensuring that relevant issues are brought to the forum and discussed and her suggestions and views on behalf of the RCC and its staff are taken on board e.g. estates management in terms of upkeep of RCC, changes to operational procedures such as variable crewing, Road Rescue Mobilising. This forum meets monthly.

Management Meeting – Chair of meeting designed to define a strategy for the Regional Control Centre and discuss relevant issues in relation to e.g. staffing, training needs and new technology. This is

made up of the Claimant and her two Assistant Group Commanders. This forum meets bi monthly and when necessary.

Heads of Department Meetings – This forum meets bi monthly and is made up of uniformed and non uniformed personnel of senior management level i.e. Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Assistant Group Commander (Technical), I.T. Manager, Transport Manager and Stores Manager. The purpose of this forum is for Heads of Departments to receive updates and feedback of organisational strategy and discuss and agree changes to such strategy such as the Corporate Business Plan.

Duty and Assistant Duty HQ meeting – This forum discusses and monitors the day to day activity of the Fire Service and the effectiveness of procedures implemented by other groups. It is made up of Area Commanders, Group Commanders, Assistant Group Commanders and the Corporate Communications Officer. The Claimant represents the Regional Control Centre ensuring any relevant issues are brought to the meeting and discussed and her suggestions and views on behalf of the RCC and its staff are taken on board e.g. Training in the Incident Command System, New Dimension Mobilising and Command Support Mobilising to the Republic of Ireland. This forum meets quarterly.

Case Conference Meeting – This discusses confidential issues of ongoing Regional Control Centre related sickness/welfare issues and involves the Claimant, the Senior Medial Advisor the Attendance Management Officer and the Director of Human Resources. This forum meets monthly.

Monthly Meeting with ACFO Wright - Director of Technical Development – This is a one on one meeting between ACFO Wright and the Claimant where discussions take place in relation to Regional Control Centre plans, projects and developments including strategic issues such as recruitment, performance indicators and operational issues such as updating on Regional Control Centre activity.

Human Resources meeting – This discusses establishment issues within the RCC – e.g. advertisement of vacant posts and the meeting involves the Claimant and the Recruitment and Services Manager. This forum meets when recruitment is required or other vacancies exist.

Station Commander and Watch Commander Meetings – The Claimant chairs meeting on a quarterly basis to discuss matters of organisational strategy and feedback on same such as what is happening with various projects, e.g. how the digital radio project is progressing.

Training and Development – The Claimant chairs a meeting to discuss training strategy and personal development objectives for Regional Control Centre personnel. Attendees at this meeting include her two Assistant Group Commanders and if necessary Station

Commander and Watch Commander training personnel and such meetings occur on a six month basis.

Attendance Management – The Claimant discusses Regional Control Centre personnel issues directly with the Attendance Management Officer on a monthly basis or as required.

FACTOR 16 – PHYSICAL EFFORT (STAMINA)

1. The Claimant is not required to lift or carry or manoeuvre heavy objects, materials etc.

2. The Claimant has to walk from her office to other departments/offices in the building throughout the day for example, her office is on the ground floor at NIFRS Headquarters whereas the control room is on the first/second floor. This will involve climbing two flights of stairs several times per day. She will also attend various meetings and this requires her to walk to that location which again, typically will involve climbing two flights of stairs several times per day. The Claimant as part of NIFRS fitness policy chooses not to use the lift in the building.

3. The Claimant uses a personal computer in her office throughout the day. This involves sitting in a fixed position for long periods of time approx two to three hours at a time. This can be sore on her back and she has to ensure that she has regular breaks from the computer screen. This can also strain her eye sight and has to wear glasses as a result of using a computer screen. She takes breaks from the computer screen by walking outside for fresh air to relieve the strain on her back and in compliance comply with the Display Screen Regulations.

4. The Claimant is required to be able to drive, on the occasions of home visits to personnel on long term sickness absence, she would have to drive to visit staff at home. It would be difficult to quantify the number of hours involved on a weekly basis, but would be approx two hours per week. She would also be required to attend the Training Centre form time to time, which would involve her driving on average another two hours per week.

FACTOR 17 – PHYSICAL SKILLS, MANUAL DEXTERITY, MANIPULATIVE SKILLS

1. The Claimant uses a personal computer that requires hand/eye co ordination when typing.

2. When typing reports letters, memos and inputting information onto a data base, precision and accuracy is required.

3. In order to meet deadlines and allow the Claimant to address other activities of her work speed is also required when typing. She is a qualified typist and has an RSA typing qualification as well as an ECDL qualification i.e. European Computer Driving License.

FACTOR 18 – ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS

The Claimant does not encounter bad smells or odours, excessive heat, cold, noise, or any other unpleasant conditions in her role.

FACTOR 19 – HAZARDS

In her work the Claimant does not use or work with potentially dangerous machinery, processes, substances, people.

To ensure all elements of NIFRS Health and Safety Policy are applied and that there is compliance with various statutory regulations such as the Display Screen Regulations (1992) and the Health and Safety at Work (NI) Regulations (2000), risk assessments are carried out in line with the statutory regulations within all areas of the Regional Control Centre including the Claimant’s work and work station.

The Claimant wears glasses to prevent any further deterioration in her eye sight when working at her computer screen. She also ensures that she and all her staff have access to eye sight testing facilities.

The Claimant has never been involved in an accident or incident at work, in her department arising from the machinery used or work done.

CASE REFS: 1302/07

632/08

CLAIMANT: June Fahy

RESPONDENT: Northern Ireland Fire &

Rescue Service

APPENDIX ‘X’

SECTION C PAGES 15-41

SECTION C 15-41

JOB DESCRIPTION - ASSISTANT GROUP COMMANDER (CONTROL)

REGIONAL CONTROL CENTRE – TECHNICAL MANAGER

A. BACKGROUND

I. JOB HOLDER:

AGC Robin Bigger

II. STATUS:

Comparator

III. REFERENCE PERIOD FOR COMPARISON OF DUTIES:

12 June 2006 – 12 June 2007

IV. JOB TITLE/GRADE:

Assistant Group Commander (Control)/Group Manager A (Control)

V. HOURS PER WEEK:

The Comparator undertakes two types of duties (i) his “normal” managerial duties cover a 48 hour week known as ‘positive hours’ which is rostered for operational command (to manage communications at operational incidents in accordance with Service Incident Command Policy), managerial, supervisory and specialist duties appropriate to the comparators post and (ii) Standby & call-out duty, so that the employee is available which is rostered so that the comparator is available on call for operational command duties (to manage communications at operational incidents in accordance with Service Incident Command Policy)and the urgent performance of managerial duty if called upon.

Duty hours and the standby/callout duty hours, the latter divided by four, shall be forty-eight per week on average over a cycle not exceeding eight weeks. Each cycle is four weeks.

For example a typical four week cycle could be as set out below.

Week 1: – Monday, Tuesday, 8 positive hours and 16 hours on stand by (on each day); Wednesday – Friday 8 positive hours no stand by. Off Saturday and Sunday.

Week 2: Off Monday; Tuesday 12 positive hours and 12 hours on stand by; Wednesday 8 positive hours and no stand by; Thursday 12 positive hours and 12 on stand by; Friday 8 positive hours and 16 stand by. Off Saturday and Sunday.

Week 3: Monday and Tuesday 8 positive hours and 16 standby (on each day); Wednesday and Thursday off; Friday 8 positive hours and no stand by. Saturday and Sunday 8 positive hours and 16 standby (on each day).

Week 4: Off Monday and Tuesday; Wednesday 12 positive hours and 12 stand by; Thursday 8 positive hours and 16 stand by; Friday 8 positive hours and no stand by, off-duty, Saturday and Sunday.

VI. LOCATION OF WORK

NIFRS Headquarters, Seymour Street Lisburn and response to incidents throughout NI and parts of ROI when required.

He has his own office containing a desk, telephone, filing cabinets. He also has specialist ICT in the form of applications & hardware in his office facilitating Administrator access to Command & Control, Geographic Information, Corporate Address Hub applications. In addition the Comparator provides support for certain ICT systems from home via a virtual private network connection.

He has no personal secretary, but has administrative support in the form of personnel under his direct Command (RCC Operations Support Team, RCC Tech/Training Team).

Other travel includes response to incidents, frequent travel to fire stations, meetings with other agencies/suppliers/Fire & Rescue Services throughout UK and ROI. The Comparator provides transport arrangements and receives remuneration under the essential car users scheme currently in operation within the Service.

Is contactable via pager or work mobile telephone or home telephone.

VII. RESPONSIBLE TO

Group Commander (Control) (for RCC matters).

In addition to the Group Commander (Control) he is also responsible to Managers at strategic level (ACFO, DCFO) for matters specifically relating to technical work undertaken for the Operational environment e.g. Command Support Units, Response planning for IRMP, CCTV for operational use).

VIII. PREVIOUS CAREER HISTORY

School Leaver

1X. DATE APPOINTED TO THE POST

October 2003

B. JOB CONTENT

MAIN DUTIES/JOB PURPOSE

The Comparators role has key tasks which include Management, Technical, Command Support, Communications Callout, Attendance at Operational Incidents:-

Management & Technical

His role is to assist as directed by the Group Commander (Control), to plan, co-ordinate and support NIFRS service delivery within the Regional Control Centre and throughout the NIFRS environment. The Respondent contests the suggestion that the Claimant directs the Comparator. The Respondent states that alleging that they cannot recall an example of where the Claimant has ever given direction to him other than very simple requests for information for submissions she has to compete such as the Annual Report, Priorities & Targets report etc. The Claimant maintains that this is incorrect as numerous times in this document he has stated that he is directly answerable to the Claimant for quite a considerable amount of work and direction. For example Business Contingency Planning. In a nut shell, the Comparator has responsibility for the development and implementation of technical elements which are essential enablers for mobilising and include technology associated with GIS, Telecommunications, Command Support, Information gathering and so on. For example the Comparator was a member of the Project Board for the replacement Radio System. This all feeds into the RCC’s operational strategy needed to ensure the organisation’s ability to mobilise appliances throughout Northern Ireland correctly. He has responsibility to evolve and manage the process to collect and provide the information or data to support Command & Control of NIFRS operations.

He has responsibility for specifying and procuring technical equipment and responsibility for various specialist technical issues in terms of telecommunications, Command Support and Geographic Information Systems. As such he has to be familiar with such technology, be able to identify problems with such equipment, look to improve upon the equipment by undertaking research and development and proof of concept analysis.

The Comparator is the manager with responsibility for technical issues in the Regional Control Centre, for example, ensuring that a proposed piece of equipment is ‘fit for purpose’. In addition, he has responsibility for all technical issues concerning Command Support Units, Geographic Information Systems and corporate Address Hub and other associated fire ground technologies as CCTV/Thermal imaging.

CSUs

The CSUs are specialist fire appliances equipped with a range of telecommunications and ICT equipment configured to assist fire fighters on the ground, in particular, in maintaining a safe system of work and providing information or operational intelligence essential for Fire & Rescue operations. There are four CSUs which are based at Kilrea, Irvinestown, Lisburn and Strabane fire stations.

CSUs are intrinsic to the Incident Command System (ICS) which is a UK Fire & Rescue Service safe system of work and are called into operation at “level

3” or the top level of the Incident Command System. The Respondent states that this would account for a significant proportion of incidents. The Claimant would accept that this amounts to a proportion of incidents, but not a significant proportion . In effect, this covers all medium to large size incidents and there can be two or three of these incidents per week.

CSUs are equipped with a range of technology to support retrieval of, information about chemicals, plans of buildings and other information which allows fire fighters on the ground to ascertain risks and have increased awareness. In addition, the CSUs can provide CCTV footage of incidents to assist the management of them.

The Comparator would spend approximately 35% of his time in relation to work related to the CSUs on a daily basis. Duties would include checking any problems occurring with CSU equipment, correcting these himself by removing and replacing pieces of equipment etc or, if necessary calling in expert engineers to address such difficulties.

Whilst attending incidents or exercises within the CSU there is a Command Support Officer role who is officer in charge of the CSU and the Comparator would undertake this role when mobilised or nominated to do so by the Incident Commander, Exercise Director etc. The Claimant requires further information before agreeing or disagreeing this point and requires details of when and who gave him the OIC role in the period of comparison. In the year of comparison he would have undertaken this role at a high percentage (the Claimant does not yet agree or disagree this and requires the info sought above) of Incidents, Exercise, training and other events attended by CSU’s, during the period the Comparator was providing a high level of mentoring. In this role he would have responsibility for running the CSU and its seven crew members. This entails allocating incident ground radio talk groups, ensuring the incident command board is completed with relevant information, mobilising/directing resources (under instruction of the incident commander) to their relevant location recording their operational status and role; creating a sketch of the incident plan showing incident ground layout with location of crews and appliances; completion of the incident log; arranging for relief crews and equipment; welfare of personnel; briefing designated personnel of their tasks and safety critical information; using the command board to prompt the incident commander or advise of impending issues.

The Comparator, has asked to be informed, (but is not required to be unless on duty as the ‘Duty Communications Officer’ when 6 Pumps or more are mobilised) of all incidents involving CSUs and if the Comparator is off duty he will, voluntarily, but is not required to, respond given his commitment to successful implementation of technology he is responsible for.

The CSU is equipped with computers, smart boards, faxes, telephones, CCTV, satellite communications. The Comparator is also responsible for training staff on how to operate the CSU equipment and would spend approximately 15% of his week doing so. As well as training others within NIFRS in the use of

CSU’s he has also been required to brief other fire services including senior officers in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on such CSU issues.

In the year of comparison, the Comparator had an advisory role in relation to budget, i.e. he would advise the ACFO of what pieces of technical equipment should be bought from the communications budget for equipment in the CSU. He would advise the ACFO on bids for money for the CSUs. From time to time, he would be advising on bids for spending in excess of £200k.

Interagency Working

Also in dealing with the CSU role, the Comparator would along with other Officers take part in meetings with interested groups regarding public safety events, such as at the North West 200, this involves consultation with police, ambulance services and organisers of that event. This is to identify what risks are presented by such events and to ensure that the CSU is properly configured for big events such as the NW200, Rally Ireland and so on. He would attend meetings and de-briefs and the Comparator would spend 15% of his time at such meetings.

Communications Officer

1. The Comparator, is and was, during the year of comparison one of three communications officers who oversee the provision of operational communications on a 24/7 basis and manage fault scenarios and provide support when communication faults arise. In addition, at incidents requiring six or more fire engines, the communication officer is required to attend the incident or the HQ Command Room. For example at an incident the Communications Officer will assist the incident commander in the management of incident activities by assuming responsibility for organising and allocating radios and talk groups.

Geographical Information System (GIS)

1. This is an ICT based application used for operational and thematic mapping and analysis for which the Comparator has responsibility for and for example is used in the RCC for mobilising, in the CSUs to retrieve operational intelligence and by the operations development team to model response standards for IRMP. The information is used to help to advise NIRFS about the nearest appliances to an incident, how quickly they will get there etc., where water hydrants are etc. This then leads into organisational issues such as a number of engines required across NIRFS, the number of stations required etc..

On a daily basis, the Comparator will 35% of his day dealing with GIS looking at ways to expand and improve upon it, contacting outside agencies to obtain or share spatial data. He would also be in contact with the technical suppliers of the equipment on a weekly basis.

In addition, the Comparator will, where he can, sort out faults within GIS, so if staff are having difficulties with operation of the GIS he will attempt to resolve these if not he will seek assistance from the technical suppliers.

Within GIS work, the Comparator had, in the year of comparison, responsibility for managing three members of staff who in turn have responsibility for inputting geographical information such as, there whereabouts of hydrants etc. into the system. These employees are based in the RCC Operations Support Team.

RCC Operations Support Team & Tech/Training Team

This is made up of two teams, both managed, on a day to day basis by the Comparator.

The RCC Operations Support Team is the team which deals with the task of keeping the Command & Control mobilising system updated with vital information used during 999 call handling and to provide Fire-fighters with safety critical information. During the period of comparison, there where three members of staff who would carry out this function. The Comparator was responsible for management of these individuals.

In addition, in the year of comparison, there were two members of staff attached to the RCC Technical/Training Team.

The Comparator would spend 65% percent of his day dealing with RCC Operations Support Team and RCC Technical/Training Team matters doing providing line management, negotiating and liaising with other agencies who supply data, providing and maintaining the technical infrastructure necessary for both team environments etc.

As part of this work, the Comparator represents “blue light” agencies (Fire, Police, Ambulance, MCA [Coastguard] in his role with the GI Delivery Board member which is part of the Northern Ireland Geographical Information Strategy a DCAL initiative. The purpose of this forum is to ensure that these all members of the Group are sharing information to make it easier for Northern Ireland to work better and easier. It meets approx 6-8 times per year. The meetings would last for a morning or afternoon. The Comparator would spend approximately 10% time preparing for and attending and dealing with work arising out of this forum. Such work would include chairing the Public Safety and Emergency Services Sectoral Group, meeting with group members, writing reports, liaising with individuals to encourage data sharing etc. This was in place during the time of comparison and the Comparator was nominated by those attending a GI Strategy event.

In addition, as stated above as a result of this role within the service and in particular dealing with the GIS, the Comparator heads up the Public Safety and Emergency Services Sectoral Group This involves other blue light agencies, emergency planning unit etc. It meets 2 times per year. They would last a morning or afternoon. He would attend and Chair meetings to address data sharing issues. The Comparator would spend approximately 10% preparing for, attending and dealing with work arising out of such meetings.

The Comparator is also involved in the UK Location Strategy. This was a once only initiative involving perusal of documents and attendance at meetings in Westminster .

The Comparator is also involved in work for the mobile data project The Comparator ran the ‘pilot’ project designed to introduce a mobile data system into NIFRS providing high tech real time automatic vehicle location equipment which would provide maps and risk assessments for locations throughout Northern Ireland. It would also provide information that would be found on information sources within the RCC and the CSU such as Road Traffic Collision extrication information. This work takes up 30% of his time.

Information including premises risks, operating procedures chemicals and hazardous materials, water supplies is all input into the GIS by his subordinates in the directory architecture set up the Comparator. Once the information is on etc. it has to be updated and the Comparator is responsible for ensuring that the system is updated.

Public Relations

The Comparator also has a role in dealing with Technical aspects with NIFRS when dealing with the media and has given media interviews for the RCC, press releases information for publications, papers at conferences for example AGI (Association of Geographic Information) conferences and so on.

Financial

1. The Comparator, on a monthly basis, provides reports making the business case for any purchase of equipment valued over £5,000. So for example he had to prepare a business case for obtaining satellite communication equipment worth over £100,000 in the period of comparison. He had to provide an appraisal including the costs/benefit etc complying with Treasury Green Book Guidelines including Post Project Evaluations.

2. In terms of budget management, he was, in the year of comparison, responsible for advising ACFO Wright on a budget of £150k he did not hold a budget in relation to the CSU project (or for anything else) ~~and decided how much of this could be spent on what etc.~~ HE COULD NOT SPEND IT WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM ACFO WRIGHT

Projects

1. The Comparator would also feed into various projects including the radio project where he was a project board member so he would bring is technical expertise to a project in this example managed by the Replacement Radio Project Team Manager.

Also in terms of business continuity planning (BCP) the Comparator, was nominated by the Claimant as the BCP lead officer in the RCC. The Comparator has had to attend specialist training given by the Cabinet Office

Emergency Planning College in order to prepare and maintain BCP plans etc. as to what would happen for example if the RCC became inoperable, address where incidents could be controlled from on a central basis and what would have to be done to achieve this. This role was delegated to the Comparator by the Claimant and he reports on these issues on behalf of the Claimant. When new versions of the plan are drawn up the Comparator circulates the new document to the Control Management Team which includes the Claimant.

RCC Management

1. Within the RCC, the Comparator is part of the RCC management team which has monthly meetings, which are either chaired by the Claimant . The Respondent states that these sometimes would be chaired by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Director Technical Development), the Claimant maintains that she chairs these. The meeting is made up of himself Assistant Group Commander RCC Technical, Assistant Group Commander RCC Operations, and the Group Commander RCC (Controls). The purpose of these meetings is to update his colleagues on developments within his responsibility for example technical issues within the RCC, data, etc. The Comparator would spend approximately 5% of his working week/day? in preparing for, attending and dealing with work arising out of such project meetings.

Operational Meetings

The Comparator would attend these approximately 8 times per year for example the Operations Forum. In attendance at this would be other managers representing various departments and Areas. These meetings cover a wide range of operational issues and the Comparator provides input on the areas within his responsibility such as how projects are developing e.g. the CSU project, GIS etc. There would be some form of operational meetings on a monthly basis. They would last a couple of hours. The Comparator would spend approximately 5% of his working week/day? preparing for, attending an dealing with work arising out of such meetings. Such work would include technical issues previously outlined.

In addition there would be further ad hoc meetings where his input is required would occur on a daily basis to address issues such as, water management, information system meetings, various project boards (such as the Digital Radio Project ) etc. Preparation for attendance and dealing with work arising out of such meetings would account 15% of the Comparator’s working week.

Training

1. His training/technical role in relation to the CSU and GIS is that he would have spent 45% of his working week/day/year?, in the period of comparison.

Deputising

1. The Comparator would on a regular basis, also deputise for the Claimant if she were absent, off duty, on annual leave or out of the office during regular periods of short leave. For example during the period of comparison the Comparator even when off duty has had to deal with acute RCC crewing shortfalls when the claimant has been out of the country on leave and not contactable.

FACTOR 1 KNOWLEDGE

The Comparator has to have knowledge of the telecommunication systems used by NIFRS. He must be able to use the equipment, identify problems in the equipment, resolve those problems himself or identify problems which require greater expert involvement. The systems he needs to know to this degree are: Radio scheme, telephone systems, Command & Control, GD92 communications, electrical and UPS, station end equipment, GIS, CCTV, Satellite Communications, GPS for example.

He will have to attend training on such systems such as GIS so he can undertake such work.

As well as knowing how to operate the system itself, he also has to known who should have access to the system, for example how they should have access etc. for example access codes, training, standard operating procedures etc.

The Comparator also has to attend ICT courses and know about computer networking in general terms. For example, he needs to know how within each CSU the equipment is networked so that, for example, a computer can “talk” to a printer. In addition, he needs to be able to identify faults and correct these faults himself or seek outside assistance in resolving those.

In addition, the Comparator has to have knowledge of the Command and Control system with the RCC. This is the system that mobilises appliances and personnel to operational incidents. So he has to know how the system is set up so that he can manage any faults scenarios i.e. by correcting them himself or calling in expert assistance.

In addition, the Comparator must be able to upgrade day to day software packages such as Microsoft outlook, word, excel etc for GIS, CSUs .

In addition, the Comparator must understand other pieces of specialised equipment such as satellite communications, thermal imagery, CCTV. He must be able to operate such equipment and know, for example, how to transmit pictures, data, and information from a CSU to the RCC. Again, he must be able to able to identify faults and if possible provide fixes himself, or seek outside support.

Knowledge in relation to specialised pieces of equipment must then also be used in terms of the Comparators responsibility for training people on the operational equipment such knowledge would therefore be used regularly. In

terms of formal training, the Comparator would be involved in training courses on the CSU. Such training would occur weekly and would involve half day training periods. Preparation and attending course would take up to 1 day.

In his role within this work, the Comparator has had to attend training courses So that he was trained to deal with “what if” scenarios. As such, he has to know what to do if there was a major incident affecting either the RCC technical equipment or CSU technical equipment and have in place contingency plans to address this.

The Comparator is one of two officers acting as Single points of contact for the authorisation of Communications Data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act this can be used for example when dealing with malicious fire calls etc. and has to have knowledge of the extent of his powers under the legislation so that he can advise investigators whether intercepts etc. are permissible, proportionate, potential for collateral intrusion etc.

FACTOR 2 – EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, EDUCATION REQUIRED

Other than the essential criteria, no formal qualifications were required. The essential criteria for the role was that he had at least 12 months experience as a fire control officer, passing an assessment centre. Experience required included that of leadership and support which the Comparator had in his role as a watch manager. The Comparator actively participates in Continual Personal Development RATHER THAN “PROFESSIONAL” PLEASE CONFIRM.

No special training to obtain the role was required but there has been an ongoing training process since 1986 and there is an on going need for the Comparator to enhance his knowledge basis as technology develops and new equipment is bought. He has to ensure that he is up to speed with such developments, can operate the equipment which is bought and train people on the operation of such equipment. He also has to attend training etc. to update his managerial experience.

FACTOR 3 - RESPONSIBILITY FOR PLANNING/ORGANISATION OF WORK

Organisation of The Comparator’s Work

The Comparator, in the year of comparison, would have been involved in four or five technical projects at any one time. For example CSU, GIS, Mobile Data Project. Once a plan is provided by the person who has overall responsibility for the project , for example IRMP (GIS) processes, the Comparator organises his own work and that of his staff involved in that project to meet those targets.

He made submissions for annual reports and dealt with routine issues when directed to by Group Commander (Controls). However, in relation to

technical issues, the Comparator is responsible for managing himself. Some of this technical work would be reactive.

The Comparator would estimate that approximately 90/95 percent of his work is planned by himself, the remaining coming from Group Commander (Controls) in relation to general activities.

In relation to particular projects the Comparator would estimate that 70 percent of his time is managed and controlled by him with 30 percent coming from line management. This would include work in the command support units and GIS.

Overall, the Comparator feels that he sets 90/95 percent of his own tasks on a weekly/monthly basis planning is own day accordingly.

Whilst some time frames come from other managers, projects etc. it is the Comparator’s responsibility to ensure that those deadlines are met. Therefore, for the past bulk of his working time, the Comparator is self directing and unsupervised.

Whilst he is on the “A” duty rota, he often needs to change his routine to react to an issue particularly to facilitate a project he is working on. For example Command Support Units, travel to England to suppliers etc.

He has almost full autonomy (95%) for planning his working day/week.

Responsibility for Allocating Work To Others

During the period of comparison, the Comparator had line management responsibility for up to seven individuals. As such, he would be responsible for directing, overseeing, supervising and managing the work of these individuals in terms of allocating them tasks and duties.

In addition, the Comparator would have responsibility for dealing with disciplinary issues for these staff members as well as dealing with grievance hearings.

Within his role as a member of the management team or the RCC he would have responsibility for the line management of a maximum of fifty six members of staff if the Claimant is off work and he is covering for her absence.

When he is the officer in command of the CSU, he would have responsibility for the management of six people when attending an operational incident.

FACTOR 4 - RESPONSIBILITY FOR QUALITY AND STANDARDS

Own Work

The Comparator as a high degree of autonomy in terms of responsibility for the maintaining quality and standards in his own work although some work will be checked and scrutinised by others. So, for example, when preparing reports etc. on the technical side of things in terms of making bids for money, buying equipment etc., these are done in draft and, the quality and standard of the report writing would be approved by Assistant Chief Fire Officer Tom Wright. In terms of ensuring quality and standards are met in terms of financial elements these would be subject to quality control by management accountants.

In terms of technical projects which would form 55% of the Comparator’s role, the Comparator has specific responsibility and accountability in terms of ensuring quality and standards are met and the “buck stops” with him in relation to any technical projects. The Claimant disputes this and argues that the buck stops with ACFO as Director of the Technical Department.

Quality and Standards of Others

Within the Operational Support Team and the technical/training team, the Comparator has responsibility for ensuring standards etc. are met. He does this by checking samples of data collected and inputted into the various systems by the Operational Support Team. He ensures that this is correct on a random basis by visual checks and running any software to confirm this. He will look at the raw material that has been inputted and verify that it is correct. He does this by retracing the steps taken by the Operational Support Team on a random basis.

Command Support Unit

The Comparator manages and mentors the team within the CSU often as Command Support Officer. If things can be improved upon at the time, he will point this out to the team, for example if equipment is not being used correctly or checks aren’t being followed as per standard operating procedures. For example, ensuring tactical goals have been met, e.g. recording that primary and secondary searches have occurred and are logged in the CSU and thus everyone is complying with the various steps set out in Incident Command System which details steps to be taken in particular circumstances.

At the end of operational incident or exercise, the Comparator will also participate in a “hot debrief” to address areas where performance were not up to scratch and were improvement is required, thereby setting standards for the next similar type incident.

In addition, if the Comparator feels that quality/standards are not being met, he can identify training needs and require staff to attend this.

RCC

Within the RCC, as part of the management team, the Comparator will discuss with Assistant Group Commander (Operations) and/or Group Commander (Controls) ways of improving or maintaining quality generally of individual employees.

In addition, if a particular member of the RCC team is not performing the Comparator will raise this with individual’s line manager. He will also raise this with Assistant Group Commander (Operations) and where necessary Group Commander (Controls) who can then take further action if appropriate.

In addition, as a member of the management team of the RCC, the Comparator assists his colleagues in setting key performance indicators for the RCC. These dove tail into targets etc. for appraisals. The Comparator does not set objectives in terms of appraisals, for RCC staff and no appraisals/KPI are set.

FACTOR 5 - HEALTH AND SAFETY RESPONSIBILIES

Health & Safety Responsibilities

The Comparator has responsibility for addressing health and safety issues in the RCC especially with regard to technical equipment then reporting on such matters to the Claimant who will still have overall responsibility for health and safety in the RCC it is unclear if the Respondent disputes this latter point.

So, for example this will extend to sourcing and buying new chairs to ensure that they comply with statutory standards, consulting with the union on such health and safety issues; creating a paper trail to show such equipment complies with health and safety requirements. Other examples would include the design of the workstation and lay out of the RCC by creating mock-ups of workstations etc. DID THIS HAPPEN IN THE YEAR OF COMPARISON

The Comparator has responsibility for ensuring that RCC/CSU equipment/workstations are fit for the purpose and does not produce adverse health and safety risks e.g. exposure to RSI; that interference from radios is not presenting risks to staff etc..

He also has to ensure that equipment etc. is fixed properly and safely to walls etc. In addition, the Comparator is responsible for ensuring that any equipment does not expose staff to unwanted risks.

The Comparator would also be responsible for ensuring that there are no risks within the CSU or the RCC caused by simple things such as exposed cables, lights, air etc.

He would be responsible for managing the instigation of risk assessments by the Respondent’s health and safety department in terms of equipment mounted on the vehicle such as, masks, cables etc. He would also have responsibility

for ensuring that people were trained in the use of equipment on the CSUs so as to not put themselves or others at risk.

The Comparator also has responsibility for ensuring that those within the CSU have their health and safety protected if they leave the CSU. So for example, they have the correct personal protective equipment and any risk exposure is minimised.

The Comparator would also have responsibility for ensuring steps were put in place to protect contractors who would be working in the control room or on CSUs.

As a commander of a CSU, or a communication officer, the Comparator would have responsibility for ensuring that there is effective communication between fire fighters on the ground and the CSU/RCC to protect these individuals’ health and safety to have in place system should communications breakdown.

In addition, he would have responsibility for ensuring that individual pieces of equipment were working correctly so that, for example, radios within breathing equipment are working.

The Comparator will, in relation to each of the examples above, report on RCC matters to the Claimant who will confirm her satisfaction or not with the steps taken. The Respondent states that this is not the case for any projects the Comparator is involved with outside of the RCC. However, the Claimant disputes this as the Comparator must keep the Claimant informed as per NIFRS Priorities and Targets.

FACTOR 6 - RESPONSIBILITY FOR EQUIPMENT, RESOURCES AND FINANCE

Although the Comparator is now a budget holder, at the time of comparison he was not a budget holder, rather finance was apportioned to him from the Communications budget by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Tech).

Once the budget was apportioned to him the Comparator then decided how to allocate that money in terms of the purchase of equipment. He ~~will~~ drafted a spending profile and present a business case setting out a cost benefit for the purchase of equipment and resources. He seeks approval within procurement policy and if the purchase is over certain thresholds from the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Tech) or Chief Fire Officer before making a purchase. He is then responsible for deciding what he buys from where and when within procurement policy. He has an ongoing responsibility for evaluating equipment for the entire lifetime of that piece of equipment etc.

The technical equipment being purchased would be expensive only being surpassed by staff costs. The Comparator required the approval/authorisation of ACFO Wright before spending any money. For example this means a business case is prepared by the Comparator with approval being granted by

the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (Tech)/Chief Fire Officer and the Department of Health. In relation to IT/ICT purchases of £250,000, the Department’s approval is required.

As well as being responsible for capital investments such as equipment the Comparator also has responsibility for revenue issues such as paying maintenance costs for equipment ongoing basis throughout the financial year. He has to plan for this. The Comparator required the approval/authorisation of ACFO Wright before spending any money.

In his role within the CSU project, the Comparator is responsible for obtaining reports on the maintenance of equipment and recording serial numbers etc. In addition, he has responsibility for ensuring that such information is kept up to date and the equipment is stored safely, for example ICT equipment.

In light of the above the Comparator assists in setting the budget for communications as well as spending a proportion of this budget. The Communications budget is managed by the Assistant Group Commander (Communications). The Comparator required the approval/authorisation of ACFO Wright before spending any money.

The Comparator has a limited role in relation to staff costs, although will approve expense claims etc. within his team.

FACTOR 7 - TRAINING, MENTORING AND TEACHING.

The Comparator would organise and commission training for example in relation to GIS and the CSUs.

When commissioning such training, for example on GIS, he will assist the training provider in terms of development the course, ordering the training, paying for the training, allocating who should attend such training, providing feedback to the training provider etc.

In addition, the Comparator would provide some training on GIS in house, such as Command Room officers.

In addition to training members of NIFRS, the Comparator will provide training to other fire services in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on GIS and also to students at the University of Ulster. In the year of comparison this would have occurred on about ten occasions. The Claimant does not necessarily accept this and requires details as to when and where this occurred.

The Comparator would be responsible for preparing and delivering training courses for staff on the CSU throughout NIFRS Operational, RCC, others. Such training is undertaken throughout the year. In addition, there are courses for non specialist CSU staff other agencies etc. such as DETAILS? The Comparator would prepare and deliver such training so that, for example, he

would train individuals on the use of special equipment such as smart boards, computers etc. He would also demonstrate to them how to access information from the various information sources within the CSU. HOW MUCH TIME WAS TAKEN UP WITH THIS IN JUNE 06- JUNE07 previously stipulated WHERE?.

In addition, he would have responsibility for identifying aspects of training needs for IT for RCC personnel WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING IDENTIFIED?

FACTOR 8 - RESPONSIBILITY FOR DATA HANDLING, RECORD KEEPING PROCESS ETC

The bulk of the Comparators responsibilities in this regard, in light of the nature of his job, focus on computerised data. He would be responsible for monitoring “mobilising intelligence.” This would cover, for example, the addresses of premises, risks close to those premises etc. and other information which is processed into the mobilising system so that safety information can be obtained by fire fighters. The RCC Operations Support Team gather such information from within the fire service and from outside agencies. This information is then entered into the mobilising system. It might include information such as door access codes in sheltered accommodation etc. What chemicals are stored in factories etc. What happens if they are mixed together. Whilst the Comparator does little in terms of inputting the data into software etc. it is his responsibility to ensure the data is correct and therefore, he will process it in this way to ensure that his staff within the Operations Support Team are obtaining and processing data correctly. He does this by Checking, meeting with team etc.

As new Standard Operating Procedures are introduced, the Comparator will ensure that these are processed correctly by the Operations Support Team as directed by the Claimant (the Respondent disputes the direction by the Claimant)

The Comparator is responsible for maintaining paper work in relation to purchases etc., invoices, signing off expense claim, budget records, maintaining equipment for the CSUs.

In addition the Comparator is responsible for maintaining and obtaining confidential documentation arising out of grievance procedures and disciplinary procedures and keeping attendance records.

The Comparator has responsibility for control of sensitive and restricted data in terms of plans and mapping and ensuring that this is processed into GIS and other software packages in such as way it is maintained in a secure fashion. So, for example, details of cables, pipes etc. to do fall into the wrong hands. Such information might be provided by supplies water service or NIE and the Comparator has to ensure that data supplied from such agencies is maintained in line with end user license agreements.

The Comparator is a NIFRS single point of contact under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and would have responsibility for processing forms and other documents under this may be sensitive material in that it may contain personal data.

FACTOR 9 - RESPONSIBILITY FOR SECURITY AND/OR CONFIDENTIALITY

The Comparator is responsible for the physical security of the Regional Control Centre such as ensuring that the doors lock effectively, CCTV, who gets in etc. He must also ensure that the practises and policies in relation to security in the RCC are complied with by staff and that adequate steps have been put in place. He will report on these issues to the Group Commander (Controls) on an individual basis as and when such issues arise. The Respondent disputes this point claiming that the Comparator reports to the RCC Management Team only. Ultimately it is the Chief Fire Officer’s responsibility to ensure that the RCC is secure, but as Head of the Department it is the Claimant’s responsibility to ensure such security on a day to day basis.

Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the Comparator is responsible for keeping confidential and sensitive information such as may contain personal information. He advises the Chief Fire Officer with regard to interception of Communications Traffic Data under RIPA.

The Comparator is the signatory to licensing agreements which contain information provided by utility suppliers about he location of pipes cabling etc. to ensure that sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands. So it is the responsibility to ensure information about location of cables and pipes etc belonging to NIE, Phoenix Gas or the Water Service is secured and kept in a confidential manner. He must also ensure that such information is only provided to appropriate personnel in appropriate circumstances.

In terms of maintaining confidentiality about people, the Comparator has responsibility for ensuring records from grievance procedure and disciplinary procedures are kept confidential.

FACTOR 10 RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CARE OF OTHERS

As a member of the management team for the Regional Control Centre, the Comparator as a duty of care towards the health and safety of the forty four staff employed in the RCC. In addition, he has the responsibility for his own teams. At the time of comparison this would have been seven people.

Whilst the Comparator is the contact for dealing with health of such individuals, the Group Commander (Controls) will take over responsibility is somebody is off sick on long term sick. The Comparators involvement in terms of dealing with such issues would be regular contact with the individual, recommendation for referral to welfare, deputising for Group Commander Control when unavailable etc.

FACTOR 11 CONCENTRATION, ACCURACY, MEMORY

In the event that his line managers are absence, the Comparator will have responsibility for the overall operation of the RCC as such, his concentration has to be at the highest level to ensure that people are rescued speedily where there has been a major incident calling him to attend the RCC. So, for example, there may be telephone calls coming through to the RCC and as such, the Comparator will need to be concentrating on whether there are enough call takers and if not where he can get more from. In addition, how can he relieve those who have been on duty for some time? Where more fire appliances can be obtained to cover incidents whereas at the same time not leaving other areas under covered?

In the process of thinking on ones feet, as well as concentrating on addressing fire calls that are happening at that incident, he needs to be considering what might happen further down the line. The Comparator will be listening to those taking the calls and those reporting the need for support throughout Northern Ireland. He will be replying upon these operating procedures such as the risk plan. He has to get things right or else lives can be caused.

As communication officer or the officer in command of the CSU, the Comparator is underpinning and supporting the incident commander and dealing with an operational incident. Therefore it is essential, in order to reduce risk that he is concentrating fully. If there is a problem with communication equipment this could cause delays in mobilising staff and appliances. As such, he needs to concentrate when addressing such problems so that a speedy and effective remedy is introduced.

Whilst working in the CSU the Comparator may well have to apply complicated formula to help address a incident. So for example, it may be necessary for him to assist the incident commander in calculating how much foam is needed to contain a fire. This requires him to operate IT equipment with the CSU to calculate this. Again this is highly pressurised work as the longer the fire goes on, the higher the risk. In addition, the Comparator will be aware that other agencies will be watching what he does as well as the fire service which adds to the pressure.

The Comparator is also involved in recruitment selection exercises, disciplinary and grievance hearings. When involved in these issues he has to be concentrating so that he does not miss anything in terms of reaching a fair conclusion when involved in such roles.

In preparing and delivering training, the Comparator needs to concentrate to ensure that this is delivered correctly and to a standard for staff to understand.

The Comparator has to concentrate and remember different procedures used in various IT systems where there is a computer programme, CCTV etc. If he cannot remember these and concentrate to comply the right procedure and system, again, risk could be increased.

In addition, the Comparator has to remember systems in which equipment and programmes are to run if he has to diagnose and repair faults etc. identified by him or by others within the NIFRS. If he does not do so, this involves costs in bring in external support.

In relation to accuracy, the Comparator has to configure various systems. He must get this right, or else the wrong information will find its way into the system which could impact negatively in terms of mobilisation of fire crews, so for example configuration of IP network address and so on.

In terms of remembering the order of sequences etc., if a system crashes the Comparator has to remember what steps to take to get the system back up and running. It may be, that the Comparator has to talk people through the stages without having access to manuals etc. This would be impossible if the Comparator could not recall such steps for getting the GIS server up and running again if it crashed or if CSU equipment was not working.

The Comparator has to remember some 10 different passwords to operate the systems.

Mistakes are rare as there are so many “belts and braces” in the system that are triggered if a complication arises with equipment.

FACTOR 12 EMOTIONAL DEMANDS – STRESS AND PRESSURES IN THE JOB

This can occur often as the fire service is dealing with difficult life and death scenarios. So for example, whilst in the RCC the Comparator could be listening to a recording of people dying whilst they ring for assistance.

Whilst in the CSU for example he would encounter a difficult and demanding workplace in that the situation is often very dynamic with a lot of information requiring to be processed in a very short space of time.

The Comparator alleges that in the year of comparison, that he would also deal with media interviews including live TV interviews addressing technical issues when an operational incident is ongoing. This is disputed by the Claimant until the Claimant provides details of date channel and subject matter.

The Comparator also has to deal with the stress of performing under pressure in relation to attending public meetings whether it be with public representatives, other agencies etc. such as dealing with the risk management programme. He is under pressure to perform personally and to put across the image of NIFRS as strongly as possible.

The Comparator also has to deal with the emotional demands, stresses and pressures that his staff experience and deal with such issues.

At any one stage, a Comparator could have three or four projects running at the same time with their own time lines. These have to be met on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. In addition, the Comparator might be required to undertake other urgent work such as dealing with technical issues were equipment needs to be repaired. Such demands can put the Comparator under pressure.

In addition, the work of the NIFRS is a “24/7” operation. This means that information that is obtained from operational incidents or obtained from outside agencies, needs to be input into the NIFRS system so that it is up to date as possible. No only for use by NIFRS but other agencies.

Other stresses and pressures include dealing with personality conflict between managers within RCC where there are different visions for RCC etc.

FACTOR 13 DECISION MAKING

The Comparator would regularly have to taken decisions or make assessments/judgments about various issues as detailed below.

1. The Comparator would deal with decision making and assessments during grievance hearings. He will decide what the appropriate outcome is in relation to a grievance and whether or not to uphold it. The sort of things that the Comparator takes into consideration before deciding on, for example, the outcome of the grievance, would be the evidence that has been collected.

2. The Comparator would also have to decide whether various members of staff are competent in their roles, for example, in operating technical equipment within the CSU. The sort of things that the Comparator takes into consideration before deciding on such action will be has the required standard been met as measured by practical or written test.

3. When he has responsibility for the command of the RCC in the absence of the Group Commander (Controls) or the other Assistant Group Commander (Operations), he will make decisions about what the appropriate level of staffing is and whether additional cover is required and whether to grant overtime etc. to members of staff to cover shortfalls. The sort of things that the Comparator takes into consideration before deciding on such action will be call rates, spate conditions etc.

4. In relation to other staffing issues, he would be responsible, for example, for setting up modified duties when individuals return to work from sick leave etc. The sort of things that the Comparator takes into consideration before deciding on such action will be the physical, capacity to carry out tasks, emotional state for example if the person has suffered a bereavement, advice from the Service Medical Advisor.

The Comparator also has responsibility for making decisions in relation to technical projects. So, for example, he will decide whether particular pieces of equipment are “fit for purpose” in terms of the service needs of NIFRS. He

will decide whether equipment needs to be modified and make such changes to it. Also, he will decide if various computer programs such as that within the GIS mapping system meets the requirement of the Service and whether the program needs to be amended or replaced. The sort of issues that the comparator would take into consideration when making decisions about technical issues are fit for purpose, available finance, on-going support, training and so on.

6. The Comparator also has responsibility in making decisions when faults arise with critical equipment when he is in role of Communications Officer. So, for example, if the pager/alerters that retained (part time) fire fighters use fail for some reason, he has to decide as to how a problem is to be addressed so that there is minimum risk to life and property within the area that particular fire station covers. He has to decide, no matter what time of day or night it is, whether to send a technician to fix it or whether, for example, to require the fire station to be staffed there and then and with the retained staff to be contacted by other means to do so. This is a decision he has to make and is done so on the basis of his experience. He will take into consideration issues such as, the location of the fire station, the number of appliances in it or pieces of equipment that are in it, how far away the station is from the technician who might be required to repair equipment, what the weather is like etc.

7. The Comparator is also making decisions on a regular basis in his command support role. So, he may be in the command room adjoining the RCC or at operational incident as a Communication Officer or as a CSU officer in charge. He decides what information might assist the officer commanding the incident and advises the commanding officer of this. So, for example, the Comparator decides that he feels that CCTV pictures, plans of buildings, details of hazardous materials stored in the building (information all within the CSU systems) might be of assistance to the commanding officer and presents the commanding officer with the possibility of having such information provided. In deciding what information to present to the commanding officer the Comparator brings into play his experience of dealing with operational incidents and the information that he knows is on the systems within the CSU which might provide situational awareness to the officer commanding.

8. If the Comparator assumes command of the RCC, he decides which station/appliances are strategically best for maintaining fire cover, ensures adequate call handling provision.

9. At operational incidents, the Comparator can, as Communications Officer, also decide whether or not to make various technical decisions. For example, if there is a lot of activity on the radio system on one a particular “talk group” the Comparator can decided to allocate certain teams to particular talk groups to assist the commanding officer maintain span of control. The Comparator has to ensure, as Communications Officer, the best way of keeping communications between the various groups of people working within the NIFRS as effectively as possible. So when, for example, British Telecom’s 999 call system became overwhelmed causing concerns for members of the Northern Ireland public trying to make fire calls etc. to the 999 service, he, in

conjunction with others, had to decide what steps to take to put in place a system where callers in Northern Ireland making 999 calls requiring assistance of NIFRS were fielded.

10. Examples where the Comparator is able to decide on issues without having to refer to or get agreement from others would include, preparing technical specifications for the technical equipment such as the GIS, ensuring operational communications as Duty Comms Officer.

11. The Comparator is also responsible for making decisions in terms of his role in the specification and procurement of equipment and services under without having to refer to or get agreement from others. This is disputed by the Claimant. As indicated in paragraph 14 if over £250k he needs authorisation for such spends. Further at factor 6 points 2, 3 he has to make a business case to ACFO/CFO i.e. seek authorisation before spending. So, for example, he decides what equipment to buy for the CSU project, he decides what the best piece of equipment to buy based upon his research, experience and knowledge on such matters. He spends the money in such situations without the need for the agreement etc. of others. This is disputed by the Claimant. As indicated in paragraph 14 if over £250k he needs authorisation for such spends. Further at factor 6 points 2, 3 he has to make a business case to ACFO/CFO i.e. seek authorisation before spending. The Comparator would also take into consideration such issues as to whether the procurement of new equipment would provide value for money for NIFRS and meet the needs of the service. He also has to bear in mind when buying new equipment how it would integrate with equipment already there.

12. The Comparator would also be given a free hand in terms of managing communication faults. He would have to deal with them there and then without seeking the agreement etc. of others.

13. In terms of matters where the Comparator would have to seek agreement from others before going ahead, this would include areas such as recruitment and selection exercises. For example, he would need to agree with human resources and others how many people can be recruited to his teams; what should be the essential criteria for the posts; what the job descriptions should be. Finally, in terms of the selection process, he would require the agreement of the other people on the selection panel he sits with before making appointments.

14. Before making some purchases, as he would not want to buy anything which might not fit in with the Service’s plans or existing equipment, the Comparator would sometimes seek the agreement of other managers. So, for example, the Comparator would liaise with his colleagues within the IT/computers department to ensure that any equipment that the Comparator is buying interfaces well with the computer systems. Also in terms of certain pieces of equipment over £250k, he would require authorisation from the Department of Health.

15. In terms of training, the Comparator would seek the agreement from others before going ahead with training to ensure the appropriate level and detail of training is provided to staff, for example TNA for GIS.

FACTOR 14 – COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Written Communication

1. The Comparator send/receives memos/emails/letters etc in the course of his work. This would happen in relation to emails and memos on a day to day basis, letter writing would also occur regularly.

2. On a technical side of things, the Comparator would prepare reports, writing summaries to update his colleagues within NIFRS of achievements of a technical nature within his department. Such reports would go to, for example, the Operational Management Group made up of Area Commanders and above updating them on, for example, the CSU project, what mile stones have been reached and/or missed and how the project was processing

3. The Comparator would also prepare Impact Assessments in relation to the purchase of new technical equipment detailing the aims and objectives of buying the equipment, what improvements etc. would be likely plus the benefits gained by the Service in making the purchase.

4. The Comparator would also prepare training notes so that technical issues can be reduced to writing to allow the training team to explain technical issues in straight forward and easy to understand language.

5. The Comparator would also be responsible for preparing reports etc. on non technical issues. For example, he would prepare investigation reports if there is a disciplinary or performance issue that might require addressing, interviewing staff summarising this and making recommendations as to whether action should be taken etc..

Verbal Communication

1. As well as preparing reports, these reports would often form the basis of presentations to various groupings. So for example, externally, the Comparator would make presentations to various groups including DHSPSS. He contributes to submissions made by the NI GI Strategy to the Chief Executive Group (a public sector forum) on NIFRS GIS case study achievements. He would also make presentations to GIS Delivery Board (A DCAL grouping to assist in the better management of GI Date in Northern Ireland generally). HOW OFTEN IN JUNE 06/07 The Claimant has not enough information to agree or disagree this as the Respondent has failed to provide clarification as requested

2. The Comparator would also make presentations to various groups within NIFRS including: the Operations Forum, the Appliances and Equipment Committee, the Operational Management group, the Principal Officers and

Head of Department Group at various meetings. At these fora he would update the members of developments within the RCC technical side of NIFRS, technical achievements within his department and how they are developing etc.

3. The Comparator would regularly deal with queries on the telephone both internally and externally. This would include simple one to one telephone calls. He may be dealing with return to work queries from staff members who are ill or have suffered an bereavement and the Group Commander (Controls) is not around to deal with such issues. Again, internally, he may be handling telephone calls from individuals staff members on technical queries. For example, there may be a problem with a piece of equipment on a CSU that requires assessing.

4. In addition, he would often take telephone calls from outside organisations to deal with GIS queries.

5. In dealing with presentations, telephone calls and meetings etc. as discussed above, the Comparator needs to have good verbal and written communication skills in the form of making presentations, explaining/answering questions and in letter and report writing.

6. The Comparator must also be able to motivate others to get involved in group discussions such as when chairing sub committees etc., encourages staff to come up with ideas and views. For example in the year of comparison, he would have been motivating staff by WHAT?

7. The Comparator must also be able to listen well so he can engage in general issues as well as technical issues, enter into discussions and provide answers to queries.

FACTOR 15 – RELATIONSHIPS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL

1. Within the organisation the Comparator will have contact with both uniformed and non uniformed staff at all levels right up to the Chief Fire Officer and on the non uniformed side Director level. He would have regularly contact with management because he is the lead officer for various projects as outlined previously. This means that if senior officers have concerns about CSU project or GIS they can approach the Comparator directly to discuss these.

2. The Comparator would also have regular contact with senior management as he is a Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act single point of contact (SPOC). This means that the Comparator advises senior management on whether an interception of communications traffic data is appropriate and he would advise the Chief Fire Officer accordingly.

3. The Comparator would also have regular contact with the Area Commanders. He needs to have this so he can advise them on technical issues affecting each of their areas within his remit.

4. The Comparator would also have contact with all levels of staff particularly on the two teams he manages the lowest rank being Crew Commander Control.

5. The Comparator would have regular contact with these all personnel by telephone, memo, letter, email and/or face to face meetings, for example addressing technical queries, chairing sub committees when the could be differences of opinion between junior staff – such as relationships requiring management etc.

6. The Comparator is also responsible for management of his own teams and obtaining and developing relationships within that team. Including motivating team members.

7. The Comparator attends, a significant amount of meetings and working groups in his working day which have included the Operations Forum, the Appliances and Equipment Group, Area Meetings. In attending these meetings he would be reporting on technical issues, updating colleagues within these meetings on progress, impact and likely outcomes on business processes. In addition, from time to time, the Claimant is an invitee at the Operational Management group, the Principal Officers and Head of Department Group, the Fire Board.

8. In addition to internally meetings, the Comparator sits on a number of working groups including: the GIS Delivery Board (A DCAL grouping to assist in the better management of Northern Ireland generally made up of representatives from other agencies and government departments; the Emergency Services Public Safety Group (made up of blue light agencies); the UK Location Group (made up WHO from ). As such the Comparator would be developing relationships with members sitting on these groups so he could learn from their experience to see if that can assist him in doing his work thereby assisting NIFRS meet its ends. He would be advising the members of these groups of the technical achievements in work being done by NIFRS so that other agencies can learn from this.

9. The Comparator also has regular contact with fire services in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and France and would often deliver training on technical issues to such organisations or update them on systems etc. being used by NIFRS. HOW OFTEN IN JUNE 06/07? He would be in regular contact with Strategic level officers. As such, he has developed relationships with other fire services as well as other agencies locally such as the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Police Service for Northern Ireland, again assisting him in delivery his function to NIFRS.

10. He would also be involved in developing external relationships for special projects such as at the North West 200 where he was working with Northern Area Command Officers as part of a team of 250 people to ensure that public safety of that event.

FACTOR 16 – PHYSICAL EFFORT (STAMINA)

1. The Comparator will sometimes have to lift, carry or manipulate heavy objects particularly when working in the Command Support Units. This would regularly involve him carrying a rucksack full of IT equipment. He would also have to lift equipment in and out of CSU such as CCTV equipment. He would also be required, within CSU and also the RCC, to move racks of computer equipment etc. They requirement to lift this equipment would happen on a regular basis at least once a week.

2. At operational incidents whilst in the CSU, the Comparator could be required to stand or walk about for 8 hour periods on end. This is disputed by the Claimant, it is not feasible or required to stand for 8 hours.

3. In addition, the Comparator would also be required to adopt difficult positions to carry out various tasks. So, for example, he might be lying on his, back, on his side, be on his knees in order to be able to “get at” equipment whilst installing or maintaining it.

4. The Comparator could be driving all over Northern Ireland to travel and attend incidents in light of his role as a Communication Officer or CSU commanding officer. In addition, he may have to travel throughout Northern Ireland to provide training for the CSU, provide technical assistance for a CSU etc. The four CSU’s are based in Lisburn, Kilrea, Strabane and Irvinestown. As a guide the Comparator in a year can travel up to 7,000 miles in work related travel.

FACTOR 17 – PHYSICAL SKILLS, MANUAL DEXTERITY, MANIPUALATIVE SKILLS

1. The Comparator would have to use tools, such as screw drivers, spanners, meters, on a weekly basis. In using such equipment, speed is required to ensure that equipment is set up correctly and works correctly. For example, connections for CCTV. Speed is also important because it may be that CCTV equipment, for example, needs to be attached to aerial appliances so that equipment to transmit live images As these appliances are required operationally at an incident their use must not be jeopardised by a delay in getting CCTV equipment on the machine. This means the equipment needs to be placed on the appliance as quickly as possible to assist the fire fighters at operational incidents in saving life or property. Therefore the equipment needs to be set up as soon as possible and correctly so the pictures required are sent back to the CSU etc.

FACTOR 18 – ENVIROMENTAL DEMANDS

1. The Comparator would occasionally, at operational incidents with the CSU, encounter some smoke during wild land fire incidents and hot conditions when working within the CSU during the summer (despite the air conditioning system built into these). Also, when at operational incidents there would be a lot of noise for example, due to the number of fire appliances present and equipment being used in dealing with an incident.

FACTOR 19 – HAZARDS

1. There is the possibility of electric shocks being received in his role as communication officers/technical manager. So for example, there are live terminals that he would be working close to. In addition, the switch gear for UPS carries high voltage which he will be required to operate from time to time. In addition there is the Direct Current equipment which has a battery bank which again exposes the Comparator to the risk of electric shock.

2. In addition to the risk of being exposed to electrical shocks, the satellite communication system presents a possible risk in relation to radiation if standing in front of satellite dishes.

3. Risks are also present to the Comparator in terms of his work with laser equipment such as Direction Finding Equipment. Again it is important that he does not stand in front of such equipment or look directly at these devices.

4. When in attendance at operational incidents, large vehicles may be moving and positioning and there is an exposure to a risk in this regard. In addition, some operational incidents may take place at particular dangerous settings such as tank farms, airports, industrial sites etc.

5. There are various special regulations and/or statutory regulations that are complied with in relation to the Comparator’s work and working environment to try and reduce the risk of injury in relation to the above issues.

6. In addition, the Comparator is issued with protective equipment and clothing in the form of head gear and foot wear and other PPE.

7. The Comparator has not been injured at work and no one from his department, to the best of his recollection, has been injured from the work they do or deal with.

8. Whilst there is a small possibility of the Comparator being injured, he is exposed to a very small probability of injury or ill health as a result of his work in light of the regular and continual risk assessments undertaken. NIFRS risk assessments and its health and safety policies and procedures are particularly robust and stringent.

~~V2 26 June 2009~~

~~V3 3^rd July 2009~~

V4 5 July 2009

	[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]
	Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions >> Fahy v Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue... [2010] NIIT 00632_08IT (20 August 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NIIT/2010/00632_08IT.html Cite as: [2010] NIIT 632_8IT, [2010] NIIT 00632_08IT

Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions