Staff Bonus Scheme
Guidance Notes
2015
Guidance Notes Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Purpose of Staff Bonus Scheme
Principles
Application Process
Frequently Asked Questions
Timetable
Appeals
Page
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Staff Bonus Scheme
1. Purpose of Staff Bonus Scheme
The Staff Bonus Scheme was launched in 2007 for staff in the Operational, Technical and
Professional career families (Academic staff joined the scheme in 2008). Changes to the
Scheme were introduced in 2012/13 in the light of changed financial circumstances to
provide additional reward to those staff who contributed ‘over and above’ the normal
expectations of their role in an ‘exceptional’ way.
Queen Mary provides some of the best terms and conditions in the Higher Education Sector,
and expects all staff to perform to the very best of their abilities. The Staff Bonus Scheme
will therefore provide additional reward only to those who can demonstrate with evidence
that they have performed ‘exceptionally well’ and beyond what might reasonably be
expected of a high performer fulfilling the post they occupy.
The amount of reward allocated will be limited by an overall QMUL budget. It is expected
that there will be a similar amount available for the 2015 scheme as there has been in
previous years.
It will also generally be the case that Staff Bonuses will take the form of one off bonuses.
However, accelerated increments and increments into the contribution zone will be allowed
but only in exceptional cases of evidenced sustained high performance over a number of
years. This is to recognise that there may not be evidence that the actual job has grown in
size but the performance is regularly outstanding. In these cases it may be possible to
consider accelerated increments, but it is expected that these cases will be few.
2. Principles
Every attempt has been made to design the Staff Bonus Scheme so that it is:
 relevant to your role
 flexible in terms of acceptable evidence
 simple to use, with information only gathered once
 fair, transparent and objective
General principles
 Line managers/Heads/Directors can nominate staff, or staff can nominate themselves
for a bonus
 Decisions will be made at faculty level by the relevant Vice Principal or in the case of
Professional Services, the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with Heads of
Schools/Departments/Institute Directors and based on evidence provided by you
 The scheme is not a substitute for re-grading or promotion (i.e. the job has not
changed, it is what you bring to the role)
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 You can only submit one application as an individual or as part of a team – not both
(team applications are limited to a maximum of 7 team members including the team
leader if relevant)
 You do not need the support of your Line Manager or Head/Director for your
application to be submitted, although they will need to see it and verify that the
evidence you have provided is factually correct
 The scheme is open to all staff: Academic, Research, Professional, Technical and
Operational
Eligibility
You are eligible to make an application for the Staff Bonus Scheme in 2015 if you meet the
following criteria:
 you are on the Queen Mary Pay & Grading Structure (Grades 1-7) or;
 you are a clinical lecturer or researcher who does not have access to the clinical
reward scheme and;
 you have at least one year’s continuous service with Queen Mary by 31 August 2015
 you have completed your 2015 appraisal or your final probation review (or most
recent probation review for those on 3 year probationary periods).
Please note that Professors are not eligible to apply as they are not paid on the Queen Mary
Pay & Grading Structure.
Review Period
The review period for the 2015 scheme is 1 September 2014 – 31 August 2015.
3. Application Process
You may be able to make a successful application if you can demonstrate that you have
made an exceptional contribution over and above the normal expectation of a high performer
in your role.
What might constitute exceptional performance over and above the normal
expectation of a high performer in your role?
The examples given in this section are exactly that – examples. There is no intention that
these are the most important things that will influence decisions on bonuses – they are
purely to give you something to think about and start with. The Staff Bonus Scheme is
deliberately designed to be flexible and relevant to everyone.
The general rule of thumb is to demonstrate contribution that is exceptional not only in terms
of ‘what’ you have achieved but also ‘how’ you have achieved it (e.g. achievement made in
the spirit of collegiality). An assessment will then be made as to whether or not this
contribution has been exceptional. The stronger your application (i.e. the more you are able
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to demonstrate exceptional performance using strong, concrete evidence) and the greater
the impact of your contribution, the more likely it is to be deemed as exceptional.
Examples of exceptional performance may be:
 Evidence of substantial contribution to greater efficiency and effectiveness
 Creating high quality results aligned to Queen Mary’s strategic direction which benefit
the wider QMUL community e.g. devising and introducing innovative changes that
have a direct significant impact on improving NSS scores or student recruitment
 Continuing to deliver goals when they have become more difficult or complex during
the year
 Being forward thinking, continually improving and running a highly motivated and
achieving team resulting in major efficiencies and savings
 Exceptional delivery of Teaching and Research
 Significantly and identifiably exceeding already challenging objectives/targets
 Undertaking without additional reward sustained activities at a substantially higher
level
 Making a substantial difference to the reputation of the
school/department/institute/QMUL evidenced by feedback, scores or other tangible
measures (e.g. one-off events such as QM-run conferences)
 Supporting other team members/colleagues/collaborators in delivery of their goals
 Provision of services proves to be significantly better than expected under already
challenging plans
 Devising, introducing or project managing a new system that demonstrably improves
performance, output or the student learning experience
 Taking on substantial new additional work that comes up during the year without
additional reward
 Reacting positively to a crisis or identifying a problem and seeing it through to
conclusion which has a positive impact on service/provision and minimised
potentially severe risks
 Creating significantly productive collaborations with others across QMUL, in other
HEIs and with industry
 Outstanding success in securing external funding
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 Demonstrating commitment to significantly wider public engagement through e.g.
increasing public understanding of a subject area, contributing to widening
participation and schools’ outreach to reach non-specialist audiences
 Demonstrating significant commitment to entrepreneurship and the application of
research through e.g. commercializing patents, forming spin-out companies, winning
consultancy work with external organisations
 Making significant contributions to the advancement of teaching excellence through
e.g. the design and planning of learning activities, developing new effective learning
approaches, improving methods for evaluation
 Outstanding supervision of research students and other researchers
What is not seen as exceptional performance:
 Doing your job well and achieving objectives
 Making an ‘exceptional’ contribution in one area, but neglecting your other day to day
responsibilities
 Achieving at the expense of others
 Improving performance from ‘poor’ to ‘meeting expectations’
 Being resistant to change
 Being unapproachable or, conversely, being popular
 Based on length of service, seniority or experience
 Being punctual or having a good attendance record
 Putting in long hours for the sake of it
Applications
Applications may only be considered if:
 the relevant forms are completed in full and;
 the evidence provided does not exceed the stated maximum amount and;
 they are submitted by the published deadlines
Forms can be downloaded at:
http://www.hr.qmul.ac.uk/workqm/paygradesrewards/reward/sbs/index.html
Individual and team applications will be considered equally according to the evidence
provided. Where an individual or team is nominated by their Line Manager/Head/Director,
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collation of evidence and/or completion of relevant sections of the form may be delegated to
the individual/team.
All nominations must be made via the individual’s own substantive school/dept/institute.
Schools/depts/institutes should not directly nominate individuals from other areas, this
should be done in consultation with the substantive employing area who will submit the
nomination.
All applications will need to be verified as being factually correct by the relevant manager
and will need to be signed by the Head/Director with a statement outlining whether the
application is supported or not, including the reasons why.
All applications will proceed to the Faculty/Professional Services meeting for consideration.
Application Forms
Section 1: About the Applicant/Team
Please complete in full. Where the application is not individually or team driven, nomination
can only be made by a manager and not by colleagues or customers.
Section 2: Evidence of Contribution
Think creatively when considering which evidence will support your case for the scheme.
Remember that good evidence will be much more compelling if it is specific and
measureable e.g.:
 I reduced the cost of the service by 20% in one year
 our outreach programme in schools improved the level of applications from x to y and
the standard of applications also improved from a to b
 the new student feedback system I introduced has improved feedback times by x
days and received an improved student satisfaction rating from a to b
 I set up a collaboration on research with e.g. Warwick/UCL which improved our
standing in tables by x places, reduced cost per student by y% and produced n highly
rated research papers
In order to keep it simple you can copy and paste information already gathered and recorded
for The Performance and Development Appraisal Scheme (or other developmental or
performance-centered discussions). There is no obligation to use information from this
source but it may be a helpful shortcut as it represents evidence of your contribution that has
already been agreed with your appraiser.
The following list is an idea of the types of evidence you may be able to provide:
 Feedback in a variety of media – from managers, peers, students or other external
contacts
 Evidence which demonstrates that targets or objectives have been exceeded, or
money has been saved/made
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 Extracts from appraisal documentation (or other developmental or performance-
centered discussions)
 Confirmation of impact on strategic goals
 External award or other external validation
 Tangible improvement to working practices and procedures
 Project plans and outcomes, or helping others to achieve success
 Incident/job reports
 Extracts of published material you have been responsible for
When putting your application together please ensure you meet the following criteria:
 All evidence should be included within the application form and not be submitted as
separate documents. Ideally the application form should remain in Microsoft Word as
this will allow HR to re-format the document if necessary to ensure your application
uses up a minimum amount of paper when printed for your file.
 Do not provide any more than 4 pieces of evidence with your application and the total
amount of evidence must not exceed 8 sides of A4. Please do not group your
evidence e.g. 1 feedback email will count as one piece of evidence, 4 emails on one
A4 piece of paper will count as 4 pieces of evidence.
 Job descriptions are not acceptable to submit as evidence
 Evidence should not include appraisal documentation in its entirety but you can copy
and paste relevant paragraphs from your appraisal if you wish.
 Only include important and relevant pieces of evidence (e.g. do not include 50 page
brochures, several pages of meeting meetings or timetables/schedules; the panel will
not be able to read these in full – just provide one page to give the panel an idea of
your contribution)
 If you wish to submit a spreadsheet as evidence please provide a file link to the
spreadsheet within the application form.
In your application you should show how you have contributed to the delivery of any of the
Key Performance Indicators as outlined in QMUL’s Strategic Plan which can be found at:
http://connect.qmul.ac.uk/governance/future
Where the application is driven by the Line Manager/Head/Director they will also be required
to provide an additional statement outlining the reasons for nomination. Where the
nominating manager is the Head/Director, this information can be included in their statement
in section 3.
Section 3: Statement by Head/Director
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The purpose of this section is to provide context around the bigger picture (or any external
factors which may have influenced the achievements of the individual or team). For example,
it may have been difficult to deliver something given the departmental budget position or
student intake numbers.
The statement also needs to specify whether the Head/Director supports the application or
not, including the reasons why. Where the Head nominated the individual/team, the reasons
for the nomination would be included here.
Regardless of whether the statement supports the application or not, it will still proceed to
the Faculty/ Professional Services panel meeting for consideration.
Panels
In the three academic faculties, Faculty Panels will be made up of the Faculty VP (Chair),
the Faculty Deans, the Heads of Schools/Institute Directors and the Faculty Operating
Officer where relevant. VPs may agree smaller panels if they wish, whilst ensuring that the
process followed is fair and transparent.
In Professional Services, the Panel will be made up of the Chief Operating Officer (Chair)
and the Director of HR. The remaining PS Heads will then present their area’s applications
to the panel. Due to the overwhelming volume of applications that are submitted from
Professional Services, Heads will be asked to prioritise applications in their areas particularly
if they have a large of amount of applications.
The Chairs will ensure:
 confidentiality is maintained
 integrity in the decision-making process by being fair, consistent and transparent
 decisions made on whether an application warrants a bonus are based on the
evidence provided
 the amount of the bonus is agreed
Human Resources will attend all of the panels to ensure consistency and to take a record of
the decisions made.
When all decisions have been made HR will scrutinize the outcomes to ensure a consistency
of approach across QMUL and to identify any unusual or anomalous outcomes. These will
be referred back to the VP/COO concerned for clarification.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the scheme exist?
QMUL wants to offer a competitive reward package to individuals in order to support the
achievement of QMUL objectives and values.
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Who can apply?
Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria i.e. anyone on the Queen Mary Pay & Grading
Structure (Grades 1-7) with the exception of clinical lecturers and researchers and who have
at least one year’s service by 31 August 2015 and who have completed their 2015 appraisal
or their final probation review (or most recent probation review for those on 3 year
probationary periods).
How many applications am I able to submit?
Individuals can only submit one application – either one individual application or one team
application but not both.
When do I need to apply by?
Applications need to be fully completed and sent to your Head/Director by 30 September
2015.
Who makes the decisions?
Decisions on applications will be made by the relevant Vice Principal/Chief Operating Officer
at the relevant panel meeting
How and when will bonuses be paid?
Successful applicants will receive an award in the vast majority of cases in the form of a oneoff bonus payment, although there is a provision for accelerated increments on the rare
occasion of identifiable consistent exceptional achievement over a number of years
This payment will be made in December 2015/January 2016.
Will the scheme change in the future?
The scheme is constantly reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
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5. Timetable
What needs to be done?
Who needs to do it
When do they need to do it by?
Launch of Staff Bonus Scheme
Human Resources
1 September 2015
Allocation of departmental contact to communicate information
within the department
HoD/DoI
In time for launch on 1 September or
immediately afterwards
The individual or team prepare their application
 speak to their Line Manager/Head/Director about their
intention to apply
 complete the application form which must contain any
evidence within it– hard copies will not be accepted
 Line Manager/Head/Director verifies application as factually
correct
 submit to departmental contact
AND/OR
Individual or team
AND/OR
30 September 2015
Line
Manager/Head/Director
The Line Manager/Head/Director decides to nominate individuals
 Speak to the individual/team about their intention to nominate
 complete the application form which must contain any
evidence within it – hard copies will not be accepted
 submit to departmental contact
The departmental contact will;
 collate applications for HoD/DoI
 ensure eligibility to apply
 submit applications to HoD/DoI
Departmental Contact
30 September 2015 or immediately
afterwards
HoD/DoI decides:
 to support/not support the application (not applicable if
HoD/DoI has nominated)
 the level of bonus (if supported)
 how to feedback decision to applicant(s)
HoD/DoI
30 October 2015
Applications are submitted to Kelly Rosa in HR –
k.rosa@qmul.ac.uk
HoD/DoI/Departmental
Contact
30 October 2015
Applications are prepared and submitted to Faculty /Professional
Services panels
Human Resources
At least 2 weeks prior to the Faculty/PS
meeting
Faculty/PS meetings are held
Faculty/PS Panels
Late November 2015
Faculty/PS decisions are checked by HR to ensure consistency
across College, referred back to appropriate VP or COO where
necessary and then actioned by HR after final decisions.
Panel & Human
Resources
November/December 2015
Letters are issued to staff via HoD/DoI
HoD/DoI & Human
Resources
December 2015/January 2016
Bonuses processed
Human Resources
December 2015/January 2016
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Please note: The timetable and deadlines above will be followed as closely as possible. Every
effort will be made to achieve a speedy outcome, but maintaining the quality of the Staff Bonus
Scheme is more important.
6. Appeals
Appeals can only be made against a decision not to award staff bonus payments.
Any applicant not awarded who remains dissatisfied following receipt of feedback has the
right of appeal only on the grounds of a defect in procedure, as outlined in the Staff Bonus
Scheme Guidance Notes 2015.
An appeal must be submitted in writing, setting out the grounds for appeal and sent to HR
without unreasonable delay and within 14 days of the receipt of the written outcome.
If the Director of HR decides that on appearance a case for appeal exists then an appeals
panel constituted of the following membership will be set up:
 Chair of a Staff Bonus Scheme Panel (for any sector other than the sector in which
the original decision was made)
 Head of School/Department/Institute Director
 Union Observer
 HR Central Services Manager (Secretary)
Members of the appeals panel will not be from the same school/department/institute as the
appellant nor have been previously involved in the case.
The appeals panel will have access to all material that was made available to the original
SBS panel and can receive submissions from the appellant if they chose to do so. The
appeals panel may call upon any other persons it deems relevant, in which case the
appellant shall be informed.
The appellant may be accompanied by a trade union representative or other person of their
choosing for the purpose of presenting their case.
The decision of the appeals panel shall be final. The secretary shall communicate the
decision to the appellant within 5 working days of the panel.
The appeals panel shall make one of the following decisions:
 To dismiss the appeal as there are no grounds for claiming a defect in procedure
 To uphold the appeal on the grounds that there was a defect in procedure. In this
case the application should be reconsidered by the Chair of the SBS Panel (for any
sector other than the sector in which the original decision was made), Head of
School/Department/Institute Director and the Director of HR
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