SYSTEM FOR THE CLASSIFICATION
OF POSTS
1. Request for the classification
or reclassification
of a post
1.1 Requests for the classification
or reclassification of a post shall be made by the Executive Officer,
the head of Administration at offices away from Headquarters, or other
appropriate official in the following cases:
(a) When a post is newly
established or has not previously been classified;
(b) When the duties and responsibilities
of the post have changed substantially as a result of a restructuring
within an office and/or a General Assembly resolution;
(c) Prior to the issuance
of a vacancy announcement, when a substantive change in the functions
of a post has occurred since the previous classification; and
(d) When required by a classification
review or audit of a post or related posts, as determined by the classification
or human resources officer concerned.
1.2 The Office of Human Resources
Management (OHRM), or the local Human Resources office in those cases
where authority for classification has been delegated, shall provide
classification advice when departments submit, with their budget requests,
job descriptions for new posts and for the reclassification of existing
posts.
1.3 Incumbents who consider
that the duties and responsibilities of their posts have been substantially
affected by a restructuring within the office and/or a General Assembly
resolution may request OHRM or the local human resources office to review
the matter for appropriate action under section 1.1 (d).
2. Procedure for classification
or reclassification
2.1 Requests for classification
or reclassification of posts shall be submitted to:
(a) The Assistant Secretary-General,
OHRM, in the case of:
(i) posts in the Professional
category and at the Principal Officer (D-1) and Director (D-2) levels,
except when authority for classification of such posts has been delegated
to the Head of Office, in which case the request shall be submitted
to the head of that office,
(ii) posts in the Field
Service category,
(iii) posts in the General
Service and related categories at Headquarters,
(iv) posts in the General
Service and related categories in small and medium-sized duty stations,
except where posts at such duty stations are administered by the offices
indicated in subparagraph (b) below.
(b) The Chief of the respective
Human Resources office in the case of posts in the General Service and
related categories administered by ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UNOG, UNON,
and UNOV, up to and including the G-7 level.
2.2 Such requests shall include:
(a) A complete and up-to-date
job description for the post in question, using standardized job descriptions,
where applicable;
(b) An up-to-date organizational
chart showing the placement of the post in question and of other posts
that may be affected by the classification or reclassification requested;
(c) A valid and available
post number confirming the existence of a post approved at the appropriate
level in the budget, unless the request is submitted for advice prior
to a budget submission. When available, the IMIS post number must be
used.
2.3 The classification analysis
shall be conducted independently by two classification or human resources
officers on the basis of the classification standards set in section
3 below. The decision regarding the classification of the post will
be taken by or, on behalf of, the Assistant Secretary-General, OHRM,
or the head of office. The head of office will make the decision in
the case of posts in the General Service and related categories administered
by ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UNOG, UNON and UNOV, up to and including
the G-7 level, and in the case of any other posts for which classification
authority has specifically been delegated.
2.4 A notice of the classification
results, including the final ratings and/or comments on the basis of
which the decision was taken, shall be sent to the requesting executive
or administrative office, which will keep it in its records and provide
a copy to the incumbent of the post.
3. Classification standards
3.1 Posts shall be classified:
(a) In accordance with the
applicable classification standards established by the International
Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for posts in the Professional category
and at the D-1 and D-2 levels and for posts in the General Service and
related categories at the duty station concerned, except as provided
in subparagraph (b) below, and
(b) In accordance with the
classification standards approved by the Secretary-General for posts:
(i) in the Field Service
category, and
(ii) in the Security Service
category at Headquarters.
4. Implementation
4.1 Classification decisions
shall become effective as of the first of the month following receipt
of a classification request fulfilling the conditions of section 2.2
above. When a classification request is submitted for advice prior to
a budgetary submission, the classification shall become effective once
the reclassification has been approved in the budget.
4.2 The classification of
a post shall not negatively affect the existing contractual status,
salary or other entitlement of the staff member encumbering the post.
Staff members whose posts are classified at a level below their personal
grade level will retain their current grade and salary level, on the
understanding that every reasonable effort will be made to reassign
them to a post at their personal grade level.
4.3 Staff members whose posts
are classified at a level above their current personal grade level in
the same category may be considered for promotion in accordance with
established procedures, including issuance of a vacancy announcement,
where applicable.
5. Appeal of classification
decisions
The decision on the classification
level of a post may be appealed by the head of the organizational unit
in which the post is located, and/or the incumbent of the post at the
time of its classification, on the ground that the classification standards
were incorrectly applied, resulting in the classification of the post
at the wrong level.
6. Appeal Procedure
For
information on the appeal procedure, please refer to the UN Secretariat
Administrative Instruction ST/AI/1998/9 of 6 October 1998 on the System
of the Classification of the Posts. To view the document, please click
here (PDF Format).
©
2003 United Nations Office of Human Resources Management - All rights
reserved.
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