AO report published
by Seán Carabini

Following twelve months of work and discussion from a dedicated group of administrative officer members, Fórsa today publishes Reforming the AO Grade: Administrative Officers and their role in the Irish Civil Service.

 

“We know – and have known – about the pay discrepancy between the AO and higher executive officer (HEO) grade,” said assistant general secretary, Seán Carabini.

 

"In fact, at our inaugural civil service conference in 2018, there was a clear mandate given to pursue this issue. However, to look only at this issue in isolation would have been, in my opinion, a missed opportunity. What are the other issues faced by AOs that need to be addressed? That’s why we decided in 2021 to do a wide-ranging survey of all AOs. A group of AOs then volunteered to meet regularly to discuss the issues and devise a series of recommendations to improve their working conditions. It’s a good piece of work.” he continued.

 

The report will be used by the Divisional Executive Committee to make informed policy decisions in relation to improving the AO terms and conditions.

 

“One of the biggest issues with the AO grade is that all too often, an AO is given exactly the same workload and expected to perform the same duties as a HEO. That would be fine if there wasn’t an €18,000 pay discrepancy at the start of the pay scale. If the AO really is a graduate entry programme, then there needs to come a time where they are no longer considered ‘graduates’ and are paid accordingly. At present, they only catch up with HEOs at the normal max of scale. How is that fair if they’re doing the same work?” said Seán.

 

While the report focuses on pay anomalies, it also focuses on other issues, such as higher scales eligibility, annual leave discrepancies and skillset misalignment.

 

Reforming the AO Grade: Administrative Officers and their role in the Irish Civil Service can be read here.

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