Understanding Seniority and Length of Service

Seniority is a measurement of time that is spent in a particular condition. For example, category seniority is the amount of time that an employee has spent in one category. The system measures from the date of entry into the category to the date of category change. If the employee has not changed categories, the date of the calculation is used as the end date. Corps seniority, grade seniority, and actual step seniority follow the same pattern. Since civil service positions carry different weights in seniority calculations, each civil service position has career advancement percentages that affect seniority and length of service calculations.

Length of service resembles seniority except that it uses career advancement percentages that are associated with lengths of service. The system uses steps, grades, corps and categories for lengths of service.

Seniority calculations for steps, grades, corps and categories relate to each other as follows:

  • Grade seniority equals total actual step seniority for the steps of the grade.

  • Corps seniority equals total grade seniority for the grades belonging to this corps.

  • Category seniority equals total corps seniority for the corps belonging to the same category.

This explains how length of service calculations for steps, grades, corps and categories relate to each other:

  • Grade length of service equals total actual step lengths of service.

  • Corps length of service equals total grade length of service.

  • Category length of service equals total corps length of service.

The system uses seniority values to calculate step increments and seniority and length of service are criteria for grade promotion.

While assigned a category, corps, grade and step, an employee is also assigned a civil service position. Each civil service position carries a different weight in seniority calculations, represented by its career advancement percentage. You define two such percentages for each civil service position:

  • The seniority career advancement percentage is used to calculate the employee's seniority between two dates.

  • The length of service career advancement percentage is used to calculate the employee's length of service between two dates.

Seniority credits are applied only within the step.

Reduction in Step Duration

Managers can grant reductions in step duration to hasten an employee's step promotion. The seniority credits are durations expressed in years, months, and days. Reductions in step duration are assigned within a step and cannot be carried over.

Step Career Seniority is the actual step seniority, plus any reductions in step duration. The calculation accounts for the seniority career advancement percentage but not the work-time percentage.

Note: Use the Update Seniority Bonus FPS component (Workforce Administration > Job Information) to grant reductions in step duration.

See Managing Seniority Bonuses.

Seniority Carryover at Step Increments in the Same Grade

An employee might be in a civil service position that does not authorize advancement on the previously scheduled advancement date. In this case, the advancement is postponed until the employee holds a civil service position that authorizes advancement.

The Credited Seniority is the seniority that is to be carried over from the previous career classification. When calculating advancement dates, the credited seniority is added to the career seniority.

When advancement occurs, the employee's seniority can be greater than the average step seniority. The difference is the seniority carryover.

Seniority to be Carried Over is the career seniorities, plus the credited seniority, minus the reductions in step duration and the average step duration.

This seniority carryover functionality is applied only within the same grade.

Note: Credited seniority in the step is also generated in case of reclassification. If the reclassification simulation is validated, the employee is granted a step increment with grade change. A conversion formula is applied to the Actual Seniority in previous step. The result of this conversion enables you to enter the Seniority Credited in the new step.