AIO Pathway

AIO Pathway Scrapped – at last!

PCS details our historical opposition to the AIO Pathway, and the proposal to scrap the current AIO Pathway, to be replaced with a Pathway that will be at Immigration Officer grade on entry and exit.

Background

In MB 20/19 PCS detailed our long-standing opposition to the Assistant Immigration Officer (AIO) Pathway. At several Home Office Group conferences PCS passed motions as follows –

Motion A27/14 (2014 PCS Home Office group Conference)

Conference instructs the GEC (Group Executive Committee) to oppose the AIO Pathway in its current form and to ensure that members are paid the going rate for the job whilst training.

Motion A2/17 (2017 PCS Home Office group Conference)

"This conference is concerned that since the passing of A27 in 2014 regarding the AIO Pathway little progress has been made to remove it and ensure IOS undergoing training are paid at IO rate. This conference therefore instructs the GEC to raise a complaint firstly within the Department and then within Civil Service Commissioners ( in the case of an unsatisfactory internal response ) on the basis that promotion to IO from AIO at the end of the Pathway is not subject to open and fair recruitment principles. Conference instructs the GEC to update members on progress of this by 31 October 2017.

PCS believes that recruiting staff at AIO grade, only to train them to be Immigration Officers over the following 12-18 months, whilst still paying them as AIOs, was simply a way of training IOs on the cheap. It also produced inequalities, with substantive EOs and IOs entering the Pathway entering at a different grade to new entrants. It also rendered the pathway inappropriate for training certain groups of staff within IE."

Unfortunately attempts to pursue legal action against the AIO Pathway were unsuccessful, however PCS continued to voice our opposition to the Pathway since 2014.

13 July Announcement

PCS had been engaged recently in discussion around potential pathway changes and our opinion sought on what would deliver the most effective operational training within IE. Our response has included the end of the AIO Pathway.

On 13July 2021 PCS was contacted by senior managers within IE to inform us as follows:

‘ .... As of 1 August we will be removing the AIO entry grade to the Pathway. You were aware I believe that we have been reviewing all of the C&E Pathways and it has now been decided that the ICE pathway starting at AIO and leading to IO on its completion no longer meets our business requirements.”

and

“Just to clarify, this means that all new staff will now start and finish the Pathway at IO grade. All those staff who are AIOs currently will be promoted to IO from 1 August and continue on the Pathway.”

Conclusion and advice

The removal of the AIO Pathway is indeed welcome news following as it does longstanding campaigning by PCS and this decision is yet another victory for common sense. PCS opposition to the Pathway has been based on equality, fairness, and consistency. Other areas of IE did not recruit IOs starting at an AIO training grade, and no other IE areas recruit AIOs at all. So this decision may be the first of many to standardise recruitment and training practices across IE prior to closer working with Border Force. If so PCS will keep members apprised of any developments.

If any members have difficulties following from this decision, or if you have training and recruitment issues regarding pay, grading or job content, then please contact a local PCS rep.

Stephen Taylor (Assistant Group Secretary), Patricia Corrigan (Assistant Group Secretary)