Temporary Promotion

• A temporary promotion is the assignment of an employee to a higher graded position for a specified period of time, with the employee returning to his/her permanent position upon the expiration of the temporary action. Qualification requirements that are required for a permanent promotion must be met.

• Temporary promotions are intended for meeting temporary needs of the organization and can be used for the following reasons:
  

• To fill temporary positions,
• To accomplish project work,
• To fill positions temporarily pending reorganization or downsizing,
• To meet other temporary needs.

• The initial 120 days of a temporary promotion may be made noncompetitively. All time spent in a noncompetitive temporary promotion and/or detail to a higher grade count towards the 120 day total.

• A temporary promotion received through the competitive process may be extended for a maximum period of 5 years, and may be made permanent without further competition, provided the temporary promotion was made under competitive procedures.

• Upon expiration or termination of a temporary promotion the employee is returned to the lower grade from which promoted. The agency must set the employee’s payable rate of basic pay in the lower grade as if he or she had not been temporarily promoted, unless the agency sets pay at a higher rate under the maximum payable rate rule. For WG employees, maximum payable rate rule is only applicable if the temporary promotion was for a period of not less than one year.

• Time during the temporary promotion may be creditable service towards GS within-grade increases in the lower grade.

• An employee must sign a statement of understanding acknowledging the conditions of the temporary promotion.