With all the changes that are happening around us, many people are facing changes affecting their personal lives. Some of those challenges might cause one the need to relocate. Article 15 in the National Agreement speaks about relocating with the IRS.
If you are experiencing the need to relocate due to a hardship, there’s an opportunity for you to submit a request. The Employer has determined, that, consistent with workload needs, it will relocate an employee demonstrating a significant hardship that can be relieved by a relocation outside their commuting area, if there is a vacant position which the Employer intends to fill in the employee’s current job series and the employee meets the position and skill requirements. Employees requesting a hardship relocation will be eligible for positions to be permanently filled at the same or lower grade for which they meet OPM qualifications and selective placement factors.
Once the request for hardship is approved and there’s an open vacancy announcement, the relocation will be granted, providing that the employee meets the hardship criteria. Employees who have access to the IRS intranet can submit their application through the automated online system. Employees who do not have access to the IRS intranet via an IRS computer, will use Form 13442.
To be eligible for the hardship relocation, the employee must show their most recent annual rating of record is fully successful or above, they are not currently on a Performance Improvement Plan, they are not currently the subject of a disciplinary action or a continuing conduct investigation; and they are not applying to return to the commuting area of a POD from which they had relocated under a new appointment or competitive selection in the last two years.
After approval, the hardship relocation application is good for one year. At the expiration of the one-year period, the employee must reapply. Upon reapplying, the employee may be required to recertify that the hardship still exists before an office extends an offer of a position.
To find more information regarding the hardship, you can visit
http://hco.web.irs.gov/apps/TPHS/index.asp
Angela Moore