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SURREY · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

Is reconciling internal job descriptions worth paying for before filing?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Usually yes, because it is cheaper than answering an evidence request built around a contradiction. The work is mostly internal time from human resources, the reporting executive and payroll, plus counsel's review of the reconciled account. Budget separately for restructuring the role if the review shows the claim is not supported.

Cost the internal hours honestly

The visible bill is legal and filing work, but the real expense here is the time of people who already have jobs. Estimate how many hours human resources and the reporting executive will need, and get that agreed by whoever owns their workload. Ask counsel to quote the description review separately from the filing, so the business can see what it is buying and stop if the reconciled account does not support proceeding.

Hypothetical example: a commercial roofing company spends six weeks reconciling two accounts of a regional manager's role, involving human resources, payroll and two executives. A first review would have asked at the outset what the reconciled description would need to show, and would have tested that against payroll and approval records in the first week. Most of the six weeks was spent negotiating wording rather than establishing facts.

Ask counsel to state up front which specific facts would support the claim, so the internal effort is aimed at finding them rather than at reaching agreement between departments.