Seniority is the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group. This control is often granted to the senior person(s) due to experience or length of service in a given position, but it is not uncommon for a senior person(s) to have less experience or length of service than their subordinates; the knowledge or skill that one obtains after a certain amount of experience.

In Armed Forces

In some military command structures, the length of time someone has held a particular rank decides whether that person is senior to another person of the same rank. For instance, a captain who was promoted five years ago can give orders to a captain who was promoted three years ago.

In Politics

Seniority in United States politics, when used out of context, is informally defined as the number of years one member of a group has been a part of the group. For example, Ralph Hall

Ralph Hall

Ralph Moody Hall is a United States Representative from . First elected in 1980, Hall is the chairman of the Science Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee...

, from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 is the most senior member of the House of Representatives

House of Representatives

House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national states. In some countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "senate". In other countries, the House of...

, at age 88. However, "seniority" can also refer to political power attained by position within the United States Government. For further details, see:

• United States Order of Precedence
  United States order of precedence
  The United States order of precedence lists the ceremonial order for domestic and foreign government officials, military and civic leaders at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. Former Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, Secretaries of State and...
  
  
• United States Presidential Line of Succession
  United States presidential line of succession
  The United States presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect.- Current order :This is a list of the current presidential line of...
  
  
• Seniority in the United States Senate
• Dean of the United States House of Representatives
  Dean of the United States House of Representatives
  The Dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of the House. The present Dean is John Dingell, a Democrat of Michigan....
  
  

Seniority in United States politics is viewed publicly sometimes both positively and negatively. While most positions within the U.S. system of government are elected, many officials are viewed as only retaining their position simply because they have for many years, which can reflect voter stagnancy. On the other hand, holding a position for many years can also be seen as a sign of respect, at the persons ability to do their job at a level consistently pleasing voters.

In Unionised Companies

In unionised

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 companies

Company

A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...

, employees

Employment

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...

 may enjoy more work privileges, such as:

• Shifts
  Shift work
  Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of the 24 hours of the clock. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which employees change or rotate shifts....
  
   deemed more favourable,
• Work that is deemed easier or more pleasurable,
• Working hours at a more convenient time (convenience being relative to the employee),
• Assignment to work, when a work reduction, or a reduction in available work hours results in lay offs*

Seniority also has an influence over bumping

Bump (union)

In unionised organisations, be they private or public sector, "bumping" means a re-assignment of jobs on the basis of seniority. As an example, if a job becomes vacant, more than one person may be re-assigned to different tasks or ranks on the basis of who has worked for the organisation longer...

 rights, which is a re-assignment of jobs, possibly for many people at a time.

• Note: Some traditionalist employers, common in smaller, single-operated business, take a "first on, first off" perspective, meaning those that have been there longest, or tenure employees have the right to stay, whereas others take a "first on, last on" viewpoint, which tends to emphasize a new or "fresh start" for the company.

In Commercial Aviation

In commercial aviation, pilots working for a carrier have their privileges determined by their seniority or generally known as pilot seniority list. These privileges can be income level, routes flown, types of aircraft,work schedules and positions.

In Human Relationships

Seniority is present in the most common relationships, between parents and children, siblings of different ages, and workers and their managers.

See also

• Authority
  Authority
  The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
  
  
• Gerontocracy
  Gerontocracy
  A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. Often the political structure is such that political power within the ruling class accumulates with age, so that the oldest hold the most power...
  
  
• Hierarchy
  Hierarchy
  A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
  
  
• Seniority in the United States Senate
• Lockstep compensation
  Lockstep compensation
  Lockstep compensation is a system of remuneration in which the employees' salaries are based purely on their seniority within the organization. For example, in the legal profession, where this system is most commonly found, all law school graduates hired by a law firm who graduated in the same...
  
  
• Seniority (financial)
  Seniority (financial)
  In finance, seniority refers to the order of repayment in the event of bankruptcy.Senior debt must be repaid before subordinated debt is repaid...