Issue - meetings

Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

Meeting: 10/02/2022 - Council (Item 63)

63 Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

To approve the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service presented the report on the adoption of the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.

The report set out the relevant statutory powers, the issues for the Council to consider, and the associated legal and financial implications.

The Employment Committee considered the report at its meeting on 25 January 2022 and made observations under Minute 34. In doing so, the Employment Committee endorsed the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23.

The recommendation set out in the report was moved by Councillor Lewanski, as Chair of the Employment Committee, and seconded by Councillor Brunt, who endorsed the Council’s commitment to supporting the real living wage.

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 be approved.


Meeting: 08/12/2021 - Employment Committee (Item 26)

26 Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Localism Act 2011 required Councils to determine and publish annual pay policy statements.

The statement was a factual document which set out the Council’s existing agreed approach to pay and included details of the highest and lowest earners and the relationship between the two.

The pay policy statement was to be approved by the Council in advance of the financial year to which it related and, to ensure transparency, it would be published on the Council’s website.

Data provided within the report was to be updated to reflect the position as at 1 January 2022.

The format and content of the statement was in line with the statement approved by the Council last year with the following changes to note:

·         All figures and pay ratios were updated to reflect in year changes.

·         It reaffirmed the Council’s ongoing commitment to paying a fair and real living wage to all employees and workers, above national minimum wage levels.

The vacant Chief Executive role had been included within the calculations and therefore the figures would be updated as of January 2022.

Members raised a number of questions:

·         In reference to the second paragraph under the subheading 'Remuneration of employees on appointment' - in terms of the correct governance and role of the Employment Committee, there was a distinction between the appointments process and the designation process. Officers undertook to review that paragraph to add clarity.

·         Contractual increments - this formed an important part of the Council's remuneration arrangements and Members sought additional detail describing both the structure and budget impact of this mechanism year on year, which officers undertook to circulate as an ‘aide memoire’ to the Committee.

·         In relation to the salary budget table, additional information was sought to put the year on year increases into context, including:

o   the number of full-time equivalents employed by the Council in each year; and,

o   the proportion of salary budget increase dedicated to either growth in salaries or growth in head count.

·         The Council was undertaking benchmarking for all Senior Management Team roles, including for the remuneration of the 4 chief officers.

·         In response to a question about whether the cost of interim posts had been included within the average salary figure for senior officers under the subheading 'Definition and remuneration of Chief Officers', officers clarified that those figures were based on job-evaluated costs rather than actual costs.

·         The percentage comparison by gender within the introduction did not add up to 100%; and, the ratio of average Chief Officers’ pay to the average pay of other employees within the report was stated as just under 3:1, however the figures on the previous page indicated that the ratio was above 3:1.

·         In terms of the exceptional increases and additions to remuneration of Chief Officers, Members sought an explanation of what additional duties were associated with the 10% increase for the statutory officers and asked for clarity on whether the 10% increase was included in the previous figures (e.g., averages and ratio comparisons).

Members considered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26