The
following section sets out the Council’s Pay Policy in
relation to the remuneration of its Chief Officers and employees -
in accordance with Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011.
The
policy is subject to annual review and must be approved by the
Council each financial year. This statement is valid from
1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026. The
structures and pay rates quoted are correct as of 31st
January 2025.
Subject to
specific circumstances it may be necessary to amend the Pay Policy
statement during the financial year. Any changes or amendments made
will be subject to full Council approval.
The
policy will be published on the Council’s website as soon as
reasonably practicable after Council approval or
amendment.
The
arrangements set out within this document do not extend to those
members of staff who are employed within schools. This is because
the scope of the Localism Act does not require Councils to consider
individual schools.
The
Council is mindful of its duty as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
This Pay Policy Statement forms part of a range of pay policies to
promote equality in pay practices and assists in ensuring that the
Council is promoting transparency of senior managers’ pay and
a fair approach to pay related equalities objectives.
This
Policy Statement covers the following posts:
Statutory Chief
Officers:
·
Head
of Paid Service & Returning Officer - Chief Operating
Officer
·
Monitoring
Officer - Director of Governance
·
Director
of Children’s Services – Corporate Director Children
& Education
·
Director
of Adult Social Services - Corporate Director Adult Social Care
& Integration
·
Chief
Finance Officer (S151) – Director of Finance
·
Director
of Public Health - Director of Public Health
Non-statutory
Chief Officers:
·
Director
Transport, Environment & Planning
·
Director
City Development
·
Director
Housing & Communities
·
Director
of Adults Safeguarding
·
Director
of Children’s Safeguarding
·
Assistant
Director Adult Social Care
·
Assistant
Director Education & Skills
·
Chief
Strategy Officer
·
Assistant
Director (Consultant) in Public Health
·
Assistant
Director Customers, Communities & Inclusion
·
Chief
Officer HR & Support Service
The
Council has a policy for remunerating Chief Officers based on job
evaluation and a grade structure. No changes to this are proposed
to this during 2025- 2026.
The
grade and salary structure for Chief Officers and the Chief
Operating Officer as at January 2025 is:
Pay
rates effective from 1st April 2024
|
Chief Operating Officer
|
4
|
£163,499
|
|
3
|
£161,297
|
|
2
|
£159,096
|
|
1
|
£154,693
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
£122,715
|
|
Corporate
|
3
|
£118,845
|
|
Directors
|
2
|
£115,120
|
|
|
1
|
£111,509
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
£109,529
|
|
Directors
|
3
|
£105,893
|
|
|
2
|
£102,382
|
|
|
1
|
£98,989
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
£89,956
|
|
Assistant
|
3
|
£86,784
|
|
Directors
|
2
|
£83,983
|
|
|
1
|
£81,174
|
Any
annual increase to the salary scales is in accordance with awards
negotiated nationally by the respective National Joint Councils and
applicable from 1st April annually.
Progression
through the salary scale for the Chief Operating Officer is
dependent upon performance and approval by the Leader of the
Council.
Progression
through the salary scale for Chief Officers is dependent upon
performance and achievement of objectives, approved by the line
manager.
Salary on
Appointment of Chief Officers
The
appointments sub-committee, subject to Pay Policy and job evaluated
range for the post, determines the salary level and package offered
to the successful candidate.
Chief
Officer pay packages over £100k in value are subject to
approval by the Council’s Staffing Matters & Urgency
Committee upon creation.
The
Council does not make any such payments.
Employer pension
contributions are set by the relevant pension fund.
There are no benefits in kind to
which officers are entitled as a result of their
employment.
Any
necessary travel and expenses are reimbursed through normal Council
procedures.
Fees
for election duties undertaken by Chief Officers are not included
in their salaries.
The
Chief Operating Officer is the Returning Officer and receives
payments for elections. For local elections, fees are set
locally. For national elections, fees are set by the Cabinet
Office.
The
Council applies its normal redundancy payments arrangements to
Chief Officers and does not have separate provisions for them. The
Council also applies the appropriate Pensions regulations when they
apply. The Council has agreed policies in place on how it will
apply any
discretionary powers it has under
Pensions regulations. Any costs that are incurred by the Council
regarding Chief Officers are published in the authority accounts as
required under the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations
2015.
Approval of any
pension discretions are made by the Staffing Matters and Urgency
Committee.
Non-contractual
Chief Officer and officer Special Severance Payments over
£100k in value are subject to approval by the Council’s
Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee.
In
addition to the separate arrangements for the Chief Operating
Officer and Chief Officers, the Council has staff employed under
terms and conditions set for the following groups:
·
Local
Government Services Employees
·
Soulbury
Officers
·
Educational
Psychologists
·
Workshop for the
Blind
·
Teachers
(non-school based)
·
The
council also employs staff who have separate terms and conditions
subject to the Transfer of Undertaking and Protection of Employment
(TUPE) Regulations.
Increases to the
Council’s salary scales for non-chief officer groups are in
line with annual salary awards negotiated nationally by the
respective National Joint Councils.
The
Council applies terms and conditions of employment that have been
negotiated and agreed through appropriate collective bargaining
mechanisms (national or local) or as a consequence of Council
decisions. These are then incorporated into contracts of
employment.
The
Council operates a grading structure for Local Government Services
employees. This runs from Grade 2 to 13 and the lowest paid
employees, excluding apprentices, are situated within this
structure at Grade 2.
The
Council is a Living Wage Foundation accredited employer which means
its lowest pay point complies with its outside London Living Wage
rate. From 1st April 2025 this rate of pay
will be £12.60 per hour (£24,308 per annum). A
Living Wage supplement is in place if needed to bridge any gap
between basic pay and the Living Wage rate.
The
Council’s pay rates for apprentices are:
·
Year
1 (regardless of age) – the equivalent of the National
Minimum Wage for 18- to 20-year-olds.
·
Year
2 and any subsequent years (regardless of age) – the National
Living Wage for those aged 21 and above.
·
Rates
increase annually in April following any changes made to the
National Minimum and National Living Wage rates.
At
the time of this report the highest salary in this Council is
£163,499 which is paid to the Chief Operating Officer. The
median salary in this council is £32,681 (Apprentices have
been excluded from the calculation for the median.) The ratio
between the two salaries, the ‘pay multiple’ is
5.003:1. This Council does not have a
policy on maintaining or reaching a specific ‘pay
multiple’, however the Council is conscious of the need to
ensure that the salary of the highest paid employee is not
excessive and is consistent with the needs of the Council as
expressed in this Policy Statement.
No
amendments to the Pay Policy are anticipated during the year.
If changes are made these will be presented to full Council for
approval as appropriate
This
Policy Statement will be reviewed each year and presented to full
Council for consideration.
