Council

 

 March  2021

 

Executive Leader, Finance and Performance

 

Pay Policy 2021/22

 

Summary

 

1.    The purpose of the report is to present the council’s Pay Policy Statement for 2021/2022.

 

2.    To note that the Statement reflects the Chief Officer structure in existence at 1st February 2021 and that an amended report will be presented during the year to reflect the changes agreed to the structure from April.

 

Background

 

3.    Section 38 – 43 of the Localism Act 2011 introduced a requirement for the council to produce and publish an annual policy statement that covers a number of matters concerning the pay of the council’s senior staff, principally Chief Officers and relationships with the pay of the rest of the workforce.

 

4.    The Pay Policy Statement has been produced following the requirements of the Act and guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Communities.

 

Consultation

 

5.    Approval of the Policy Statement is by full council, consultation with other management bodies is not required.          

 

6.    Changes to the existing policy were made during the year which replaced the role of Chief Executive with a new role of Chief Operating Officer.  The role change was approved by Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee on 24th August 2020 and the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer approved by Full Council on 29th October 2020.

 

Options

 

7.    Option one - To endorse the Pay Policy Statement including changes to the Chief Officer Pay Policy and Community Impact Assessment.

 

8.    Option two - To reject / amend the Pay Policy Statement.

 

Analysis

 

9.    The Localism Act 2011 sets out specific details of what should be included in the Policy Statement.  Local Government Yorkshire and Humber have provided guidance and templates which comply with these requirements.  The council has adopted these templates as have many others in the region.

 

10. The Pay Policy Statement is subject to continual review and refinement.  It continues for the second year to include information on the number of other employees with remuneration over £50,000 per annum.  Some further refinements have been made to Annex B with some columns removed for non-mandated pay elements.  Payments under these headings are not part the councils pay policy.

 

11. It should also be noted that apprentices have been excluded from the statement as they are employed on training contracts, and paid outside of the council’s grading structure.   School staff are also excluded from this statement.

 

12.    The Council is a Living Wage employer and its minimum level of pay is the rate set by the Living Wage Foundation for ‘Outside London’.  For 2021/22 this rate is £9.50 per hour, equivalent to an annual salary of £18,328.  For the majority of staff in the Council their basic pay will be at the Living Wage rate but the Council’s Living Wage supplement is in place to bridge any gap between basic pay and the Living Wage rate.   

 

13.    The Council is required to publish its pay multiple (the ratio between the highest paid base salary in the council and the median salary) as part of the Pay Policy Statement. The ratio is based on the salary of the highest paid permanent role; that of the Chief Operating Officer.  The median average has been used for calculating the pay multiple. The ratio remains unchanged from that reported last year at 5.39:1.

14.    Salary information is already published for certain senior staff under the requirements of The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations (2011) and the Local AuthoritiesTransparency Code. Information can also be found in the council’s website at: http://www.york.gov.uk/council/information/opendata/salaries/.  The Pay Policy Statement and its Annexes will also be published in this section of the website.

 

Council Plan

 

15.    The council’s pay policy and production of this policy statement aligns with the core outcomes of ‘an open and transparent council’ and ‘well paid jobs and an inclusive economy’.  

 

 

Implications

 

(a)     Financial

 

There are no financial implications for the report.

 

(b)     Human Resources (HR)

 

There are no human resource implications for the report.

 

 

(c)      Equalities (Contact – Equalities Officer)

 

There are no equalities implications for the report. 

 

(d)     Legal

 

The Pay Policy Statement meets the requirements of the Localism Act and also meets the requirements of guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to which the authority is required to have regard under Section 40 of the Act.

 

(e)     Crime and Disorder

 

There are no implications for crime and disorder.

 

(f)       Information Technology (IT)

 

There are no implications for IT.

 

(g)     Property

 

There are no implications for property.

 

(h)     Other

 

Other implications are covered in the body of the report.

 

 

Risk Management

 

15.    There are no significant risks associated with production of the Policy. 

 

Recommendations

 

16.    That in order to fulfil the requirements of Sections 38 - 43 of the Localism Act 2011:

 

(i)              Council approves the Pay Policy Statement for 2019/20 relating to the pay of the Council’s senior staff.

 

 

Reason:          In order to fulfil the requirements of Section 38 – 43 of the Localism Act 2011 for the council to produce and publish an annual policy statement that covers a number of matters concerning the pay of the council’s senior staff, principally Chief Officers and relationships with the pay of the rest of the workforce.

 

Contact Details

 

 

Authors:

 

Executive  Member Responsible for the report:

Judith Bennett

Pay, Reward and Policy Manager

Tel No. 01904 551716

 

 

Executive Leader

Report Approved

 

√

Date

 

 

Ian Floyd

Chief Operating Officer

01904 552909

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specialist Implications Officer(s) 

Director of Governance

 

Wards Affected:  None

All

 

 

 

For further information please contact the author of the report

 

Background Papers:

 

None

 

Annexes:

 

Pay Policy Statement and Annexes:

 

          Pay Policy Statement

Annex A -  Chief Officer Pay Policy

Annex B  - Chief Officer Remuneration Details

Annex C  - Number of other (non- senior) employees with remuneration over £50,000

Annex D - Public Health Remuneration Details and Policies

Annex E  - Publication Requirements