Mrs Bal Sandher, Head of HR Shared Services, introduced her report setting out the Pay Policy Statement 2018.  It was noted that:

·  The Pay Policy Statement had been produced in line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and the Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency 2014.

·  There was a requirement to update the Pay Policy Statement on an annual basis and the Statement had to be agreed by full Council and published on the Council’s website by 31 March 2018.

Mrs Sandher highlighted the main changes that had been made to the document approved by the Council last year as follows:

·  Section 3.4 – Pay Protection and Redundancy Payments

Inclusion of reference to the Government’s proposal to introduce legislation that would cap exit payments at £95k on the total value of the payment for public sector workers and introduce a statutory requirement to recover exit payments made to workers whose minimum salary was £80k at the point of leaving employment and returning to work with another public sector employer within a 12 month period.  Council policies would be amended to incorporate these requirements once they had been finalised by Government.

·  Sections 3.5 (Other Payments), 3.6 (Special Fees and Arrangements) and 3.7 (Other Employee Benefits) had all been updated to reflect the current situation.

·  Section 4 (Monitoring)

An explanation was provided for the main difference in the Chief Executive’s taxable pay during 2017/18; this being the payment of £13,536 for her role as Returning Officer at the General and Local elections and the progression of one incremental point on the salary scales.

·  Section 5 - Trade Union Facility Time

Reference was made to the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 which required public sector employers to publish specified information relating to facility time provided by trade union officials.

Mrs Sandher also confirmed that before the Pay Policy Statement was published on the Council’s website, the information would be updated to include the actual pay figures for the year ending 31 March 2018.

In response to questions, the Officers confirmed that:

·  Gender pay reporting legislation required the Council to publish gender pay gap data annually.  The information had to be published on the Council’s website and a Government website.

·  Career grades offered the opportunity of a path of progression which could involve seeking a professional qualification.  Progression through the grade was assessed annually against agreed competencies and performance standards for the position.  Objectives were set to stretch and develop employees to maximise their potential.

During the discussion reference was made to the need to correct a typographical error in the third paragraph of Section 3.4 of the Pay Policy Statement and it was suggested and agreed that the first sentence of Section 3 of Appendix 1(B) – High Performance Increments (HPI) – Grades 13-16 be amended as follows:

In addition to the standard incremental progression which is linked to fully meeting performance objectives, there are an additional three incremental points in grades 13 to 16.

Reference was also made to the requirement to publish details of senior salaries in excess of £50k within a £5k range.  It was suggested that the way in which this type of information was presented in budget reports should be consistent with the Pay Policy Statement.

RESOLVED: 

1.  That subject to the correction of the typographical error and the amendment set out above, the Council be recommended to agree the proposed Pay Policy Statement 2018, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report of the Head of HR Shared Services, prior to publication on the Council’s website by 31 March 2018.

2.  That the Officers be requested to seek to ensure consistency in the way in which information is presented in budget reports and the Pay Policy Statement.

Voting:  Unanimous

Note:  During the discussion, Mrs Alison Broom, Chief Executive, disclosed an interest on behalf of herself and the other members of staff present in the Pay Policy Statement 2018.