PUBLIC SECTOR
More councils using remuneration committees to set top pay
There has been a growth is the use of remuneration panels for council chief executives, the latest local government workforce survey has found. Nearly half of respondents (45%) to the Local Government Association survey had remuneration committees, a “significant increase” on the 32% who had committees in 2009.
Two-thirds of authorities (67%) with a remuneration committee or panel reported that it oversaw the rewards package for first tier officers. This reduced to half (50%) for second tier officers and just over a quarter (27%) for third tier officers.
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Key survey findings
Total reward
10% of authorities had implemented a total rewards approach and another 18% were planning to in the next two years.
75% that had implemented a total rewards approach had included “other flexible benefits” (such as salary-sacrifice schemes).
Salary progression
71% of authorities were using a “‘time served” (that is, annual incremental progression) pay system for whole or part of the authority, covering 54% of the workforce on average. These figures are broadly unchanged on 2009.
Just under a quarter of authorities (22%) had “trainee grading structure (accelerated increments for exam attainment etc)”. However, this only covered 1% of the workforce.
A fifth of authorities (20%) had “performance related progression”; this only covered 12% of the workforce.
Local variations of terms and conditions
50% of authorities had varied annual leave conditions of service from those set out in the national agreement for Local Government Services (LGS) Green Book for employees.
41% of authorities had varied premium rates.
6% had varied sick pay.
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Title: Local Government Workforce Survey England 2010, Local Government Association, November 2010.
Survey sample: All heads of human resources (or equivalent position) in English authorities were asked to complete the online survey between July and September 2010. The final response rate achieved in the England and Wales was 58% (218 authorities); the England response rate was 59% (207 authorities).
Availability: You can download the 63-page report in PDF format, free of charge, from the Local Government Association’s web site at www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12766344. A “benchmarking file” is also available to download. This file allows you to view all of the results from England and Wales by whichever type of authority or region you like.
Local Government Association lobbies and campaigns for “changes in policy, legislation and funding on behalf of our member councils and the people and communities they serve”. The LGA is a voluntary membership body and its 422 member authorities cover every part of England and Wales. They include county councils, metropolitan district councils, English unitary authorities, London boroughs and shire district councils, along with fire authorities, police authorities, national park authorities and passenger transport authorities. For more information visit www.lga.gov.uk.