Pay Policy Statement

Pay Policy Statement 2024/25

1. Introduction

1.1 This Statement sets out the Council’s policies in relation to the pay of its workforce, particularly its Senior Officers, in line with Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011. The Statement is approved by full Council each year and published on the Council’s website demonstrating an open and transparent approach to pay policy.

1.2  This Statement draws together the Council’s policies relating to the payment of the workforce particularly:

• Senior Officers
• Its lowest paid employees; and
• The relationship between the pay of Senior Officers and the pay of other employees.

1.3 For the purposes of this statement ‘pay’ includes basic salary, pension and all other allowances arising from employment.

2. Objectives of this Statement

2.1  This Statement sets out the Council’s key policy principles in relation to pay evidencing a transparent and open process. It does not supersede the responsibilities and duties placed on the Council in its role as an employer and under employment law. These responsibilities and duties have been considered when formulating the Statement.

2.2  This Statement aims to ensure the Council’s approach to pay attracts and retains a high performing workforce whilst ensuring value for money. It sits alongside the information on pay that the Council already publishes as part of its responsibilities under the Code of Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency. Further details of this information can be found on the Role and Remuneration webpage.

3. Senior Officers

3.1  For the purposes of this Statement, Senior Officers are defined as those posts with a salary above £50,000 in line with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. Using this definition Senior Officers within Rushcliffe currently consists of 11 posts out of an establishment of 317 The posts are as follows:

• Chief Executive
• Director – Finance and Corporate Services (Section 151 Officer)
• Director - Development and Economic Growth
• Director - Neighbourhoods
• Service Manager – Chief Executive's Department and Monitoring officer
• Service Manager – Finance
• Service Manager – Corporate Services
• Service Manager – Economic Growth and Property
• Service Manager – Planning
• Service Manager – Neighbourhoods
• Service Manager – Public Protection

4. The Policies

4.1  The Council consults when setting pay for all employees. The Council will meet or reimburse authorised travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for attendance at approved business meetings and training events. The Council does not regard such costs as remuneration but as non-pay operational costs.

5. Pay of the Council’s Lowest Paid Employees

5.1  The total number of Council employees is presently 317. The Council has defined its lowest paid employees by taking the average salary of five permanent staff on the lowest pay grade the Council operates, who are not undergoing an apprenticeship. On this basis the lowest paid full-time equivalent employee of the Council earned £22,264. The Council currently pays £11.54 per hour for its lowest paid employees.

5.2  The Council does not explicitly set the pay of any individual or group of posts by reference to a pay multiple. The Council feels that pay multiples cannot capture the complexity of a dynamic and highly varied workforce in terms of job content, skills and experience required. In simple terms, the Council sets different levels of basic pay to reflect differences in levels of responsibility. Additionally, the highest paid employee of the Council’s salary does not exceed 10 times that of the lowest paid group of employees.

5.3  The Head of Paid Service, or their delegated representative, will give due regard to the published Pay Policy Statement before the appointment of any Officers. Full Council will have the opportunity to discuss any appointment of Statutory Officer roles before an offer of appointment is made, in line with the Council’s Officer Employment procedure rules within Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution. Appointment to Director level is via a member employment panel.

6. Additional Payments Made to Chief Officers – Election Duties

6.1  The Chief Executive is nominated as the Returning Officer. In accordance with the national agreement, the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of Returning Officer, Acting Returning Officer, Deputy Returning Officer or Deputy Acting Returning Officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

6.2  The role of Deputy Returning Officer may be applied to any other post and payment may not be made simply because of this designation. Payments to the Returning Officer are governed as follows:

• for national elections, fees are prescribed by legislation;
• for local elections, fees are determined within a local framework used by other district councils within the county. This framework is applied consistently and is reviewed periodically by lead Electoral Services Officers within Nottinghamshire. This includes proposals on fees for all staff employed in connection with elections. These fees are available for perusal on the Council’s website on the Election Fees page.

6.3  As these fees are related to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers. The fees have been reviewed for 2024/25 and agreement made that the fees will increase annually in line with the national pay award.

Appendix to the Pay Policy - Policies on other aspects of pay

Process for setting the pay of Senior Officers

The pay of the Chief Executive is based on an agreed pay scale which is agreed by Council prior to appointment. Changes to this are determined by the Leader, Deputy Leader and Leader of the Opposition, who are advised by an agreed external professional and the Strategic Human Resources Manager.

The pay of all Officers including Senior Officers is determined by levels of responsibility, job content and the skills and experience required. Consideration is also given to benchmarking against other similar roles, market forces and the challenges facing the authority at that time and to maximise efficiency. The pay of these posts is determined through the Chief Executive, or his/her nominated representative, in consultation with the Strategic Human Resources Manager and in line with the Council’s pay scales and its agreed scheme of delegation.

The Council moved away from the national conditions of service in 1990 and pay scales are set locally.

As with all employees, the Council would look to appoint on the best possible terms to secure the best candidate for the job. However, there are factors that could influence the rate offered to an individual, including the relevant experience of the candidate, their current rate of pay and market forces.

All Senior Officers are expected to devote the whole of their service to the Authority and are excluded from taking up additional business, ad hoc services, or additional appointments without consent as set out in the Councils code of conduct.

Terms and Conditions - All Employees

All employees are governed by the local terms and conditions as set out in the Employee handbook.

Local Government Pension Scheme

Every employee is automatically enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Employer and employee contributions are based on pensionable pay, which is salary plus, for example, shift allowances, bonuses, contractual overtime, statutory sick pay, and maternity pay as relevant.

For more comprehensive details of the local government pension scheme see: Local Government Pension Scheme and Nottinghamshire Pension Fund.

Neither the scheme nor the Council adopt different policies with regard to benefits for any category of employee and the same terms apply to all staff. It is not normal Council policy to enhance retirement benefits but there is flexibility contained within the policy for enhancement of benefits and the Council will consider each case on its merits.

Car Allowances

The Council pays mileage rates at HMRC recommended rates.

Pay Increments

Where applicable pay increments for all employees are paid on an annual basis until the maximum of the scale is reached. The Chief Executive, or his or her nominated representative, has the discretion to award and remove increments of officers’ dependant on satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance.

Relocation Allowance

Where it is necessary for a newly appointed employee to relocate to take up appointment, the Council may make a contribution towards relocation expenses. The same policy applies to Senior Officers and other employees. Payment will be made against a range of allowable costs for items necessarily incurred in selling and buying a property and moving into the area. The costs include estate agents’ fees, legal fees, stamp duty, storage and removal costs, carpeting and curtains, short term rental etc. The Council will pay 80% of some costs and 100% of others or make a fixed sum available. If an employee leaves within two years of first employment, they may be required to reimburse a proportion of any relocation expenses.

Professional fees

The Council currently meets the cost of professional fees and subscriptions for employees where it is a requirement of their employment or their contract.

Returning Officer Payments

In accordance with the national agreement the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of returning officer, acting returning officer, deputy returning officer or deputy acting return officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

Fees for returning officer and other electoral duties are identified and paid separately for local government elections, elections to the UK Parliament and EU Parliament and other electoral processes such as referenda. As these relate to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers.

Managing Organisational Change Policy

The original Managing Organisation Change Policy was agreed by Council in March 2007 (revised 2010) and is currently under further review. The Council’s policy on the payment of redundancy payments is set out in this policy. The redundancy payment is based on the length of continuous local government service which is used to determine a multiplier which is then applied to actual pay.

The policy provides discretion to enhance the redundancy and pension contribution of the individual and each case would be considered taking into account individual circumstances. Copies of the policy are available on the Council’s website.

Payments on termination

The Council does not provide any further payment to employees leaving the Council’s employment other than in respect of accrued leave which by agreement is untaken at the date of leaving or payments that are agreed or negotiated in line with current employment law practices.

Publication of information relating to remuneration of Senior Officers

The Pay Policy Statement will be published annually on the Council’s website following its approval by full Council each year.

Gender Pay gap reporting

The Council publishes its Gender Pay Gap information annually on the Council’s website and on the Government's website.