Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for the Committee to approve the parameters for the conduct of the Senior Manager Pay Review for 2017.

The Committee considered the report on the Senior Manager Pay Review – April 2017, as introduced by Ian Morgan, Reward Strategy Manager. The report set out the proposed parameters for the conduct of the Senior Manager Pay Review for 2017 for the Committee’s approval; the Committee would receive a further report in March 2017 on the outcome of this pay review exercise, prior to implementation by payroll in April.

The Chief Executive advised that the previous decision of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee to break with national agreements on senior manager pay was significant and permitted the Council to self-determine in respect of its senior remuneration and to link pay awards with contribution in a meaningful way for senior managers. It was felt that staff were motivated by a desire for recognition of their contribution as well as pay, and that the introduction of the My Conversation process had led to important conversations being held at Senior Leadership Team level and their direct reports in relation to evaluation of contribution.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding the difference between the grids in appendices A and B of the report, it was clarified that appendix A set out the senior manager population as at the previous year, and appendix B was the equivalent cohort at the time of drafting the report.

The Committee asked for clarification of the statement in the report that the pay award budget for senior management was to be constructed in the same way as for the rest of the workforce. The Reward Strategy Manager circulated information to the Committee on the pay award model for the rest of the workforce, which set out the NJC pay award of 1%, applicable to all staff, and the incremental increase which would be received only by those staff who were not currently at the top of they pay scale. This model represented a 2.03% increase on the wage bill for the rest of the workforce overall, and it was proposed to use the same budget for the senior management cohort. Awards for senior managers would be determined by their distribution on the My Conversation grid; where the cost of the awards on this basis would exceed the budget envelope, the awards as set out on the grid would be adjusted downwards until the costs came within the agreed budget.

The Chief Executive advised that the emerging distribution on the My Conversation grid for senior managers, based on conversations held throughout the year, was encouraging and suggested that the process was being undertaken in a meaningful way. The Chair noted that My Conversation was a useful tool for recognising a range of behaviours, and also welcomed the decision to establish the budget for senior manager pay awards on the same basis as the rest of the workforce.

The Committee noted the pay multiple, as set out in the Pay Policy Statement later on the agenda; the Chief Executive expressed some concern regarding the usefulness of the pay multiple as a comparative tool.

RESOLVED

That the Committee approve the parameters for the conduct of the Senior Manager Pay Review for 2017 as set out in the report.