Issue - meetings

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling presented the Pay Policy Statement 2024/25 for the Executive Committee’s consideration.

Members were informed that the Localism Act required the Council to produce a Pay Policy Statement on a yearly basis for approval by full Council.  The policy needed to set out:

·             The remuneration of Chief Officers.

·             The remuneration of the lowest paid employees which was £22,366 a year at the Council.  Members were asked to note that the Chief Executive’s pay should be no more than 20 times this and in Redditch the Chief Executive was paid 6.3 times the level of the lowest paid.

·             The relationship between the remuneration of Chief Officers and employees who were not Chief Officers.

The Council was responsible for setting the policy relating to recruitment, pay, terms and conditions and severance.  In relation to these points, Members were asked to note the following:

·       The governance around the recruitment of Chief Officers was set out in the policy.

·       The Council did not provide bonuses or Performance Related Pay.

·       However, progression through the Scale Points was subject to satisfactory performance.

·       Termination rules were detailed in the policy.

Following the presentation of the report, Members referred to the staff grades that were Hay Evaluated and questions were raised about whether there was full compliance with the policy, including through statutory officer appointments made at Council meetings.  Officers confirmed that the Council was compliant with rules and that there was a legitimate role for Council to debate and agree senior officer pay grades.

Reference was also made to the existing interim arrangements that were in place in terms of some of the Council’s statutory officer posts and questions were raised about the timescales for the recruitment of permanent staff into these positions.  The Executive Committee was informed that a decision would need to be taken on the exact timing of the recruitment processes in 2024 for permanent members of senior officer staff.  In the meantime, there were postholders in place, including on an interim basis, in the authority’s statutory positions.

RECOMMENDED that

the Pay Policy 2024/25 be approved.