Setting salaries

Question

In my experience it is clear that in a lot of Councils the process of setting salary scales is kept secret from all but a few Councillors and that a lot of Councils don’t have the expertise to establish the correct salary scales which results in large amounts of money being wasted

I won’t go into detail but I have several good examples to support my reservations including one where recommended scales have been substantially exceeded

So on your own Council are you aware as to how salary scales are set, what records are kept, do you have access to them and are you happy that procedures are robust enough to prevent abuse,  if so how do you go about setting the scales?

If you don’t know how they are set and especially if you are refused access have you ever considered that you are laying yourself open to criticism from your electors ?
I’ve always thought that there’s scope for someone to set up as an independent consultant for Councils to take the heat out of the situation does anyone know if there is such a person ?

Answer 1

Not quite the answer you are looking for but my council recently appointed an external company to undertake salary reviews and found all staff were due an upgrade of 2 spinal points. I provided all this info to the council for approval, which was given but was told by a councillor that they shouldn't see the staff salary details as that was confidential and only appropriate for the personnel committee.

Comments

MrsAbster thank you very much so there are external companies that carry out reviews do you mind sending me the details by PM ?
I think if Councillors knew the process was run independently they would be satisfied
Unfortunately this process is all too often carried out in secret by people with no idea who then use confidentiality to cover their tracks
As I explained in my question I know of cases where the system appears to have been seriously abused

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Hi Jules
Yes there are companies who do this - the SLCC also provides this service too.  The one we used was https://www.councilhrandgovernancesupport.co.uk/ who do a lot of this type of thing as well as HR services.  Good to have an external company to provide a neutral position for this type of thing.

Answer 2

In my opinion the fixing of salary scales relates to the the POST and not the PERSON.  Therefore the whole process should be open and above the board. None of it is confidential, not least that the salary is publicly available when the post is advertised.

There are clearly confidential aspects of employing people, for example grievance and disciplinary matters, appraisals etc etc, but that they are entirely separate from task of setting salary level for a post in the public sector.

Comments

Couldn’t agree more John when my Borough appointed a new Chief Executive the salary and recruitment process was completely transparent  
With regard to the SLCC I’m sure the RMT would be more than happy to fix the pay scales for its members the process needs to be transparent and independent
It’s not just a question of pay scales but also management of resources as I know of highly paid Clerks who carry out routine tasks well below their pay grade
Just to clarify I’m not anti Clerk but there are some who abuse the easy going system there is at some PC’s

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That doesn't only apply to parish councils.

If you want an eye opener, watch the BBC panorama programme on Thurrock DC which has been all but bankrupted by its finance officer.