Issue - meetings

Members are asked to note that under the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Council is required to take a named vote when a decision is made on the budget calculation at a budget decision meeting of the Council.

At the time of publication of this agenda, the Cabinet meeting on 12^th February 2025 had not taken place. Therefore, any recommendations in respect of the reports considered at this meeting will be published in a supplementary papers pack to this agenda.

Council considered recommendations arising from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 12^th February 2025.

Pay Policy Statement 2025/26

The Leader advised that the Localism Act 2011 required English and Welsh local authorities to produce an annual Pay Policy Statement.  The Act required the statement to be approved by Full Council and to be adopted by 31^st March each year for the subsequent financial year. 

The purpose of the statement was to provide transparency with regard to the Council’s approach to setting the pay of its employees by identifying;

·             the methods by which salaries of all employees were determined;

·             the detail and level of remuneration of the most senior staff i.e. ‘chief officers’, as defined by the relevant legislation; and

·             the Committee(s) responsible for ensuring the provisions set out in this statement were applied consistently throughout the Council and for recommending any amendments to the full Council.

The Council’s pay and grading structure comprised grades 1 – 11. These were followed by grades for Managers, Assistant Director 1, Assistant Director 2, the Director of Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), Executive Director, Deputy Chief Executive and then Chief Executive; all of which arose following the introduction of shared services with Bromsgrove District Council.

Within each grade, there were a number of salary scale points. Up to and including grade 11 scale, at spinal column point 43, the Council used the nationally negotiated pay spine. Salary points above this were locally determined.  All Council posts were allocated to a grade within this pay structure, based on the application of a Job Evaluation process. Posts at the level of Managers and above were evaluated by an external assessor using the Hay Job Evaluation scheme.  In common with the majority of authorities, the Council was committed to the Local Government Employers’ national pay bargaining framework in respect of the national pay spine and annual cost of living increases negotiated with the trade unions.

All other pay related allowances were the subject of either nationally or locally negotiated rates.  Redditch Borough Council was managed by a senior management team who managed shared services across both Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils.  All of the senior officer posts listed had been job evaluated on this basis, with the salary costs for these posts split equally between both Councils.

The policy also set out:

·       The recruitment of Chief Officers

·       Additions to the salaries of Chief Officers (Members were informed that there was no performance related pay)

·       Termination payments

·       Advertisement/publicity of posts

The Council’s definition of lowest paid employees referred to persons employed under a contract of employment with the Council on full time (37 hours) equivalent salaries in accordance with the minimum spinal column point currently in use within the Council’s grading structure.  As at 1^st April 2024, this was £23,656 per annum.

Following the presentation of the report, Members questioned whether the grades detailed in the report applied to permanent staff only or also to agency staff.  In response, confirmation was provided that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96