Leader of the Council
Minutes:
106.1 The Chief Executive introduced paper BC/21/41 and summarised the recommendations in the report.
106.2 Councillor Ward MOVED the recommendations in the report and stated that all 27 issues raised had been addressed within the report. Councillor Jamieson SECONDED the recommendations.
106.3 Councillor M Barrett asked for clarification on performance targets and whether they needed to be met or exceeded.
106.4 The Chief Executive replied that this was still to be decided and he welcomed councillor input.
106.5 Councillor M Barrett asked if the need to be mindful that public money was being spent was addressed in the report.
106.6 The Chief Executive stated that it was not directly addressed in the report but everything that the Council did was mindful of the public money being spent.
106.7 Councillor M Barrett asked if any thought had been given to the potential cost as a result of the commitment to review all staff pay.
106.8 The Chief Executive stated that he anticipated that the pay review for all staff would not be carried out in house and would result in number of options for Council’s consideration.
106.9 Councillor McLaren asked if an increase in pay would mean an increase in responsibilities and if there were any corporate competencies.
106.10 The Chief Executive replied that there were values and behaviours but these were not static.
106.11 Councillor Fraser asked how the recommended increases compared with other sectors in public service.
106.12 The Chief Executive stated that local government was not the civil service and the roles were not comparable.
106.13 Councillor M Barrett began the debate by stating that she felt the proposals were excessive and asked if the Council could afford them.
106.14 Councillor McCraw disagreed that the proposals were excessive and stated that employing interims would be more expensive.
106.15 Councillor Hinton stated that the review for all staff should not be dependent on agreeing the increases for SLT and suggested that recruitment should be widened so not to encourage poaching from neighbouring authorities.
106.16 Councillor Davis stated that there was a need to be realistic and promotion for existing staff should be encouraged.
106.17 Councillor Holt stated that there were affordability questions and suggested a cap be introduced.
106.18 Councillor Jamieson said that the Council should not be in the position where the senior leadership team salaries had not been reviewed for 11 years.
It was RESOLVED:
1.1 That the salary for the Assistant Directors should be set at £78,000 to £90,000 with a scale of 5 points (£78,000, £81,000, £84,000, £87,000, and £90,000)
1.2 That the salary for the Strategic Director should be set at £100,000 to £120,000 with a scale of 5 points (£100,000, £105,000, £110,000, £115,000 and £120,000)
1.3 That the Head of Paid Service be asked to review again the job titles ‘Assistant Director’ and ‘Strategic Director’ to determine whether these should be amended to more modern titles that better reflect the nature of the roles, and in line with job titles adopted by other Councils for similar roles.
1.4 That, subject to approval of recommendations 1.1 and 1.2, it be noted that the Head of Paid Service will commission a review of pay across the whole workforce, as set out in paragraph 5.3; to be completed before 31 March 2023.
1.5 That it be noted, in line with paragraph 5.4, that the Head of Paid Service will commission a review of the pay progression policy for SLT during 2022.
1.6 That the Pay Policy Statement (Appendix C) be approved subject to any consequential amendments arising from the consideration of recommendations 1.1 to 1.3 being incorporated.
1.7 Although the Council’s Pay Policy Statement is already reviewed on an annual basis it is recommended that SLT’s pay scales be reviewed in detail at least every 4 years.
Supporting documents: