Wiltshire Council pay policy statement

Wiltshire Council is a large and complex organisation providing a wide range of services to the community, with a current annual budget of around £490m (2024/25). 

To deliver these services, around 5,300 people work for the council (non-schools) on permanent and variable hours contracts in a variety of diverse roles such as corporate director, social worker, public protection officer and general cleaner.

The council published its ten year business plan 2022-2032 in February 2022. At the heart of the business plan the vision continues to be to create strong communities, and the plan sets out the key actions that will be taken to deliver this. The ten year plan  works to four main priorities under the banner of improving lives through stronger communities. The four key priorities of the business plan are empowered people, resilient society, thriving economy and sustainable environment. Also reflected in the plan, are the significant challenges that the council will face over the coming years and the changes to the way the council will have to operate to manage these.

The coming year will continue to be challenging as the council continues  to transform and find innovative ways to deliver services within strict budget/cost parameters with changing demands. The cost of living and energy crisis continues to provide further challenge as the council looks at ways to provide support to both residents and staff. The current national candidate-driven job market with skills shortages in key areas brings further challenge for the council to compete for top talent and to attract and retain a workforce with the right skills and behaviours. The council recently launched a workforce strategy which will support it to ensure it has the right people in the right place at the right time with the right skills and capabilities to deliver the business plan, now and in the future. This is underpinned by Our Identity which sets out how staff are expected to lead, work and act together to deliver great services.

Alongside this, the council implemented the first phase of its new Oracle ERP system in November 2023 with the elements of Finance, Procurement and HR functions into live operation.  The  and the second phase which includes for Payroll and full Budget Management is set to go live in April 20234.

This pay policy statement applies to all non-schools' employees of Wiltshire Council with the exception of Centrally Employed Teachers who fall under the Teacher's Pay Policy.

This pay policy statement also applies to the judicially independent Coroner.

This pay policy statement was originally published in February 2012 and is updated on an annual basis. It has been updated for the financial year 2024.

• this pay policy statement sets out the pay policies which apply to both the lowest paid and highest paid employees within the council
• in many cases the pay policies are the same for all employees; where there are differences, these have been clearly outlined on this page

• in line with good employment practice, the majority of jobs within the council have been evaluated using a job evaluation scheme. This is to ensure that jobs are graded fairly and equitably, and that the council complies with the Equal Pay Act
• a small number of jobs such as centrally employed teachers and Soulbury staff are subject to national salary scales which determine the pay for each job, and therefore the evaluation schemes do not apply
• the council uses two job evaluation schemes in order to rank jobs

The HAY job evaluation scheme is used to evaluate senior manager jobs within the council (currently 141 employees), which include the following roles:

• Chief Executive
• Corporate Director
• Head of Service
• Strategic and technical specialists

Each job is assessed by a panel of HAY trained evaluators. The evaluators consider the job against each HAY element and sub-element against a suite of agreed role profiles and apply the description and points that best fit the job being evaluated.

The HAY Group periodically carry out quality control checks to ensure the consistency of job scores in line with the conventions of the scheme.

The job score determines the grade for the job. There are ten HAY grades each currently containing a salary range over three spinal column points.

Details of the HAY evaluation scheme, role profiles and salary bands are contained on the internal intranet site, HR Direct.

The council's policy is to pay the median market rate for the jobs evaluated using the HAY job evaluation scheme and aims to ensure that the pay scales for HAY graded posts are sensitive to labour market pressures. There can be exceptions to this where the market pay for particular roles indicates that pay above the median may be required, in which case a market supplement may be applied.

There are no national pay scales for senior roles so pay is a matter for local determination. Pay scales for HAY grades are determined using the HAY pay databank for the public and not-for-profit sector and increases are capped in line with the JNC pay award unless market pay data identifies significant drift or where difficulties are identified with recruitment and retention of staff at this level (this is in line with the market supplements policy).

Coroner

For the Coroner, there is a separate Joint National Committee for Coroners which issues Coroner pay guidance for the Council to use in determining pay and increases. In addition, a 'complexity review' of the coronial area may be undertaken to review the remuneration level.

The GLPC job evaluation scheme is used to evaluate the majority of jobs within the council.

Each job is assessed by a panel of three trained GLPC evaluators. The evaluators consider each job against a suite of agreed role profiles that set out the level of work required of the grade within the relevant job family.

The council aims to ensure that the GLPC scheme is appropriately applied and that there is continuity and consistency in the results. The evaluation process has been checked externally by job evaluation specialists in the Southwest Councils organisation.

There are eight job families each containing a set of evaluated role profiles stating the requirements at each grade.

For jobs evaluated using the GLPC job evaluation scheme the national pay spine determined by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services forms the basis of the council's pay and grading model, and changes to the national pay spine are subject to the annual pay negotiations.

There are 14 grades, with all grades containing three increments except for the lowest grade which has one incremental points.

The same recruitment policies apply to all employees who take up a new appointment with the council, regardless of grade.

The council advertises all posts through the careers website, and may also employ a recruitment agency to provide a shortlist of candidates for senior manager jobs.

Candidates are normally appointed on the minimum salary of the grade for the post.

If a candidate is currently being paid above the minimum salary of the post they are applying for, the appointment may in some circumstances be on the next increment point above their current salary, subject to the maximum salary of the grade and skills and experience offered by the preferred candidate. This would require the authorisation of the Director HR & OD.

The recruitment procedure for Chief Executive, Corporate Director and Director posts is undertaken by the Officer Appointments Committee. This committee represents the council for all Chief Executive and Director appointments. Once an appointment is proposed by the committee, Cabinet is required to ratify the decision and salary level within the band before the appointment is confirmed.

In line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011, all chief and senior officer jobs, including those paid over £100,000 per year, are evaluated by applying the HAY job evaluation scheme. The job is then allocated the appropriate existing HAY grade and pay band, and a salary offer will only be made within that pay band. There can be exceptions to this where the market pay for particular roles indicates that pay above the median may be required, in which case a market pay scale may be applied.

Where it is necessary for any newly appointed employee in a hard to recruit role to relocate more than 15 miles in order to take up an appointment the council may contribute towards relocation expenses where the post meets the criteria outlined in moving home allowances for new employees policy

The council has a  market supplement policy which stipulates that if there are recruitment and retention difficulties for a particular post and it is shown that the council are paying below the market rate for the job, a market supplement or market pay scale may be discretionally applied.

Market supplements/market pay scales are only payable to a small number of jobs which are evaluated using the GLPC or HAY schemes.

Where skills shortages exist in specific areas, or where despite paying at the median market rate for the role, the pay rate is still not sufficient to recruit and retain those with the skills required, a rate higher than the market median may be paid. This could be an additional increment , a percentage market supplement, or a market pay scale and requires the authorisation of the Director of HR & Organisational Development in conjunction with the Head of Paid Service.

The level of market supplement applied to GLPC posts is determined by analysing market data from an independent external source.

The data used for assessing market pay scales for HAY graded posts is the HAY pay databank for the public and not for profit sector. The HAY databank provides the market median, upper quartile and upper decile pay range for each HAY pay grade.

As a result of service redesign, employees may be redeployed to a role which is one grade lower than their current role. In this case, the employee will be in receipt of salary protection for a period of 12 months. Incremental progression and any negotiated pay award will not be applicable during the period of salary protection. Redeployment (and salary protection) is subject to the following criteria:

• transferable skills,
• knowledge of work / experience
• agreement to undertake relevant training, which may include formal qualification
• match behaviours framework and skills profile
• working hours
• location

In exceptional circumstances, where there is a national shortage of skills and experience in a particular role, employees may be redeployed to a role more than one grade lower than their current role. This would be authorised by the Director of HR / Organisational Development. In this case, the employee will be in receipt of salary protection for a period of 12 months and incremental progression and any negotiated pay award will not be applicable during the period of salary protection.

The council's policy is to apply the nationally negotiated NJC pay award for GLPC graded employees which takes effect from 1 April each year and applies to the national pay spine.

NJC employees received a pay award in November 2022 of an increase of £1,925 applied to all pay points effective from April 2022.

For GLPC graded employees, increments are awarded automatically up to the maximum of the grade unless formal proceedings are taking place such as under the Improving Work Performance Policy. Increments are paid on the 1 April each year, or six months after the start date (if the starting date is between October and April). There is no provision for the payment of an increment at any other time, unless there are recruitment or retention difficulties. As part of the need for budget savings to protect employment while continuing to deliver essential services for our communities, the recognised trade unions jointly agreed to a freeze in increments for employees on grades F (£25,119) and above for April 2022 and April 2023, with increments starting again for these employees in April 2024.

The council's policy for HAY graded employees is to cap any pay award in line with NJC pay award unless market pay data identifies a significant drift and difficulties are identified with recruitment and retention of staff at this level.

For HAY graded employees incremental progression through the grade is based on satisfactory performance and conduct measured over a 12- month period. Increments paid on 1 April each year are subject to satisfactory performance, and a minimum of six months in post at that time. There is no provision for the payment of an increment at any other time unless there are recruitment or retention difficulties. As part of the need for budget savings, an increment freeze was also agreed for HAY graded employees for April 2022 and April 2023 with increments starting again in April 2024.

The council also employs a small number of specialist employees covered by either Teachers or Soulbury salary scales which are also negotiated nationally.

For the Coroner, the JNC for Coroner agreement is used as the basis for any salary increase, subject to representation made in writing by the Chief Coroner to be considered by the Director HR&OD in conjunction with the Chief Executive. A 'complexity review' of the coronial area is completed every 5 years starting in the financial year 2024/2025 by the Director HR&OD in conjunction with the Chief Executive after consideration of any written representation by the Chief Coroner.  Any adjustments to remuneration following the complexity review will be backdated to 1 April each year that the review is carried out.

It is the council's policy that HAY graded employees are subject to a performance appraisal each year. If the performance and conduct is measured as satisfactory, an increment may be awarded. If the performance and conduct do not meet the required standard an increment may be withheld.

For GLPC graded employees, increments are awarded automatically to the maximum of the grade unless formal proceedings are taking place such as under the Improving Work Performance Policy.

The council does not routinely offer a bonus or honorarium scheme to any employee. However, in exceptional circumstances, an additional payment such as a bonus may be considered for recruitment and/or retention purposes as required for service reasons. Any payment requires the authorisation of the Director HR&OD in conjunction with the Chief Executive as Head of Paid Service.

The apprenticeship levy has been in place since April 2017 and the council has been paying a levy of 0.5% of the pay bill monthly into a digital apprenticeship account which is used to fund the cost of training for apprenticeships. As well as focusing on recruiting new apprentices, the council has also used the levy to fund upskilling current employees helping to 'Grow our Own' and fill hard to recruit roles.

Since the introduction of the levy, the council has recruited 91 new apprentices with 70% still working within the council on completion. The council currently has 39 new apprentices undertaking a programme ranging from qualification level 2 up to level 6 and 157 employees who are undertaking an apprenticeship through upskilling, ranging from qualification level 2 up to level 7. 

Employees who leave the council's employment are entitled to payment of their contractual notice, along with any outstanding holiday pay.

All employees, including chief and senior officers, are subject to the same redundancy payments policy which has been agreed by Staffing Policy Committee.

There is no discretion to make redundancy payments which do not comply with the policy.

If employees choose to volunteer and are accepted for redundancy they are entitled to a payment calculated as follows:

Statutory weeks x normal weekly pay x 2.5, capped at 40 weeks, with a minimum payment of £3000 (pro rata for part time staff).

If employees choose not to volunteer for redundancy, and cannot be redeployed, they will leave on compulsory grounds. The payment is calculated as follows:

Statutory weeks x weekly salary (capped at £643), with a cap of 30 weeks pay or 20 years service. There is a minimum payment of £1500 (pro rata for part time staff).

If employees are aged 55 or over and have been a member of the pension scheme for at least two years, they are able to receive their pension and lump sum early if their employment is terminated on grounds of redundancy.

No augmentation to pension will apply for any employee.

If employees are dismissed on redundancy grounds, and receive a voluntary (enhanced) redundancy payment, they may be considered for re-employment to posts within Wiltshire Council after the minimum statutory period of four weeks has elapsed subject to the following conditions:

• the post did not exist or was not foreseeable at the time of the dismissal
• the vacancy has been advertised in accordance with Wiltshire Council policy and procedures
• the appointment was made on the basis of the best person for the job with regard to the usual selection procedures
• the appointment has corporate director approval

These conditions apply for twelve months from the date of the dismissal, after which the employee may be considered for re-employment to any post within Wiltshire Council.

Under the Council's Constitution, the dismissal of Chief Executive, Corporate Director and Director is delegated to the Senior Officers' Employment Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee may, however, refer the matter to full Council for final determination in exceptional circumstances.

In exceptional circumstances, severances payments under Section 203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and in line with the statutory guidance on the making and disclosure of Special Severance Payments by Local Authorities may be agreed.  The relevant Director must discuss their proposal with the Director HR&OD to ensure compliance.

The decision for severance packages below £20,000 will be taken by the relevant Corporate Director in consultation with the Director HR&OD.

The decision for severance packages above £20,000 but below £100,000 will be taken by the Chief Executive with the Chief Finance Officer, Director HR&OD and the Leader of the Council.

The decision for severance packages in excess of £100,000 will be taken to Full Council for approval

All employees are entitled to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Since 2014, the LGPS benefits structure has moved from a Final Salary basis to a Career Average Revaluation Earnings (CARE) approach for benefits accruing after this date. Employee contribution bandings varying between 5.5 - 12.5% according to the employee's salary, with the employer contributions varying on an triennial basis.

The benefits of the scheme for all members include:

• a tiered ill health retirement package if employees have to leave work at any age due to permanent ill health; this could give employees benefits, paid straight away, and which could be increased if they are unlikely to be capable of gainful employment within 3 years of leaving
• early payment of benefits if employees are made redundant or retired on business efficiency grounds at age 55 or over
• the right to voluntarily retire from age 55 (on an actuarially reduced pension)
• flexible retirement from age 55 if employees reduce hours or move to a less senior position; provided the employer agrees, employees can draw all of their benefits - helping them ease into their retirement.

Further information about the pension scheme can be found on the pensions website (opens new window).

This policy applies only to employees who, on a temporary basis:

• act up - carrying out the full responsibilities and duties of a higher graded post either for some or all of their working hours; or
• carry out some, but not all, duties or responsibilities of a higher graded post for some or all of their working hours; or
• take on additional duties within their role

The policy allows for employees to receive the salary difference between the lower and higher graded job, calculated on a percentage basis if the additional duties are taken on for only part of the working week.

The council provides an additional allowance, expressed as a percentage of the basic rate, for regularly working late evenings / early mornings / nights / Sundays. These payments are graduated according to the degree of unsocial hours working and range from 10% to 33% in addition to normal hourly rate.

Unsocial hours allowances are only payable for GLPC graded jobs and are not available for senior managers.

The council has an overtime policy where all employees are entitled to receive additional payment for hours worked in excess of 37 hours. Overtime must be agreed in advance with the line manager and be based on business critical need. GLPC graded employees can claim overtime hours at their normal hourly rate, however the preference is for time to be taken in lieu . HAY graded staff are only able to claim overtime in exceptional circumstances where there is an emergency situation and payment is based on the current highest spinal point of the NJC pay scale.

The council has a standby and callout policy where all employees receive an allowance should they be on standby out of normal office hours. If employees are called out whilst on standby, additional hours worked will be paid at their normal hourly rate.

The council pays a sleep-in allowance to employees required to sleep in on the premises. This includes up to 30 minutes call out per night, after which the additional hours provisions will apply. The sleep-in allowance payable is currently £40.76 and increases in line with the NJC pay award.

The role of Acting Returning Officer is carried out by the Chief Executive. Fees are paid in line with the relevant legislation and guidance.

The council's policy is to apply the nationally negotiated NJC pay award to the pay scales for jobs evaluated using the GLPC job evaluation scheme.

There are no national pay scales for senior roles so pay is a matter for local determination. Pay scales for HAY grades are determined using the HAY pay databank for the public and not for profit sector.

The council also relies on national negotiation for some key provisions of employment such as the sickness and maternity schemes.

The council negotiates locally on some other conditions of employment, such as pay and grading, travel expenses, overtime payments and unsocial hours allowances.

For these local conditions of employment, the council consults and negotiates with the relevant trade unions in order to reach agreement. These conditions and allowances are then referred to Staffing Policy Committee for agreement.

The role of Staffing Policy Committee is to determine, monitor and review staffing policies and practices to secure the best use and development of the council's staff. This includes the power to deal with all matters relating to staff terms and conditions.

The full remit of the council's Staffing Policy Committee is contained within the constitution.

In accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015,  the council is committed to publishing the following information relating to senior employees via the council's website:

• senior employees salaries which are £50,000 and above; this is updated on a monthly basis
• a list of their responsibilities
• an organisational chart of the staff structure for the top three tiers of the local authority to include each individual's job title, contact details, grade, salary in a £5,000 bracket, grade maximum, and whether each individual is a permanent or temporary employee. This is updated on an annual basis or more frequently if a significant restructure takes place.

In accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015,  the council is committed to publishing the following information relating to trade union facility time as a percentage of the council's total wage bill on the council's website:

• basic estimate of spending on unions (calculated as the number of full time equivalent days spent on union duties by authority staff who spent the majority of their time on union duties, multiplied by the average salary)
• basic estimate of spending on unions as a percentage of the total pay bill (calculated as the number of full-time equivalent days spent on union duties by authority staff who spent the majority of their time on union duties, multiplied by the average salary divided by the total pay bill)

In terms of overall remuneration, the council's policy is to set different levels of basic pay to reflect the different sizes of jobs, but not to differentiate on other allowances, benefits and payments it makes.

The table below shows the relationship between the basic pay of the highest and lowest paid employees in the council, excluding employer and employee pension contributions and non-allowances. The figures include all staff in the council (non-schools) and are based on annual full time equivalent salaries.

The council would not expect the basic pay remuneration of its highest paid employee to exceed 20 times that of the lowest group of employees, excluding apprentices.

Apprentice rates of pay vary according to the age and level of apprentice and range from £14,451 to £20,104 per annum. The apprentice rate of pay reflects the requirement for all apprentices to spend 20% of their working week undertaking learning away from the job. Because apprenticeship rates of pay are "spot" salaries and not determined through our job evaluation scheme we include the rates in this statement but not within pay ratio calculations.

The current ratio of highest to lowest paid employees is well within the guidelines and is 8.8:1. The ratios for the mean and median salary levels are at 5.9:1 and 6.3:1. The ratio for highest to lowest paid had decreased slightly on last year due to the consistent application of the April 2023 pay award of £1,925 on all NJC points regardless of salary resulting in the lowest point receiving a 9.42% increase.

NJC - National Joint Council

JNC - Joint Negotiating Committee

GLPC - Greater London Provincial Council

SOULBURY staff - Educational improvement professionals. These staff are drawn from different sources, including senior members of the teaching profession. Their role is to advise local authorities and educational institutions on a wide range of professional, organisational, management, curriculum and related children's services issues, with the overall aim of enhancing the quality of education and related services.

This policy has been Equality Impact Assessed  to identify opportunities to promote equality and mitigate any negative or adverse impacts on particular groups.

• Local Government Transparency Code 2015
• Equality Act 2010

This policy has been reviewed by the legal team to ensure compliance with the above legislation and our statutory duties.

There are a number of related policies and procedures that you should be aware of including:

• HAY job evaluation policy and procedure
• GLPC job evaluation policy and procedure
• Market supplements policy and procedure
• Moving home policy and procedure
• Redundancy payments policy
• Overtime policy
• Unsocial hours guidance
• Standby and callout policy
• Starting salaries and incremental progression policy and procedure
• Acting up and additional duties policy and procedure
• The Local Government Transparency Code 2015
• Trade Union Recognition Agreement

These policies are available from the HR department at Wiltshire Council on request.