Issue - meetings

This report recommends improvements to the MedPay salary pay range to ensure the Council attracts, recruits and retains an effective workforce.

Background:

This report requested approval for improvements to the MedPay salary pay range to ensure the Council attracted, recruited and retained an effective workforce.

The report set out that following Medway Council having moved away from the National Joint Council Terms and Conditions for pay and introduced its own pay structure, called MedPay, in 2014, there was no incremental progression through pay grades and upon appointment, employees could be appointed anywhere within the band’s range.

The report explained that this approach could create inconsistencies across departments and within teams whereby newly appointed employees could be offered a higher salary than some long serving employees, purely to match the salary they were currently earning elsewhere. Changes proposed included the introduction of a Range 8 pay band, the introduction of 3 spot points for each pay band range 3-8, and 2 spot points in range 2.

This matter had initially been reported to Employment Matters Committee on 6 June 2023, the comments of which were set out at section 6 of the report.

Councillor Hamilton, supported by the Portfolio Holder for Business Management, Councillor Van Dyke, proposed the recommendations set out in the report.

Decision:

The Council approved the following changes, with effect from 1 August 2023:

a)    The introduction of a Range 8 pay band.

b)    The introduction of 3 spot points for each pay band range 3-8, and 2 spot points in range 2, with a £500 pay gap at the bottom of pay bands 5-8.

c)    An uplift to the bottom of the service manager salary scale to £55,455 to facilitate the introduction of a range 8 pay band.

This report recommends improvements to the MedPay salary pay range to ensure the Council attracts, recruits and retains an effective workforce.

Discussion:

Members considered a report which recommended improvements to the MedPay salary pay range to ensure the Council attracted, recruited and retained an effective workforce.

A Member expressed surprise at the fact that of the 20 posts that would now fall into a Range 8 band, 17 of these posts were currently vacant or obsolete. Members were advised that these were job profiles created at the start of MedPay in 2014 which had not been made obsolete when jobs had changed.

In response to a concern about the £2m cost of the changes, the Chief Organisational Culture Officer advised this was based on an assumption everyone would be at the midpoint of the pay range.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to recommend to Council the introduction of a Range 8 pay band and also the introduction of spot points and a £500 pay gap at the bottom of the pay ranges (as set out in Section 3 and 4 of the report) and increase the bottom of the service manager range to £55,455.