Report by the Head of Organisational Development (attached).

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive left the meeting.

The Committee considered a report by the Leader of the Council regarding the Review of Chief Officer Salary Levels (circulated previously). 

The Leader of the Council presented the report to the Committee and confirmed:

·         The Statutory Pay Policy was previously considered by Full Council on 27th March 2024; it indicated the pay multiple of the Head of Paid Service to the lowest paid employees across NDC and other, similar sized councils.

·          The remuneration of the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) was last reviewed in 2019. The pay multiple figures outlined clearly showed that the remuneration of the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) for North Devon Council was the lowest, comparable to district councils in the area

In response to questions from the Committee, the Head of Organisational Development advised:

·         The salaries of Tier 1 & Tier 2 posts were set in a different way to other North Devon Council officers.

·         The need for a review of the Chief Officers’ salaries was as a result of inconsistency in the Authority’s current Statutory Pay Policy.

·         The Statutory Pay Policy took into consideration the pay multiple of Head of Paid Service to the median salary of other officers as well as the multiple to the lowest paid employee.

·         All other employees’ salaries were set through a Job Evaluation Process (Inbucon).

·         For all posts below Tier 1 and Tier 2 the Authority had taken part in regular South West Council salary surveys and had recently signed up to Infinistats which would provide further benchmarking information.

The committee noted that should the proposed remuneration changes be agreed by Governance Committee, that it would be for current post holders to decide if to accept the revised salary range, but that the revised salary range for these statutory posts would be reflected in the Statutory Pay Policy.

Voting on the motion:

Voting for the motion: Councillors Bushell, Haworth-Booth, Jones, Norman, Orange, Quinn, Stevenson, and Walker.

Voting against the motion: None

Abstained from voting on the motion: None

Totals: 8 For, O against, 0 Abstained

The motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That Members note the independent, updated comparative pay analysis report provided by the Local Government Association (Appendix A).

(b)  That Members consider the recommendations of the Group Leaders (the appointments committee) of salary levels for Tier 1 Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) and Tier 2 Director Resources and Deputy Chief Executive.

(c)   Subject to (c) above, that Members recommend to Full Council the proposed remuneration levels for the aforementioned posts to align with the Council’s Statutory Pay Policy.

(d)  To consider the outcomes of the Equality Impact Assessment as summarised in paragraph 6 of the report.