Agenda item

David Hickman, Director of Corporate Strategy and Development and Theresa Reid, Head of Human Resources, were present for this item.

The Director introduced the report. He defined the term ‘market supplement’ and explained that at present, the Authority had no policy on how to calculate such payments. An initial draft policy had been provided for the Authority by the Local Government Association and subsequently amended, following consultation with Officers currently receiving a market supplement plus Senior Leadership Team, Staff Committee and others.

The following spoke under the Authority’s Scheme of Public Participation:

·         Rosie Olle, Monitoring & Enforcement Officer, on behalf of Staff Committee

Members sought information on several points, including:

·         When a market supplement would be awarded

·         The criteria and process which the Authority will use to determine the cash value of a post

·         The timing of reviews of market supplements and the risk of reviews not being conducted

·         When there would be a right of appeal

·         How many Authority employees currently receive market supplements

·         Transitional arrangements for Officers likely to lose their market supplement

·         The development of Authority Officers and work force planning to reduce the need for market supplements

·         Budget implications (the Director confirmed that the current cost of market supplements is £15K per annum)

To address Members’ concerns about reviews, the Chief Executive suggested an additional paragraph be added to the Guidance Notes:

“In the event of a review not taking place in the specified period and when the member of staff is still in post, that person can formally request a review and the market supplement should remain in place until the review is completed.”

The recommendations were moved and seconded.

The Director stressed that the award of market supplements would always be a last resort and only considered after a number of tests had been applied. The Head of Human Resources stated that the Authority had a good benefits package and did not have difficulty recruiting and retaining staff.

The recommendations were voted upon and carried.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Authority approves the Market Supplement Policy, set out in Appendix 1, and the Guidance Notes relating to the Market Supplement Application and Review Procedure, set out in Appendix 2, to ensure fairness and transparency across the Authority and minimise potential equal pay claims.

2.    That the following wording be added to the  Guidance Notes: “In the event of a review not taking place in the specified period and when the member of staff is still in post, that person can formally request a review and the market supplement should remain in place until the review is completed”.