Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Executive on the Review of the Local Pay Award 2022.  Pay award discussions had been on-going with Staff Side/UNISON and Members’ views were being sought on proposals for a pay settlement to enable negotiation with Staff Side/UNISON to be progressed.  Members were reminded that any pay award agreed for staff was, under the current scheme applied to Members’ allowances at the start of the following municipal year.  However, due to the district elections in May 2023, a new scheme of Members’ allowances would be approved to take effect from that time.

The Human Resources Manager advised that the national pay negotiations for local government had not been settled for the 2022/23 financial year; offers were expected to be made to the trade unions mid to late May.  Unison had requested consideration of a 2.5% pay award.

It was anticipated that inflation would continue to rise due to the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on the economy and that additional financial support from the Government would not be forthcoming.  It was noted that the recruitment of professional staff remained a significant challenge and the HR Manager was carrying out a piece of work with East and West Sussex to look at salary comparisons, as well as taking part in Local Government Association surveys.  For the hard to recruit to posts in Planning, Environmental and Housing, Rother District Council was in the top quarter for salary levels, but not all data had been submitted at that time.

As part of setting the annual revenue budget for this year, Rother’s pay award for 2022 was budgeted at 1% and this figure had been used in the agreed Medium-Term Financial Plan for future years.  Members were reminded that the proposed spending review for local government had been further delayed and no information was currently available for the likely financial settlement for 2022/23.

Members were keen to reward and recompense the staff employed by the Council and it was noted that a full review of pay scales had been suggested previously.  Officers were also in discussions to join a platform of staff discount schemes; further information would be available in due course.

Members requested that future reports give details of the number of staff employed at each pay scale, so that the full impact of an increase at each level would be clearer.

Members agreed that a one-year pay settlement increase of up to 2.5% at the lower end of the pay scale, subject to a minimum increase of £500, decreasing towards the top end of the scale in order to remain within the budgeted 1% increase figure for 2022/23, be approved. 

RESOLVED: That a one-year pay settlement increase of up to 2.5% at the lower end of the pay scale, subject to a minimum increase of £500, decreasing towards the top end of the scale in order to remain within the budgeted 1% increase figure for 2022/23, be put forward by officers in negotiations with UNISON / Staff Side as the Council’s preferred pay award for September 2022.