Agenda item

The Leader introduced the report that confirmed the Council’s Pay and Reward Policy for the workforce is an annual report that requires adoption by Council.  The policy sets out the internal mechanisms for remunerating Council officers and provides any changes since the last adoption.

Two proposed changes identified in the report are:

·         Firstly, the removal of the car block allowance for Chief Officers which will alter the way in which mileage expenses are incurred and will bring Chief Officers in line with the rest of the workforce who are required to claim for the journeys they make as opposed to receiving a fixed payment.

·         Secondly, restricting re-employment to those who take voluntary redundancy or settlement agreements.  This will mean that public funding towards severance packages is applied appropriately and that due diligence on staffing structures will be thoroughly applied before any decision to agree severance packages is taken.

In addition to these proposals, the Pay and Reward Policy reports on the annual gender pay gap which is also published on the Council’s website.  The report confirmed the mean gap has decreased to 3.6% from last year’s reported 4.8%.  The Leader was pleased to report that the median gap has now closed as the analysis of the data shows that the median point of hourly pay is the same for both men and women.  The Council’s gender pay gap compares favourably with other Councils across Wales and the UK average of 17%.

The Leader confirmed the Council will continue to review and continually monitor its gender pay gap to find ways of closing the mean pay gap through the objectives published in the annual gender pay gap report and by undertaking a second equal pay audit in 2021 to identify any further areas for improvement.

The report sought Cabinet’s approval of the policy for recommendation to Council.

The Leader invited the Cabinet Member for Community and Resources to speak to the report and he confirmed thatthe annual Pay and Reward Policy offers the opportunity to publish the Council’s intentions regarding remuneration for its officers and make any appropriate amendments.  He confirmed that the Council’s Trades Union representatives have been consulted on the two proposed changes noted above, and their feedback is contained within the report, as is an assessment of the Fairness and Equality impact that the proposal to restrict re-employment may have.

The Cabinet Member also confirmed that Cabinet had previously committed to paying a supplement to the lowest paid employees to ensure that they receive a salary equivalent to the Real Living Wage and the policy confirms that supplement will continue to be made.  

The Cabinet Member reiterated the Leader’s comments regarding the gender pay gap and the progress made in the 2019 report; he was pleased that the report identifies that there is no pay gap between women and men when comparing the median hourly rate, and a drop from 4.8% to 3.6% when comparing the mean hourly rate.  The Cabinet Member believes this shows good progress in eliminating the gap at Newport City Council and commended the policy to Cabinet.

Decision:

Cabinet voted and unanimously agreed the report and for it to be taken to Council for formal adoption.