Increasing pay for the lowest paid council staff
To help address financial pressures and concerns about the rising cost of living, councillors on the council’s Policy & Resources committee next week (Thursday 7 July) will discuss increasing pay for the lowest paid council staff.
The proposal being discussed by the committee would see the council’s bottom pay grade removed entirely and the lowest paid staff receiving a pay increase over and above the national pay awards agreed each year (the pay award for April 2022 is pending and will further increase pay when it is agreed).
In a joint letter to all council staff, Chief Executive Geoff Raw and Leader of the Council, Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty shared details of the increased pay offer for the lowest paid staff and said “as an employer that cares about both the city we serve and our staff, we’re here to support wherever we can.”
Commenting on the proposal to increase pay for the lowest paid staff, they said:
“The Council has a long-standing commitment to ensure that its pay and benefits are competitive and demonstrate how staff are valued and supported to serve the city.
“In the context of the current cost of living crisis, the national pay negotiations for 2022-2023 and the challenging financial context, the council has been working to develop proposals to improve pay for our lowest paid staff that go further than the decision to remove our bottom grades.”
Since an agreement in October 2021 to abolish the council’s lowest pay scales (1-2) further discussions and collaborative work has taken place with both GMB and UNISON trade unions to see what more could be done to increase the salaries of the council’s lowest paid staff.
These proposals will benefit around 3,800 staff, including 2,500 in schools, and our lowest paid staff will receive an annual increase of £1,752 (pro rata for part time staff) - an increase of over 9%.
If councillors agree to the proposals, the council would seek to implement the changes and backdate pay increases to 1 January 2022.
Help for staff and people living in Brighton & Hove
- Get financial advice to help you with the increased cost of living on our financial wellbeing advice web pages.
- Parents and carers of a children who receive free school meals, will receive a weekly supermarket voucher worth £15 for each child throughout the school summer holidays in 2022. You can apply for free school meals by clicking on this link.
- If you’re facing a crisis and need help, the council can provide welfare advice, discretionary payments and other support. Find out more on our help and support web page.
- You can also call the council’s Community Hub Monday to Friday from 10am to 4.30pm. Phone 01273 293 117 and select option 1.
- Council Tax Reduction (CTR) helps low-income households with their Council Tax. Residents who pay Council Tax are eligible for support if their income and savings are below a certain level. See if you’re eligible for Council Tax Reduction by clicking this link.