Transcript Pay and Reward Reform in Local Government Jan Parkinson Managing Director, LGE pay, pensions and employment solutions What is Local Government Employers? • Part of the Local Government Association group of “central bodies” •

Pay and
Reward
Reform in
Local
Government
Jan Parkinson
Managing Director,
LGE
pay, pensions
and
employment
solutions
What is Local Government Employers?
• Part of the Local Government Association group of
“central bodies”
• Negotiate pay and core conditions for most local
government staff
• Work on behalf of local councils as employers on a
range of issues including pensions and employment law
• However, local government has a highly localised pay
structure with decisions on grading and pay progression
made by individual councils
Current LGE activity
• Our role is to advise and encourage councils
• We are providing information on how to cut and control
employment costs
• We are developing good practice around ensuring that
employees stay engaged and committed despite job
losses and negligible pay increases – including flexible
benefits etc
• We are making strong arguments in favour of national
collective bargaining as the best way to produce
affordable, realistic pay deals with minimal industrial
unrest
A few facts on the local government workforce
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1.4 million employees in mainstream LG jobs
75% Female
56% Part-time (90% Female)
7.5% from minority ethnic groups
61% of employees on lowest 14 scale points, 10% on top 15
Recruitment difficulties in managerial and professional grades
not lower end
• 31% of the workforce to retire in next decade
• 9% of the Local Government workforce have no qualifications
at all, 15% have a qualification below level 2
From boom to bust
• 2008 – growth and investment for the future
• 2009 – recession and cost-cutting
• 2010 – beginning of long-term period of budget
constraint
Strategy, what Strategy?
• We are having to behave in an entirely reactive way at
the moment
• Is there really any place for strategic thinking?
• Of course, we need a clear vision of a redesigned local
government workforce
• But local government has a longstanding culture that will
take time – and investment – to change
Some of the challenges we face
• Equal pay costs
•Reducing sickness absence
• Providing customer-centric
services
•Pensions costs and
revaluation
• Workforce and succession
planning
•Pay levels in a tight financial
climate
• A new, smaller workforce
• Having visionary leaders to
drive change
• Linking pay to performance
•Industrial Relations
•Skills shortages and skill
levels
•Partnership working