The salary being paid to the new chief executive of Suffolk County Council has attracted many first class applicants (Bury Free Press, March 14). The winner, if one may call her that, is Andrea Hill and I wish her well in her new position.
However, it seems that it was felt necessary to increase the salary band, to a much higher level of £154,000-£220,000, from the previous £154,000- £176,00 – both pay brackets a small fortune in many people’s eyes.
The increase was made to attra
ct the best applicants.
While I make no comment on the actual applicants, as I have no knowledge of their skills or experience, I must ask: Will this now have a cascade effect on all of the salaries at county council level?
This frequently happens in many large organisations which use a banding structure for pay awards.
When one group is increased, especially at the top, it can, and frequently does, have a huge effect on all lower grades.
The salary increases that follow this change usually occur without any new value for money targets or incentives for group savings or increased staff efficiency.
At the moment, one hopes this is a one-off increase in the top band – we will all have to see the total effect on the whole council pay structure when the next pay round comes up.
Given the very tight current fiscal policies that we are all working and living with at the moment, with consideration to the cuts that were made at county council level, this may be a case of wait and see.
Tom Murray,
Howard Estate,
Bury St Edmunds.
The full article contains 281 words and appears in Bury Free Press newspaper.
