Buckinghamshire Council Pay Policy Statement (1 July 2021)

4.1 The full Council has delegated responsibility to the Senior Appointments and Pay Committee (SAPC) for the approval of remuneration packages for new posts in excess of £100,000 (to include salary, bonus, fees allowances and benefits in kind) offered in respect of a new appointment; and for termination payments, outside of the normal statutory and contractual entitlements, in excess of £100,000 (see 7.1 Severance Payments).

4.2 The general approach is that remuneration at all levels needs to be adequate to secure and retain high quality employees dedicated to fulfilling the council’s business objectives and delivering services to the public. This must be balanced by ensuring remuneration is not, nor is seen to be, unnecessarily excessive.
Each council has responsibility for balancing these factors and each council faces its own unique challenges and opportunities in doing so and each council retains flexibility to cope with various circumstances that may arise to necessitate the use of market supplements or other such mechanisms for individual categories of posts where appropriate.

4.3 It is essential for good governance that decisions on pay and reward packages for Chief Executives and Chief Officers are made in an open and accountable way and that there is a verified and accountable process for recommending the levels of top salaries. Pay for the “lowest paid employees” and “all other employees’ including Chief Officers” is determined by SAPC.
SAPC comprises elected Councillors from the main political parties and has responsibility for local terms and conditions of employment for staff.

4.4 The lowest paid full-time equivalent employee at Buckinghamshire Council in the period 2021 to 2022 will be paid at £18,535 per annum full time equivalent (FTE). The definition of lowest paid employee is a fully competent employee undertaking a defined role and excludes apprentices who are undertaking approved training. The highest paid employee is the Chief Executive who will be paid in the period a salary of £210,000.

4.5 The pay multiple between the highest paid employee, the Chief Executive at £210,000 and the median salary of the rest of the workforce at £31,126 is 6.75:1.

4.6 The pay multiple between the highest paid employee, the Chief Executive at £210,000 and the lowest paid full-time equivalent employee at £18,535 is 11.33:1.