Pay Rise Could See Funding Shortfall, Councillors Hear

Friday, 2 September 2022 06:00

By Huw Oxburgh

A staff pay rise in line with a nationally-negotiated figure could leave Rother with a £355,000 funding shortfall, councillors have heard.

On Wednesday (August 31), Rother District Council’s licensing and general discussed the authority’s annual pay award for staff, ahead of an upcoming full council meeting where the final decision will be taken.

Despite divided views, the committee ultimately backed adoption of a figure in line with the national pay offer, which would see all council staff receive a £1,925 pay rise backdated to April 1 2022.

While much more substantial than some of the alternatives discussed, it would still amount to a real terms pay cut.

However, councillors also heard that such an offer would result in a £355,000 funding shortfall in the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) — a plan which already relies on the council taking money out of reserves.

Cllr Elenor Kirby-Green (Con) said:

“It is not that we don’t want to give staff a [pay] increase, but you can’t make up money from nowhere. You can’t possibly give salary increases if there is not the money to do it.

“If it means we are going to cut jobs; where are we going to cut jobs? I think everyone is in agreement that we have cut so much, we are working to the bare minimum as it is.”

Those arguing against the national pay offer were largely in support of an alternative proposal, which would see a one-off pay increase of £500 plus a one per cent pay point increase. Even this far more modest pay rise would result in an £85,000 funding shortfall, councillors heard.

Other committee members felt this would be an insufficient pay rise, however.

Ultimately, the committee narrowly voted to support a pay increase in line with the national offer. It came down to a casting vote by the committee’s chairman, Labour councillor Sam Coleman.

Notably the national pay offer would still fall below the figure being sought by unions. Unison, the main union for the council’s staff, is asking that Rother employees receive either an extra £2,000 to their pay packets or an increase in line with the current rate of RPI (12.3 per cent).

This union-backed pay increase would result in an £820,000 shortfall in Rother’s MTFP.