The Employment Sub-Committee of Barnet Council met on Tuesday 23 January 2024 to discuss the Pay Policy Statement for 2024/25. The committee resolved to refer the Pay Policy Statement to the Full Council for approval.

Pay Policy Statement 2024/25

The committee considered the annual Pay Policy Statement for 2024/2025, which is a statutory requirement under the Localism Act 2011¹. Jon Bell, Assistant Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, presented the report. The statement outlines the council's policies on the remuneration of its chief officers and lowest-paid employees, as well as the relationship between their pay.

During the discussion, it was noted that Barnet Council has an inverse gender pay gap, meaning female staff, on average, earn more than male staff. This is attributed to the specific mix of services that have been outsourced and retained in-house. The report also highlighted that while there is no statutory requirement to report on ethnicity pay gaps, the council is actively monitoring developments in this area and making information available on its website.

Members of the committee raised questions about the consistency of annual pay reviews across different service areas. It was explained that while differential pay awards are formally part of the pay structure, they have not been applied in recent years for practical reasons. Negotiations with trade unions are currently underway to review this aspect of the pay structure.

The committee resolved to refer the Pay Policy Statement 2024/25, as outlined in Appendix A of the report², to the next meeting of the Full Council on 27 February 2024 for approval.