As the issue and impact of pay has been raised recently, I wanted to respond to everyone on this important topic.
I hope to offer a further explanation and provide more context about how we set our pay policy.
First and foremost, we mustn’t forget that we work in the public sector. This will always have an impact on how our pay is structured and the amounts paid. We cannot always compete for talent on salary because there isn’t a level playing field.
Ultimately, the Cabinet Office sets the pay limits for the civil service, including public bodies. Our parent organisation, DESNZ, must live within these limits. I have also previously explained in my blog posts and at our Town Halls that we are required to seek to align ourselves to the rest of the civil service’s processes.
This affects overall policy including salaries and how elements of pay such as pay scales/grades work. It is not in our gift to do our own thing.
However, such alignment has benefits. The recent steps we have taken, and the ones we plan to do in the future, are in part enabled by where we sit and the nature of our organisation. You can be reassured that we continue to work closely with the department to ensure we benefit more from the alignment.
Under the government’s Places for Growth agenda, our office in Manchester is now our principal base and where all new roles are located. As you know, we have policies to support anyone who wishes to relocate. That offer remains in place and colleagues based in London are welcome to express an interest in relocating their job role to Manchester.
Against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, I fully accept that for many people, their base salary and monthly take home pay is absolutely fundamental.
However, it is also important to highlight the overall benefits enjoyed, both those with a cash value and those that relate to your personal development and work/life balance.
Joining the pension scheme means you can save for retirement in a tax efficient way. The company will contribute up to ten per cent of your salary under the current arrangements. For someone earning £27,000 a year (our base salary) this means a potential £2,700 boost to your overall income. Both our (employer) and your (employee) contributions will be tax-free for most. Although you can’t generally benefit from a pension until later in life, it will have a positive financial impact on your future. This is still the case even if you move from one job to another.
Our employee assistance programme (EAP) is worth several hundred pounds every year. The EAP offers free health and wellbeing tools and resources. You also get access to a confidential helpline which can assist with health, wellbeing, and legal issues.
Our staff benefits portal CSSC is worth an average of £450 per year if you make good use of the platform. It allows you to save money at hundreds of retailers, stay healthy for less and secure discounts on sports, games and events.
Another benefit of working here is the level of learning and development you can access.
We invest heavily in your training to allow you to gain new skills and experience which will benefit your career progression, even if you move on from ‘Team Salix’.
The life assurance cover you get is worth a minimum of four times your annual salary. This is provided at no cost to you and would benefit a loved one should the worse happen.
We have responded to your requests to adopt a new approach to agile and flexible working which we hope you are finding beneficial. It means you can potentially save money on commuting. We also offer a season ticket loan if this helps spread the cost. Of course, you are welcome to come into the office as often as you like, which may help you save on the cost of heat and light in your home workspace.
In the recent past, bonuses have been paid to all staff based on the performance of the company. We have learned from feedback that some colleagues believed that such payments would continue to be made. It was not the intention that these payments, which were discretionary and non-contractual, would form part of regular pay. I am sorry if this was not fully understood. To make our position clear, as we align ourselves with the wider civil service, there won't be any discretionary payments in future.
We do not run a graduate recruitment or ‘fast track’ scheme in the same way some private organisations do. This means it is not possible to make a fair comparison between our approach to pay policy and what companies in the private sector offer.
Our entry-level base salary of £27,000 exceeds the current minimum and living wage hourly rates and is above average for graduates leaving university with a qualification relating to the work we do (for example, environmental sciences and geography). Our data source is the Complete University Guide.
From 2022 to March this year, 55 of our customer service officers achieved promotion to a higher grade after an average of just 14 months working for us. Twenty programme coordinator colleagues were moved to a manager grade role in the same period. This demonstrates the investment we make in our people and how we encourage promotion and progression. In fact, one of our current assistant directors has worked their way up from an entry-level role.
I have been asked whether a London weighting could be applied to roles based at Canary Wharf. There are no plans to introduce such a weighting or to pay market supplements.
Overall, our approach to pay and benefits is the best possible given our circumstances. We encourage and support progression and your personal development and there are demonstrable opportunities for early and continued promotion.
I would like to use this message to thank you for your continued hard work, commitment to our mission and dedication to helping the UK meet its net zero targets.
With best wishes
Emma
