Working for a Local Authority and asking for a pay rise

[flowersrain]

Historically I have only really worked for charities where payrises are not really a thing. However, I have been working in Children's Services for a LA for nearly a year now and have a review coming up, at which I would like to ask for a pay rise. Having never done this before, I have no idea how to go about doing it!

The reasons I would like a pay rise are:

• we are still expected to WFH with no plans to go back to the office ever. With rising gas prices and WFH my heating will be on more and be more expensive therefore I need more money! The council is saving on costs by not reopening the offices so surely it is reasonable that increased costs due to WFH are taken into account?

• I manage a high caseload and get excellent feedback from colleagues and the families I work with alike

• I have responsibility for one area of Children's Services within my locality so I take the lead on it and attend extra meetings, deliver training on it etc.

And just generally, like everyone else in the world, I don't feel I get paid enough!

How do you go about asking for a pay rise? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Are pay rises definitely a thing at your local authority? I used to work for one and there was absolutely no way to go above your designated "spine point" whilst still in the same role. It was just computer says no. You could be the best performer there and threaten to resign (and really mean it) and they still couldn't increase your pay.

However...I know they're all different/things may have changed!

I think when making your case, I'd focus primarily on the impact you personally make. So less about the WFH (as really that's an argument for increasing everyone's pay, not just yours) and more about your own achievements, responsibilities, feedback etc.

I work in local government and everything is in pay scales so you just go up the bands until you hit the top of the scale usually, then would stay there unless promoted. I believe some areas have performance related pay but this would be in your contract and is not something you can ask for from what I understand. Did you know if this is part of your contract?

I’ve worked in the public sector for 20years, local authority and government agency. You don’t ask for payrises. They are either performance related and linked to your agreed development plan, then awarded at the end of the financial year, if your line management chain of command agree that you have met/exceeded your objectives. Or - your organisation awards a general/cost of living pay rise across x grade, y roles, whole organisation. Again, instigated at the start of a new financial year. To get a pay rise in other situations, use your enhanced experience to apply for higher grade jobs.

You need to make a case for how you are working at the grade (not just the increment) above. For example, if you are a grade 7 which is not required to train others and the grade 8 delivers training you can say you are working at grade 8 level and can you apply for a job regrade. From what you describe though you are just doing your job and the reason for the pay rise is that you want one.

I've just requested a pay rise and to get this through management and to HR, I've had to take my existing job description and rewrite it, adding on all of the additional tasks I do.

This should bump me up a paygrade too.

As to the working from home part, we have been told within our working from home agreement that we are not allowed to apply for any kind of funding for things like this.

Worked for the local authority 14 years and every time I've wanted a pay rise I've found a new role that pays more to achieve this. As far as I know there are no performance related pay rises, at least not for those on the ground level actually delivering services. There is no motivator to excel at your job and also no consequences if you aren't very good at it. Sorry, a little jaded!

I never got a pay rise in role, always moved to a different one that paid more.

I agree that you'll only get one of you can prove that you're doing enough extra to put you on the pay scale above you. For instance I'm on a scale 9. To move up I'd have to be doing finance within my role. If you're a S/W you'd need to move up to a senior S/W role to get a pay rise. You won't get a rise to pay for your central heating or because clients like you.

I wouldn't push the WFH argument. The counter argument is you have reduced commute & parking costs!

I work in hr in local government. The only way to get a pay rise, outside of the annual increments, is to have your job regraded. To do this you have to basically amend your job description with the new tasks and responsibilities that you are doing. This then goes to panel and then a consistency panel who decide what the grade should be. It's about the role and not the person doing it. We always warn people that grades can go down as well as up.
Also, I wouldn't mention the WFH as it will not be taken into consideration. Non of our local councils are paying a working at home allowance (they can't afford it).

If you want a payrise then you need to apply for a different post.
Also with the unprecedented cuts the Local governments are having to made they have very little funds to provide barebone services to the most vulnerable.
I doubt they have funds for payrises.

I think this has been well answered but I just wanted to point out in case you're unaware that you can claim tax back for working from home. Very easy to do online :)

We get all get the pay rise agreed by the union each year in our LA. Another LA has a system which is performance based - good or outstanding performance gets different levels pay rise.

Thanks everyone. I am not wanting to go up a pay grade, just up the pay scale as I am not at the top end of my band yet. Would I need to make a case for this or does it happen automatically?

I've only ever gone into a job at the top of a pay scale but it used to be you moved one up the pay scale every year until you reached the top.

I think you need to be re-graded or you’ll just get your annual progression up the scale.

@flowersrain

Thanks everyone. I am not wanting to go up a pay grade, just up the pay scale as I am not at the top end of my band yet. Would I need to make a case for this or does it happen automatically?

It won’t happen automatically. Public sector pay has largely been frozen for 10+ years.

You may get a cost of living pay rise, depending on what your LA decide and agree with the unions. Where I work, last years pay rise was only agreed last week (negotiations started in April) - no cost of living, limited performance related one off payments. Even when there is a (small) pay rise, it’s usually not agreed until this time of year and is back paid into October/November pay.

Do you have performance reviews? That is the time to make a case for why you need to go up the pay scale. It is probable that your line manager alone can’t make this decision, but could put it forward to a panel or peer review group. Usually other managers - so do your best to be known outside your field of expertise.

@flowersrain

Thanks everyone. I am not wanting to go up a pay grade, just up the pay scale as I am not at the top end of my band yet. Would I need to make a case for this or does it happen automatically?

You'll move up one spinal point each year and this will happen automatically as part of your annual review in April, as long as you're performance is adequate. You don't need to make a case. You can dispute it (in April) if they don't move you up one. I was once moved up two, but not at my request. You could mention it if you have a mid year review coming up, but you don't need a case, you can just ask if you are on track to move up to the next one at the end of the financial year

* we are still expected to WFH with no plans to go back to the office ever. With rising gas prices and WFH my heating will be on more and be more expensive therefore I need more money! The council is saving on costs by not reopening the offices so surely it is reasonable that increased costs due to WFH are taken into account?*

^Haha good luck with that.

You won't get a pay rise for the cost of WFH. That's just not a thing. Best you can hope fir might be an allowance which was specified as not part of your salary but a contribution to your expenses if they are excessive but for most people the cost of a bit of extra electricity is far lower than thr commuting costs saved, and if you are a rare exception to that it wouldn't be reasonable to pay you more in salary because of such personal circumstances.

You don't get paid more for working harder or having a big workload. That is normal and already part of the job you were employed to do.

The only thing in your list that is worth raising as a possible justification fir a pay rise is the additional responsibility for the projects you are leading. Jobs are rated for pay scale on the basis of how much authority, autonomy and responsibility you exercise, with how much supervision and managerial support - it's about looking at who you can kick things upstairs to, or whether the buck stops with you. If there's been a significant change in that level since your job was last assessed for what point on the payscale it should be, then you have a chance. However, it's a slim chance.

In my situation I tried to get a job reassessed and despite having a huge difference between what I was diing compared to what I had been recruited for, they refused to regrade my post. But then I got a job with another employer at a higher salry instead, and my previous employers found it impossible to recruit someone with the required level of skills at the salary they were offering so had to regrade it then anyway - but it's easier in HR bureaucracy to regrade an unfillable vacancy, compared to giving an existing employee a pay rise.

There must be a policy for moving up spine points, have you read it?

With regard to wfh you can notify your tax office and you could a £312 allowance against your tax.

At my LA we can move staff up two points for exceptional performance. I would be impressed if someone came to me and set out why they should be considered for this, but it wouldn’t immediately be granted, and certainly not for wfh which all of us in children’s services have been expected to do since far before the pandemic!

Most local authorities don't have automatic moving up increments except if graded as exceptional in role at annual review. Previously it was automatic but has changed to performance related in most. Keep the feedback and use it as part of your evidence at review