Walberswick Parish Council Job Evaluation Review of Parish Clerk Salary May 2013

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1 1.Introduction Walberswick Parish Council Job Evaluation Review of Parish Clerk Salary May The East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) was approached in March 2013 to undertake Job Evaluation on the Walberswick Parish Clerk post. 1.2This work was undertaken by Lucy Powles, EELGA Talent Bank Associate Consultant. 1.3The Local Government National Joint Council (NJC) Manual Job Evaluation Scheme was used in line with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Service of Local Council Clerks in England and Wales. The NALC scheme covers the salaries and terms and conditions of all Local Councils and Local Council Clerks. 1.4It is necessary to note that Job Evaluation focuses solely upon the requirements of the job. The skills, qualifications and abilities of the current post holder are not considered unless directly relevant to the job. 2.The Business Case 2.1The current Parish Clerk was appointed in July 2011 on a basic salary of SCP 15, salary 16,054 pro rata per annum. Their contract of employment was for 10 hours per week, 40 hours per month. 2.2In 2012, a review of the Clerk s salary was undertaken by the then Parish Chairman, Councillor David Webb, and councilor Hunt, long with the current Post Holder Jane Gomm. Although consideration was given to the NALC National Agreement on Salaries and Terms and Conditions of Service a full Job Evaluation and scoring exercise was not applied. It appears that the criteria for each profile were assessed without full justification and evidence for the rationale for this decision being available. 2.3Although a recommendation was then made to the full Parish Council to increase the Clerk s salary to Level 3 of the NALC salary scale, there is no written documentation available to support the justification of this recommendation. In addition no contract

2 amendment was issued. It is therefore deemed that this exercise was seriously flawed. 2.4Following a change in Parish Council membership to an Interim Council in late 2012, serious concern was expressed that the Job Evaluation was not transparent or fully documented and therefore a review was requested to ensure the pay applied was fair and in line with the NALC scheme. 3.The EELGA Approach 3.1A Job Evaluation Questionnaire (JEQ) was completed based upon the existing Parish Clerk Job Description. The Job Description was very personal to the current Post Holder so this was reviewed and an updated version is attached at appendix 1 to this report. 3.2The JEQ outlined the Knowledge; Mental Skills; Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Physical Skills; Initiative and Independence; Physical Demands; Mental Demand; Responsibility for People; Responsibility for Supervision; Responsibility for Financial Resources; Responsibility for Physical Resources and Working Conditions the Post Holder would require. 3.3The current Parish Clerk, Jane Gomm was not available to meet with the Evaluator, between March and June 2013 due to annual leave, ill health and other work commitments. However, written comment on the JEQ was received on May 30 th and a telephone conversation held on 4 th June 2013 lasting approximately one hour forty minutes. The comments made during this process were incorporated into the JEQ. 3.4There were some clear conflicts between the role the current post holder believes they undertake and the knowledge required and the expectation from the role of the Parish Council. These are considered in section four below. 3.5The JEQ was then scored against the NJC Job Evaluation score matrix and the overall score compared with the NALC National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Service of Local Council Clerks salary to grade ranges. 3.6Consideration was given to the requirement for the Parish Clerk to occasionally take on additional duties and experience fluctuations in workload and pressures put upon them. It was considered that a separate additional duties payment may be appropriate in future to cover this. 2

3 4.Other Considerations 4.1The Evaluator was made aware by both the current Post Holder and the Parish Council that Walberswick had gone through a period of significant change and that there were a small number of villagers who demanded a great deal of responsiveness from the Clerk. This related to a high volume of Freedom of Information requests and detailed letters requesting information. Whilst the Parish Council believes this is now under better control the post holder does not believe this to be the case. 4.2The Post Holder also submitted a document entitled General Comments on the Job Evaluation carried out in respect of the post of Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer to Walberswick Parish Council. This documents set out the Post Holders concern relating to the process being undertaken. This was forwarded to the Parish Chairman Mr Gower for comment and response on behalf of the Parish Council. 4.3The post holder is of the opinion that their previous experience of legal matters is a requirement for the job particularly when responding to Freedom of Information Requests and when dealing with the IOC. However, upon investigation of this the Evaluator is of the opinion that whilst this is beneficial this is not a skill requirement for the job of parish clerk as legal advice and support is available elsewhere. 4.4Although outside the remit of this evaluation exercise, the Evaluator was concerned by the attitude of the Post Holder towards the Interim Parish Council and consideration of possible disciplinary investigation may be required. 5.Conclusions and Recommendation 5.1The Job Evaluation score awarded for the Parish Clerk position was 272 points. This sits within the NALC National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Service Grade Level 1 as detailed below: Scale Points Below Benchmark Points Above LC1 (275 points) SCP ,054 to 16,830 SCP ,161 to 19,621 SCP ,198 to 21, The profile for the NALC LC1 grade is attached at appendix 2. 3

4 5.3It is therefore recommended that the Parish Clerk position be graded to NALC National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Service Grade Level 1 within the Benchmark range of Spinal Column Point (SCP) with corresponding salaries of 16,054 to 21, It is recommended that the central salary scale of SCP be identified as the most appropriate and that incremental progression be subject to satisfactory performance as assessed via an annual appraisal process. 5.5It is recommended that the Parish Council consider offering some form of salary protection to the Parish Clerk. However, it is noted that there is no budget available for this and no formal agreement in place. 5.6It is recommended that the Parish Clerk be supported throughout this process by the integration of an annual appraisal and objective setting process. 6.Next Steps 6.1For the Parish Council to consider the recommendations made by this report. 6.2For the Parish Council to consider whether to offer any form of salary protection. 6.3For the Post Holder to be advised in writing of the outcome and to be offered a right of appeal. 6.4For the Parish Council to consider whether disciplinary investigation may be required. Lucy Powles East of England LGA Associate Consultant June

5 Walberswick Parish Council Clerk Job Description Appendix 1 Specific Responsibilities 1. To ensure that the statutory and other administrative provisions governing or affecting the running of the Parish Council are observed; 2. To administer, monitor and balance the Council s accounts under the direction of the Parish Council; 3. To prepare and retain records for audit and VAT purposes; 4. To prepare, under the direction of the appropriate members, agenda for meetings of the Council. To attend such meetings and prepare minutes for approval; 5. To attend all meetings of the Council (up to 12 meetings are held each year); 6. To receive correspondence and documents on behalf of the Council and to deal with the correspondence or documents or bring such items to the attention of the Council. To issue correspondence as a result of the instructions of, or the known policy of the Council; 7. To receive and report on invoices for goods and services to be paid for by the Council and to ensure such accounts are met. To issue invoices on behalf of the Council as appropriate and ensure payment is received; 8. As directed, to draw up proposals for the Council; 9. To monitor the implemented policies of the Council and ensure these are appropriate and where necessary to suggest modifications; 10.To act as a representative of the Council; 11.To issue notices and prepare agendas and minutes for the Parish Meeting as directed by the Council; 5

6 12.To prepare, under the direction of the Chairman, press releases about the activities of the Council. Appendix 2 NALC National Agreement on Salaries and Conditions of Service Grade PROFILE 1 The job requires predominantly practical and procedural knowledge across a technical or specialist area or an equivalent level of organisational, procedural and policy knowledge. e.g. Small or medium parish. The job requires judgmental or creative skills; where there is some need to interpret information or situations and to solve straightforward problems. The job involves; Exchanging orally or in writing varied information with a range of audiences: or: Exercising advisory, guiding, negotiating or persuasive skills: e.g. Up to 6 meetings a year The job involves working within recognised procedures, which leave some room for initiative. The work may involve responding independently to unexpected problems and situations. The jobholder generally has access to guidance on unusual or difficult problems. e.g. No devolved functions The job involves some direct impact on the well being of individual, or groups of people, through undertaking tasks or duties, which are to their direct benefit, or impact directly on their health and safety. The job involves limited, or no direct responsibility for the supervision, direction or co-ordination of other employees. The work may involve demonstration of own duties, or advice and guidance, to new employees, or others e.g. No Staff The job involves some direct responsibility for financial resources. The work regularly involves either: 6

7 Handling of cash, or processing of cheques, invoices or equivalent or: Being accountable for small expenditures from an agreed budget or equivalent income e.g. Typical budget of up to 25,000 The job involves some direct responsibility for physical resources. The work regularly involves either: Some responsibility for security of buildings, external locations or equivalent Or: Day-to-day maintenance of equipment or premises: Or: Ordering, or stock control of, a limited range of supplies. 7