Questions about the new pay and grading structure
Q: Can assurances be given that no existing post holders will be downgraded as a result of the job evaluation process?
A: Current employees will not be directly disadvantaged, so no-one will see a decrease in their salary as a result of the process. However, it may mean that where a job is evaluated at a lower grade than is currently paid, the person in that job would have their pay “red circled”. This means that pay is frozen for an agreed period of time. The exact policy on this will be agreed as part of the on-going negotiations within the FNG. However, Hay's experience elsewhere has shown that few staff have been thus affected.
Q: How are market forces taken into account?
A: Jobs will be placed on a range of points within the single pay spine after the evaluation process is complete. If Birkbeck decides that certain posts are very difficult to recruit to, or there is a shortage in the labour market, there may be a justification for a higher rate of pay for that role (i.e. through the use of a market supplement, rather than a higher grade for the role). The College would need to show why this decision has been taken in order to comply with Equal Pay legislation. There will always be differences in pay across the country due to regional factors, for example, a Senior Lecturer in London would expect to receive a higher overall salary than a Senior Lecturer in Newcastle , due to differences in the general cost of living.
